Narthex

Narthex (pronounced nahr-theks)

(1) In church architecture, a portico (enclosed passage) at the west end of a basilica or church, usually at right angles to the nave and located between the main entrance and the nave.

(2) In botany, a taxonomic genus within the family Apiaceae (umbelliferous plants), now included in Ferula, Narthex asafoetida and thus obsolete.

1665-1675: From the Medieval Latin narthex, from the Medieval Greek narthex (enclosed porch, enclosure (the earlier meaning was “box”), from the Ancient Greek νάρθηξ (narthēx) (giant fennel, scourge (and later “casket” (the Modern Greek νάρθηκας (nárthikas)), and, on the basis of the suffix, probably a pre-Greek word.  The connection between the giant fennel plant and boxes is that the fibre from the stems of the plant was used to make boxes.  In Greek, the word was linked also to νάρδος (nárdos) (nard plant, spikenard, nardin, muskroot).  The Modern Greek νάρθηκας (narthekas) long ago relinquished the early senses and now means either the feature in church architecture or the brace of a sprained wrist or sling of a broken arm.  The plant was well known in Greek mythology.  In the Θεογονία (circa 730–700 BC) (Theogonía (the genealogy or birth of the gods)), known in the West as The Theogony, an epic poem of a thousand-odd lines by the (8^th-7^th century BC) poet Hesod, it was in hollow fennel stalks that Prometheus conveyed fire from Heaven to Earth.  In Armenia the name for a narthex is gavit.  The adjectival form was narthecal and the plural either narthexes or narthices, the English form preferable for most purposes.

Narthexs were part of many early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches, located traditionally to the west of the nave and functioned (1) as a lobby area and (2) as the place where penitents were required to remain.  Although the archaeological record suggests there may have been some early churches with annexes or even small separate structures located nearby which fulfilled the latter function, narthexes seem quickly to have been integrated.  That means that structurally and architecturally, a narthex was part of the building but theologically was not, its purpose being to permit those not entitled to admission as part of the congregation (mostly catechumens and penitents) nevertheless to hear the service and (hopefully) be encouraged to pursue communion.

For ceremonies other than services, the narthex was otherwise a functional space, the church’s baptismal font often mounted there and in some traditions (both Eastern & Western) worshipers would sometimes anoint themselves and their children with a daub of holy water before stepping foot in the nave and some branches of the Orthodox Church use the narthex for funeral ceremonies.  There were also architectural variations in the early churches which persisted in larger building and cathedrals, the narthex divided in two, (1) an esonarthex (inner narthex) between the west wall and the body of the church proper, separated from the nave and aisles by a wall, trellis or some other means and (2) an external closed space, the exonarthex (outer narthex), a court in front of the church façade with a perimeter defined by on all sides by colonnades.

In the Western Church, reforms removed the requirement to exclude from services those who were not full members of the congregation which of course meant the narthex was rendered technically redundant.  However, the shape churches had assumed with a narthex included had become part of the tradition of the Church so architects continued to include the space, both as part of the nave structure and something semi-separated.  They attracted a number of names, borrowed mostly from secular buildings including vestibule, porch, foyer, hallway, antechamber, anteroom, entrance, entry, entryway, gateway, hall, lobby, portal & portico, the choice dictated sometimes by local tradition, sometimes by the nature of construction and sometimes, it seems to have been entirely arbitrary.  In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the esonarthex and exonarthex retained distinct liturgical functions, some rituals terminating in the exonarthex while services still exclusively penitential services are usually chanted in the esonarthex.  In dialectal northern English, the casual term for the penitents forced to remain in the narthex was “the narts”.

The NART Ferrari spiders

1966 Ferrari 275 GTS

Although Ferrari produced the 275 GTB (berlinetta (coupé)) (1964-1968) and 275 GTS (spider (roadster)) (1964-1966) in unison with substantially the same mechanical specification, the two had completely different coachwork, sharing not one external panel.  Styled by Pininfarina, the 275 GTS, elegant and well-proportioned, recalled the earlier 250 Cabriolets and buyers appreciated the sophistication of the improved specification but Luigi Chinetti (1901-1994), Ferrari's North American distributer, remembering the sensuous lines of the 250 California Spider (1957-1960), asked the factory for a run of spiders (roadsters) based on the 275 GTB.

1960 Ferrari 250 California Spider

Ferrari commissioned its traditional coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Scaglietti, to produce the series and in 1967, the first tranche of ten of a planned twenty-five was completed and delivered to the United States.  The spiders were based on the newly-released 275 GTB/4 which included a number of refinements to the original series, most notably the twin-cam heads, the factory rating the 3.3 Litre (201 cubic inch) V12 at 300 horsepower, a lift of 20 over the earlier single-cam engines.  Because Chinetti’s competition department was called the North American Racing Team (NART), the ten roadsters have always been referred to as the “NART Spiders” and although the factory never adopted the designation, Chinetti added to the tail of each a small cloisonné badge with the team's logo.  Interestingly, the factory also continued to list the cars as 275 GTB/4s, even though the usual naming convention would have been to designate them as 275 GTS/4s, a hint perhaps from Ferrari that it really wasn’t their idea.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4

The addition of the badge, an unusual addition to anything from Scaglietti workshops, was not unreasonable given the spiders were very much a co-production, Chinetti receiving technical assistance and the precious benefit of official status from the factory but it was made clear that financial responsibility for the project lay exclusively with the US operation which would be required to pay for each prior to delivery.  On that basis things proceeded but, modified from production 275 GTB/4’s with (then typically Italian) labour-intensive coach-building techniques, the spiders were expensive and sales were slow, American buyers more seduced by Ferrari's new and more luxuriously trimmed and cheaper 330 GTS; even then air-conditioning was a persuasive inducement and the more spartan NARTs languished for some months in Chinetti’s showroom waiting for someone with a longing for the ways things used to be done.  As a consequence, it was only that first run of ten which was built but they’ve since become highly prized by collectors, NART #10709 in August 2013 selling at auction for US$27.5 million (including commission) at RM Sotheby's in Monterey, California.

1969 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spider

Daytona 24 Hours, 1967: First-Ferrari 330 P3/4 (#23; Chris Amon & Lorenzo Bandini), Second-Ferrari 330 P4 (#24; Mike Parkes & Ludovico Scarfiotti and Third-Ferrari 412 P (#26; Pedro Rodriguez & Jean Guichet.

However, despite the modest demand for the NART spiders, Ferrari must have been convinced the concept was viable with full factory backing and when, in 1968, the 275 GTB/4 was replaced with the 365 GTB/4 (1968-1973), a companion spider was listed as an official model, again built by Carrozzeria Scaglietti.  This model came to be known as the Daytona in recognition of Ferrari’s 1-2-3 finish in the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona even though the cars which contested the race were different models, the connection being some photographs from the race which were used in promotional material when the 365 GTB/4 was released.  It was the first new model since the 1-2-3 finish and the name stuck, an attachment about which Ferrari seemed never much enthused although views seem to have softened over the years and "Daytona" appears now even on the corporate website.  The V12 was now 4.4 litres (268 cubic inches) and generating some 340-355 horsepower (depending on market) although the figure on which many fixated was the claimed top speed of 174 mph (280 km/h), the need to out-pace the mark of 171 mph (275 km/h) set by the Lamborghini Miura P400 in 1966 said to be one of the design objectives.  Quite a few verified Ferrari’s claim; few attempted it in the somewhat trickier to handle Miura although contemporary reports confirmed the factory's number.  The Ferrari might actually have gone faster, given enough road.  Luigi Chinetti (1901–1994), who drove the competition version of the Daytona in the 1971 Le Mans 24 hour classic (the last year before the 3.7 mile (6 km) Mulsanne straight was spoiled by the chicanes the FIA imposed) reported than on Mulsanne it never actually stopped accelerating.  Remarkably, the Daytona finished fifth, even winning the mysterious Index of Thermal Efficiency.  Whatever it was, Ferrari must have been content with the thing's terminal velocity but Lamborghini wanted bragging rights and the more powerful Miura P400 S debuted in 1969 with a claim of 180 mph (290 km/h) which Autosport magazine in 1970 almost matched, clocking 288.6 km/h (179.3 mph).  That turned out to be the decade's high-water mark, the succeeding P400 SV more powerful still but a little slower because the aerodynamics were slightly compromised by the need to add a little width to accommodate some needed improvements and the use of fatter tyres which absorbed a surprising amount of energy.  It would be many years before a production car went faster than the P400 S.    

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 (Daytona)

What was however learned from 275 NART experience was that the customers had become sybarites who wanted cars which looked like the austere roadsters of old but fitted with the accruements of modernity, air conditioning, power steering and electric windows.  On that basis the Daytona entered production and in what was by then a much more competitive market, the approach was vindicated, the Daytona close to doubling the sales of its predecessor, including 122 spiders.  Intriguingly, within a few years of the end of Daytona production ending, the realization hit that there wouldn’t again be something like the 365 GTS/4, the days of the big, front-engined V12s thought over and even if one returned, the feeling in the 1970s was that government regulations would be there would be no more roadsters and interest in Daytona spiders began to spike.  With only 122 produced, the math of the supply-demand curve was predictable and prices of spiders soared above the berlinetta, the factory having made more than ten times as many of them.

1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 (Daytona)

Thus stimulated was the roofectomy business which had long been part of the coach-building trade but few conversions were potentially as lucrative as a Daytona.  Done properly, the results could be satisfactory but, beyond the roof, there were a number of differences between the two and not all were done properly.  However it’s done, a genuine Scaglietti spider is going to be worth some multiple of a conversion in similar condition, which may now attract little premium over a berlinetta, originality now more of a fetish than it was in the 1970s and 1980s.  In 2013, the New York Times reported Ferrari, unhappy about what they regarded as fakes being traded, were going to try to pressure the high-end auction houses not to host such sales but the industry persists and there are a number of replica 275 NARTs although, not all were based on a twin-cam original, industry sources suggesting a premium above a berlinetta of 20% at most.  Other popular candidates for conversion include the Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Coupés (1968-1971; on which an exact conversion is also very challenging), Maserati Ghiblis (1967-1973) and the early Jaguar E-Types, technically a simpler job especially in years gone by when suitable cars were both cheaper and more numerous.

1976 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 NART by Michelotti 

In a footnote to the Daytona’s history, either not discouraged by his experience with the 275 NART or impressed by the prices the ten were commanding, Luigi Chinetti commissioned the construction of five 365 GTB/4 Daytona NART Spiders, the design turned over to Giovanni Michelotti (1921–1980).  In the spirit of 1950s minimalism, Michelotti’s first design, shown at the 1974 Turin Motor Show featured cut-down doors and a removable targa top but the second, built for the 1975 24 Hours of Le Mans, was more a conventional race-car, its lines attuned to aerodynamic enhancement although it never made the event because of a dispute with the notoriously difficult stewards.  Still interested in the concept however, in 1976 Chinetti ordered three more NART Daytonas from Michelotti, configured this time as road-cars with air conditioning and electric windows, the target market the US.  Unlike the 275 NARTs, the three NART Daytonas really were used cars, production of the originals having ceased in 1973.  One of them has been a fixture on the show and auction scene for a while, Michelotti using it as a display piece and it spent two years as an exhibit at the Le Mans Museum before bouncing around the premium auction circuit where it’s exchanged between collectors at increasingly higher prices.  The wedge shape certainly marks the design as a product of the age but so did the detailing: instead of a delicate cloisonné on the tail, NART was printed in big, bold, upper-case letters.

Thermal

Thermal (pronounced thur-muhl)

(1) Of, relating to, or caused by heat or temperature (also thermic); of, relating to, or of the nature of thermae.

(2) As (both noun and adjective) thermal blanket or thermal underwear (as a noun, always referred to in the plural (thermals) even if describing a single item), items designed to aid in or promote the retention of body heat.

(3) In meteorology, a column of rising air caused by local unequal heating by the sun of the land surface, especially such a current when not producing a cloud; widely used in aviation and of especial importance in gliding, a borrowing of the techniques used by birds. The air usually rises until it is in equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere.

(4) In stonemasonry, a rough finish created with a blowtorch.

1756: From the French thermal (buffon), from the New Latin thermalis, from the Ancient Greek θέρμη (thérmē) (heat; feverish heat), from the primitive Indo-European gwher (to heat, warm).  The construct was therm + -al (from the Latin adjectival suffix -ālis, or the French, Middle French & Old French -el, -al; used mostly but not exclusively with word of Latin origin).  The sense of "having to do with heat" is first recorded 1837; the noun meaning "rising current of relatively warm air" was first noted in 1933 in the context of aviation.  Geothermal first used in 1875; hydrothermal in 1855, exothermal in 1874; athermanous in 1839, hyperthermia in 1878, isotherm in 1850, endothermic in 1869 (1947 as applied in biology) and thermometer as early as the 1597 although the most familiar (pre-digital) version with mercury encased in glass, was invented by Fahrenheit in 1714.  Thermal is adjective in the singular and a noun in the singular or plural, thermally is the adverb.  The most common derivations are the adjectives hyperthermal and the adverb hyperthermally but in engineering and science there’s also therm, therma, thermacogenesis, thermae, aerothermal, thermometric, thermometrical & thermaesthesia.  Thermal is a noun, verb & adjective; the noun plural is thermals.

Thermal Reactive Nail Polish

Thermal reactive nail polishes change color depending on both body and ambient temperature.  Nail polish is especially suitable for thermal reactivity because the extremities of the body (fingertips, toes, ears & nose) vary in temperature much more than parts closer to the core.  Usefully, they work with even the thickest base and top-coats which affords additional protection for the thermal-reactive chemicals, the color-changing properties affected not at all if multiple coats are applied.

The process is entirely heat-dependent and thus constantly variable.  In this example the reaction produces purple in reaction to cold and aqua to warmth; because the temperature of the nail greatly can vary between base and tip, the ombré effect (colors blending from one hue to another) will fluctuate.  The chemical reaction does rely on the top coat being fully dry and, depending on manufacturer, this can take up to an hour.  The special properties don't last forever but, if correctly sealed, stored in a dark place and not exposed to extremes of heat and cold, the liquid will for months continue to be reactive.

Chemically, the thermal reactivity works because the polish is infused with a leuco (“white” in Ancient Greek) dye, the word a little misleading in this context because leuco dyes have two forms: one clear, the other colored. The reversible transition between the two colors may be caused by heat (thermochromism), light (photochromism) or pH (halochromism) and in other (often industrial) applications, it’s possible irreversibly to change colors, usually from a redox reaction.

For thermal nail polish, the dye comes packaged in tiny spheres called microcapsules, each only 1-10 microns in diameter but containing three chemicals: (1) leuco dye which changes color reversibly, the color depending on the dye which, when combined with a proton or hydrogen ion, becomes colorless.  (2) A weak acid which acts as a catalyst, donating the hydrogen ion.  (3) A solvent which induces a color change at a desired temperature.  When cool, the solvent solidifies, the hydrogen remaining stuck to the acid and thus not interacting with the colored dye.  When hot, the solvent melts, the weak acid dissociates, the hydrogen ion binds to the dye, and the dye is colorless.  The temperature-shift range is about 5ºF (3ºC).

Those not content with the commercially available color combinations easily can brew their own thermal reactive polish.  Leuco dyes are available in many colors and come as a powder, slurry, epoxy, or water-based ink but only the powder is suitable and the transition range should hover 88ºF (31ºC) because nails are cooler than body temperature.  The choice of polish color dictates the result.  A white polish will produce a pastel result, a pale color will switch between the original and the combination of the leuco and the color so a mix of pink polish and a blue leuco dye yields a color shift from pink to purple.

To mix, place 1-2 small ball bearings in empty nail polish bottle and fill with polish to about half-way.  Add leuco dye to achieve desired color (about ⅛ teaspoon) and, if ambient temperature is high, chill the bottle to see result.  When mixing, cap bottle and gently roll it; do not shake because this will cause cavitation, the formation of air bubbles which impede the blending.  If the polish is too thick, add a few drops of nail polish thinner or clear top-coat but never acetone or other nail polisher remover because these chemicals ruin the mix.  Glitter or holo may be added according to taste.

Lindsay Lohan on skis in fuchsia, Falling for Christmas (Netflix (2022)), her thermal base layer unknown.

When skiing or mountain climbing, thermal underwear is usually the ideal choice for what is called the “thermal base layer”, a combination which consists usually of a top and a pair of leggings.  Outer layers of ski clothing perform better when a thermal base layer is worn because the moisture from the body rapidly is wicked away in a capillary action, permitting the breathable fabrics of the outer garments more efficiently to dissipate the moisture more efficiently.  It’s often thought the only purpose of thermal underwear is to increase body temperature but it’s the symbiosis between the thermal base layer and the outer coverings which regulate body temperature, maintaining comfort in both colder and warmer conditions.  By volume, most thermal underwear is made from Polyester (a type of plastic called polypropylene), often augmented with Lycra and all these garments are produced in a very tight weave which delivers good thermal qualities and what the manufacturers call a high “breathability factor”.

Also used is fine wool which, being a natural fibre, is preferred by many and it does posses the virtues of offering both comfort and efficient thermal qualities.  The choice between the types of construction is less about specific differences in thermal performance than how one’s skin reacts and sometimes this is something which can be judged only after prolonged exposure in a variety of temperatures.  All types are available in both short and long (sleeves & legs) versions and because the material is so thin, the longer cuts intrude not at all upon the fit of gloves and boots and the choice is again one of personal preference although, in extreme conditions, the full-versions should always at least be packed.

Tenterhook

Tenterhook (pronounced ten-ter-hook)

(1) One of the hooks or bent nails that hold cloth stretched on a tenter.

(2) As “on tenterhooks”, in a state of uneasy suspense or painful anxiety.

1470–1480: A compound word tenter + hook.  Tenter (wooden framework for stretching cloth) is from the circa 1300 Middle English tenter and is of uncertain origin but thought probably borrowed from Latin via Old French (although the evolution of the ending is wholly obscure).  The source was the Latin tentorium (tent made of stretched skins) from tentus (stretched), a variant past participle of tendere (to stretch), from the primitive Indo-European root ten- (to stretch).  Hook is pre-900, from the Middle English hoke, from the Old English hōc, from the Proto-Germanic hōkaz (which influenced also the West Frisian & Dutch hoek (hook, angle, corner), the Low German Hook, variant of hakô (hook), the West Frisian heak and the Dutch haak (hook)).  It’s probably ultimately from the primitive Indo-European kog-, keg- & keng- (peg, hook, claw).

Tenterhooks.

The plural form tenterhooks (one of the hooks that holds cloth on a tenter) was noted first in the late fifteenth century but the figurative phrase “on tenterhooks” is from 1748 and its more evocative imagery meant it soon supplanted “to be on tenters” which had been in use since the 1530s.  The phrase “on tenterhooks” came to mean “being in a state of tension, uneasiness, anxiety, or suspense” figuratively stretched like the cloth on the tenter.  Improvements in the design of machines means tenterhooks are no longer widely used in cloth manufacturing, the word tenterhook is now used almost exclusively used in the metaphorical sense.

Those on tenterhooks waiting for new Lindsay Lohan content were glad to learn of the two-film deal with Netflix, Falling for Christmas released in November 2022 while Irish Wish is scheduled for debut in 2023.

The phrase “on tenterhooks” is one of the most misspoken in English, often pronounced as “tenderhooks”.  Only “Parthian shot” suffers more, rendered frequently as “parting shot”, a more understandable mistake given the context.

Dixiecrat

Dixiecrat (pronounced dik-see-krat)

In US political history, a member of a faction of southern Democrats stressing states' rights and opposed to the civil-rights programs of the Democratic Party, especially a southern Democrat who left the party in 1948 to support candidates of the States' Rights Democratic Party.

1948: An American portmanteau word, the construct being Dixie + (Demo)crat.  Wholly unrelated to other meanings, Dixie (also as Dixieland) in this context is a reference to the southern states of the United States, especially those formerly part of the Confederacy.  The origin is contested, the most supported theory being it’s derived from the Mason-Dixon Line, a historic (if not entirely accurate) delineation between the North and South.  Another idea is it was picked up from any of several songs with this name, especially the minstrel song Dixie (1859) by (northerner) Daniel Decatur Emmett (1815-1904), popular as a Confederate war song although most etymologists hold this confuses cause and effect, the word long pre-dating the compositions.  There’s also a suggested link to the nineteenth-century nickname of New Orleans, from the dixie, a Confederate-era ten-dollar bill on which was printed the French dix (ten) but again, it came later.  The –crat suffix is from the Ancient Greek κράτος (krátos) (power, might), as used in words of Ancient Greek origin such as democrat and aristocrat.  Ultimate root is the primitive Indo-European kret (hard).

Universally called Dixiecrats, the States' Rights Democratic Party was formed in 1948 as a dissident breakaway from the Democratic Party.  Its core platform was permanently to secure the rights of states to legislate and enforce racial segregation and exclude the federal government from intervening in these matters.  Politically and culturally, it was a continuation of the disputes and compromises which emerged in the aftermath of the US Civil War almost a century earlier.  The Dixiecrats took control of the party machine in several southern states and contested the elections of 1948 with South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond as their presidential nominee but enjoyed little support outside the deep South and by 1952 most had returned to the Democratic Party.  However, in the following decades, they achieved a much greater influence as a southern faction than ever was achieved as a separatist party.  The shift in the south towards support for the Republican Party dates from this time and by the 1980s, the Democratic Party's control of presidential elections in the South had faded and many of the Dixiecrats had joined the Republicans.

The night old Dixie died.  Former Dixiecrat, Senator Strom Thurmond (1902-2003; senator (Republican) for South Carolina 1954-2003) lies in state, Columbia, South Carolina, June 2003.

Cokebottle

Cokebottle (pronounced koke-bott-el)

A descriptor for a design where objects either resemble or are inspired by the shape of the classic Coca-Cola bottle.

1965: From an unsuccessful trademark application file in the US by the Chevrolet division of General Motors (GM), cokebottle thus word that never was.  The Coca-Cola name was a deliberately alliterative creation which referred to two of the original ingredients (leaves of the coca plant and kola nuts (source of the caffeine).  Coca is from the Erythroxylaceae family of cultivated plants native to western South America and renowned as the source of the psychoactive alkaloid.  Used since the drink’s debut in 1886, the cocaine was removed from Coca-Cola in 1903, the remainder of the recipe remaining famously secret.  Coke dates from 1908 in US English and was a clipping of clipping of cocaine although it’s not known when the word was first used to refer to the drink but given the rapidity with which slang forms emerge to describe popular products, it’s at least possible it pre-dated the drug reference although the company did not lodge a trade-mark application for Coke until 1944 although in internal company documents it appears at least as early as 1941.  While the drink produced a number of derived forms (Diet Coke, Coke-Bottle, frozen Coke, Coke-float, Coke Zero and the most unfortunate New Coke), those attached to the narcotic are more evocative and include coke dick, cokehead, coke whore and coke-fucked.  Bottle was from the Middle English botel (bottle, flask, wineskin), from the Old French boteille (from which Modern French gained bouteille), from the Medieval Latin butticula, ultimately of uncertain origin but thought by most etymologists to be a diminutive of the Late Latin buttis (cask, barrel).  Buttis was probably from a Greek form related to the Ancient Greek πυτίνη (putínē) (flask) and βοῦττις (boûttis), from the imitative primitive Indo-European bhehw (to swell, puff).

Lindsay Lohan seems to tend to prefer her Coca-Cola in cans but occasionally is seen drinking from the bottle.

Between its unpromising origin in 1926 as a lower-cost alternative to the anyway non-premium Oakland brand and its demise (with a whimper) in 2010, Pontiac in the 1960s did enjoy a brief, shining moment of innovation and style.  Pontiac had been one of a number of companion brands introduced by GM as part of a marketing plan to cover every price segment (the so-called "Sloan Ladder" conceived by Alfred P Sloan (1875–1966; president of General Motors (GM) 1923-1937 and Chairman of the Board 1937-1946)) with a distinct nameplate, Cadillac gaining LaSalle, Oldsmobile gaining Viking, Oakland gaining Pontiac and Buick gaining Marquette; only the high-volume Chevrolet stood alone.  The idea was that as one's wealth increased, one would take the "next step on the ladder" so that after the ninth and final step, the man who once bought a Chevrolet now bought a Cadillac, after which there was nowhere else to go except another new Cadillac.  The effects of the Great Depression meant the experiment didn’t last and GM would soon to revert six divisions, the newcomers Viking and Marquette axed while Pontiac, which had proved both more successful and profitable than the shuttered Oakland, survived, joined LaSalle which lingered until 1940 and then there were five.  Pontiac also returned to the line-up when car production resumed late in 1945 and, benefiting from the buoyant post-war economy, enjoyed success although much of the engineering was based on that of Chevrolet while the side-valve engines were obsolescent.  Things began to change in 1955 when a new overhead-valve (OHV) V8 was introduced, a power-plant which faithfully would serve the line for a quarter century in displacements between 265 cubic inches (4.3 litres) and 455 (7.5L) and, unusually for US manufacturers during the era, Pontiac used the one basic block for all iterations.  By 1955, all Pontiacs sold in the US were V8 powered (some sixes were still made for overseas markets) and the division began to become more adventurous, joining the power race, fielding cars in competition and moving up-market.  However, the first real master-stroke (one of several innovations which would contribute to such stellar growth in both sales and reputation in the decade to come) was the introduction in 1959 of the "wide-track" advertising campaign.

1959 Pontiac convertibles:  A Canadian Parisienne (left) built on the Chevrolet X-Frame and a US Catalina (right) on Pontiac’s wide-track frame; note the gaping wheel-wells on the Canadian car.

There were not a few visual exaggerations in the wide-track advertising campaign but the underlying engineering was real, the track (the distance between the centre of the tyre-tracks across each axle-line) increased by 5 inches (125 mm).  This improved the handling, giving the Pontiacs a more sure-footed stance than most of the competition and an attractive low-slung look,  If anyone had any doubts about the veracity of the “wide track” claim, the Canadian Pontiacs were there for comparison.  Because of internal corporate agreements, the bodies of the Canadian Pontiacs were mounted on the Chevrolet X-frame with its narrow track and the difference is obvious, the wheels looking lost inside the cavernous lacunas created by the overhanging bodywork.  In the US, sales soared and while a comparison with the recession-hit 1958 is probably misleading, the success of the wide-track programme did propel the division from sixth to fourth place in the industry and for much of the 1960s Pontiac Motor Division (PMD) was one of the industry's most dynamic name-plates.

1960s Pontiac Wide-Track advertising graphic art by Art Fitzpatrick (1919–2015) & Van Kaufman (1918-1995).

Memorable as the 1960s Pontiacs were, of note too was the graphic art produced by Art Fitzpatrick (1919–2015) & Van Kaufman (1918-1995) whose renderings were ground-breaking in the industry in that rather than focusing on the machine, they were an evocation of an life-style, albeit one which often bore little relationship to those enjoyed  by typical American consumers.  Still, that was and remains the essence of aspirational advertising and Fitzpatrick & Kaufman influenced their industry with techniques still seen today and students of art history would identify elements from mannerism.  The pair didn't take things so far they became surrealists but truth-in-advertising rules in the 1960s were not as demanding as they would become; although the big Pontiacs after 1959 genuinely were wide-tracked, they weren’t quite as wide as Fitzpatrick & Kaufman made them appear.  Never had "longer, lower & wider" really been that wide.

Envious of what Pontiac had achieved in trade-marking wide-track for the wide track advertising campaigns, GM’s Chevrolet division attempted to claim both cokebottle and coke-bottle for similar purposes, wishing to run a campaign to tie in with their new styling idea for its big cars, using similar curves to those seen on the classic coke bottle. The authorities in Detroit declined the application and legal advice to Chevrolet suggested there was little chance of success against likely opposition from the Coca-Cola Corporation.

Chevrolet Impala two-door hardtops: 1965 (left), 1966 (centre) & 1967 (right).

However, along with much of the industry, Chevrolet did produce cars inspired by the shape which came to be known as coke bottle styling and on the big cars, the cokebottle motif was expressed mostly in the curves applied to the rear-coachwork.  Chevrolet toned-down the look in 1968-1969 but by then it had spread to other manufacturers, including those across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and although by the early 1970s it was dated, the realities of production-line economics meant the look in some places lingered, even into the 1980s, the odd revival (usually in the rear-fender shape) still seen from time-to-time though modern interpretations do (except on sports cars and their ilk) tend to be more subtle than the exuberant lines of the 1960s.  Essentially bodies with outward curving fenders with a narrow centre, the technique had also been adopted by the aeroplane designers as a necessary means of dealing with the aerodynamic challenges created by supersonic speeds and although the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) labelled the design principle area rule, most engineers referred to it as coke bottle or, among themselves, the Marilyn Monroe.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88 convertible.  The classic example of cokebottle styling is the third generation (S3) Chevrolet Corvette (1968-1982) where the idea is executed front and rear.  In the design of twenty-first century sports cars, the motif still appears.

Coca-Cola bottles and a replica of the 1914 A.L.F.A. Aerodinamica Prototipo (aerodynamic prototype) which used the shape of the bottle introduced in 1900).  The replica is now exhibited at the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese. 

In the narrow technical sense, cokebottle styling had been done as early as 1914 although there’s nothing to suggest Coca Cola's bottle design of 1900-1914 provided any inspiration.  The A.L.F.A. 40/60 HP Aerodinamica Prototipo was built by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Castagna in 1914 on a commission from Milanese Count Marco Ricotti (the distinctive machine at the time described as the Siluro Ricotti (the Ricotti Torpedo)).  Although relatively large & heavy, the designers assumed the aerodynamic properties of the teardrop-shaped body (the coach-builder listed it as a "droplet", an instance of Italian borrowing from English) would permit the then impressive top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph), a useful increase of 25 km/h (16 mph) over the standard 40/60.  Unfortunately, the additional weight meant rendered it no faster although the appearance certainly was memorable.  The 40/60 used an overhead valve (OHV) in-line four cylinder engine with a displacement of 6.1 litres (371 cubic inches) with a rating of 70 HP (51 kW).

Going topless: The count takes countess and children for a post-roofectomy drive.

It took the industry some decades to work out that while men might be signing the checks (cheques), women exerted much influence on the choice of car to be purchased and as early as the 1930s some manufacturers did add women to their design teams for "look and feel" stuff like interiors (it took longer for them to infiltrate the engineering offices).  Countess Ricotti however made her impact early.  The shape of the Siluro Ricotti was optimized to achieve the best possible aerodynamic efficiency while providing enough internal space comfortably to accommodate six, the original benchmark the top-speed number.  That proved illusory but, dictated by the fluid dynamics of air-flow, the radiator and engine had been placed within the passenger compartment and while this had certain advantages, it also meant heat soak through the aluminium skin and a tendency for the cabin to fill with fumes of gas (petrol) and oil.  That was what the countess disliked and she refused to let her children be driven in the thing.  The count had envisaged it as the ideal family car so in a spirit of marital compromise had Carrozzeria Castagna remove most of the roof, turning it into a kind of phaeton to be enjoyed during Milan's many warm, sunny days.

Sometime during Italy's turbulent inter-war period the Siluro Ricotti was lost but over two years during the 1970s, Alfa Romeo's engineers, using old photos and the extant original blueprints, created a replica on a surviving 40/60 chassis.  That machine is now on display at the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese and the website confirms the top speed as only the 139 km/h (86 mph) the factory had verified for the Corsa (racing) version of the 40-60 which used distinctly non-aerodynamic bodywork but with an engine tuned to deliver 73 HP (54 kW).

Sombrero

Sombrero (pronounced som-brair-oh or sawm-bre-raw (Spanish))

(1) A sometimes highly embroidered, broad-brimmed hat of straw or plush felt, usually with a high conical or cylindrical crown and a saucer-shaped brim, worn especially in Spain, Mexico, and the south-western United States.

(2) A style of automobile wheel-cover which became popular in the US during the 1950s, the enveloping design vaguely similar to the motifs associated with the hat.

(3) A mixed drink, made with coffee liqueur and cream.

(4) In ten-pin bowling, a series of four consecutive strikes.

1590–1600: From the Spanish from sombrero de sol (broad-brimmed hat offering shade from the sun) and originally "umbrella, parasol" (a sense found in English by the 1590s), from sombra (shadow; shade) from the Late Latin subumbrare (to shadow), the construct being sub (under) + umbrāre (from umbra (shadow)) + ero (the dative & ablative singular of erus, from the Proto-Italic ezos (master), from the primitive Indo-European heshós (master) and cognate with the Hittite išhāš (master)) and thus literally "shade-maker".  Sombrero is a noun and sombreroed is an adjective, (the non-standard sombrerolike & sombreroesque both used informally); the noun plural is sombreros.

Politicians are often compelled to wear sombreros in the search for votes.  Others wear them by choice.

(1) Gerald Ford (1913–2006; US president 1974-1977).

(2) Comrade Marshal (Josip Broz) Tito (1892–1980;  Yugoslav president 1953-1980).

(3) Adlai Stevenson II (1900–1965; Democratic presidential nominee 1952 & 1956).

(4) Hugo Chávez (1954–2013; Venezuelan president 1999-2002 & 2002-2013).

(5) Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974).

(6) Britney Spears (b 1981; entertainer).

(7) Pope Benedict XVI (b 1927; Roman Catholic Pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus since).

(8) Barry Goldwater (1909–1998; Republican presidential nominee 1964).

1961 Lincoln Continental SS-X-100 with sombrero wheel covers, Dallas, 22 November 1963 (left) and with the (ex Continental Mark II) turbine-style wheel covers and some of X-100’s protective accessories (right).

Traces of a sombrero-like shape can be discerned in the designs used for the early post-war Cadillacs but it was in the 1950s the style became popular with many manufacturers emulating the lines.  Although less popular by the early 1960s, the coachbuilders Hess & Eisenhardt chose to use sombrero-style wheel covers from the 1957 Lincoln Premiere when the White House’s 1961 presidential parade limousine was updated in 1963 with a current model grill.  This was the famous SS X-100 (the Secret Service inventory number) in which the president was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963.  It was extensively re-modeled in the aftermath of the assassination (and again in 1967), Hess & Eisenhardt reverted to the turbine-style wheel covers from the Continental Mark II (1956-1957) with which the car had originally been fitted.  Although other presidential parade cars were built in 1968 and 1972, X-100 continued to be used by Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter until 1977 and it’s now on permanent display in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

1952 Cadillac sombrero wheel covers (16 inch reproductions) (left), 1954 Packard sombrero wheel covers (centre) and 1957 Cadillac sombrero wheel cover, Cadillac by 1957 unable to resist adding embellishments.

The terms “wheel cover” & “hubcap” (or hub-cap) have long been used interchangeably but the two, historically, are different.  The distinction between the two is that a wheel cover covers the entire diameter of the wheel whereas a hubcap covers only the center portion of the wheel, concealing at most only the lug nuts which secure the wheel.  The origin of the hub cap pre-dates powered-transportation and was simply a device which fitted over the hub of a wheel to prevent dirt and debris from entering the assembly and contaminating the grease which provided lubrication and some of the early versions were actually called dirt-caps or grease-caps.

1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III saloon with wire wheels with centre hub cap (left) and an unusual 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III pillarless fixed head coupé (FHC) with wheel covers over wire wheels.

As wheel designs evolved from those used on hand-carts or horse-drawn vehicles, the hubcaps were enlarged to extend protection to the lug nuts, reducing abrasion and limiting the moisture penetration which encouraged rust.  The hubcap was thus a purely utilitarian device and this functionality was extended in the 1920s when all-enveloping wheel covers (some of which had actually been seen in the nineteenth century) began to appear in volume.  These were usually covers for wire wheels (a type preferred because they were much lighter that those made from pressed steel) and served to protect both the spokes and the brakes behind from dirt and the impact of stones and rocks, an important consideration when so many roads were un-sealed.  Owners and drivers appreciated the protection, wire wheels notoriously time-consuming to clean.  One drawback however was that the air-flow to the brake drums was inhibited so the brakes were more prone to overheating, thus reducing their retardative effect but as some soon discovered, speed and economy were actually improved because the smooth wheel covers were aerodynamically more efficient, as aspect of design which continues to be exploited to this day.  In the UK, both hubcaps and wheel covers were originally called nave plates.  Nave (hub of a wheel) was from the Middle English nave, from the Old English nafu, from the Proto-West Germanic nabu, from the Proto-Germanic nabō (which influenced the Dutch naaf, the German Nabe and the Swedish nav), from the primitive Indo-European hneb- (navel) and related to the Latin umbō (shield boss), the Latvian naba and the Sanskrit नभ्य (nabhya).  The idea of it being “something central” was a development from the Latin nāvem, the singular accusative of nāvis, terms from architecture which referred to the middle section of a church (later extended to other structures & shipbuilding).

1959 Imperial Silvercrest Landau (left), 1959 Edsel Citation convertible (centre) and 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (right).

Also exploited, for better and worse, were aesthetic sensibilities.  It was in the stylistically exuberant US of the 1950s that wheel covers became truly extravagant and heavy, the latter something that brought its own problems.  The design teams took to wheel covers with enthusiasm because changes were cheap to implement and they soon became part of product differentiation, the higher in the hierarchy a model sat, the more elaborate the wheel covers were likely to be.  The sombreros were just one style, others referencing influences as diverse as the original wire wheels, the turbines in jet engines, water fountains, the full moon (though without pock-marks) and beehives.

Dog dishes: 1966 Ford Fairlane 427 (left), 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Six Pack and 1969 Yenko Chevrolet Nova 427.

Wheel covers became part of what was typically an annual cycle of styling changes and it wasn’t unusual for those used on last year’s top-of-the-line model to re-appear on a cheaper line and just because wheel covers had arrived, hubcaps didn’t go away, fitted almost always as standard equipment on the cheapest entry-level models and those defined as heavy-duty such as the ones built for police fleets.  Simple steel stampings, they were cheap to produce and, being lightweight, were less prone to becoming detached during brisk driving, the “flying hubcap” (actually usually a wheel cover) a noted feature of many of Hollywood’s car chases.  The simple pressings were sometimes dubbed “poverty hubcaps” but a more common nickname was “dog dish”, a reference to their appearance if upturned.

Mercedes-Benz 600 SWB with early, two-piece hub cap & trim ring combination (left) and the later, less pleasing, one-piece wheel cover.

The wheel cover as part of a re-style was not restricted to the US but manufacturers in the UK & Europe were more conservative (an exception to this tended to be the locally produced models from companies ultimately owned by US corporations; as in Australia, these sometimes used hand-me-downs from Detroit), hubcaps persisting longer while “trim-rings” began to be added to emulate wheel covers but designs were often carried over from one model to the next.  In this, the Mercedes-Benz 600 (M100, 1963-1981) is a footnote in hubcap history in that in its eighteen-odd years in production, the only styling change was to replace the two-piece hubcap/trim ring combination with a one-piece wheel cover.  This was unfortunate because the earlier style better suited the car.

Wheel covers remained of interest to those designing cars for competition and the trade-off between brake cooling and the aerodynamic advantages possible weighed up according to the nature of the event.  Those setting speed records were particularly attracted to the smoothest possible shape although, where possible many choose to enclose the wheel to whatever extent was possible and Jaguar discovered an additional 3-4 mph (km/h) was possible if the XK120’s rear wheels were wholly enclosed by fender skirts (also called spats).  In the modern era, even with aluminum or composite wheels optimized for lightness and brake cooling, there are manufacturers which use additional wheel covers, either to produce downforce for use in competition or to reduce drag, lowering energy consumption to increase a vehicle’s range.

The selfie sombrero, a 2014 co-development between Christian Cowan-Sanluis and Acer Inc of Taiwan.

In one of the IT industry’s less remembered collaborations with the fashion business, in 2014 designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis (b 1994) joined with Taiwanese (Taiwan a renegade province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)) manufacturer Acer to produce a “limited-edition” (a perhaps unnecessary announcement) sombrero with an integrated tablet, able to spin through 360^o.  Said to be the ultimate solution to selfie takers who struggle to find their best angle, the wide-brimmed apparatus included an Iconia A1-840 tablet.  Listed upon release at a not unreasonable Stg£599, the selfie-sombrero was based on a hat in Cowan-Sanluis' autumn-winter 2014 collection, noted for having been modeled by Lady Gaga (b 1986).

Lady Gaga in original sparkly pink sombrero from Christian Cowan-Sanluis’ autumn-winter 2014 collection.

Technically, the design was helpful for selfie-takers because of the mounting which allowed the tablet to spin through 360^o, helping the user to determine the best angle while snapping and reviewing the results.  With an internet connection, the perfect selfie could then instantly be uploaded to the social platform of choice.  Early adopters were encouraged to place an order, the designer noting the creation of ten pink sparkly glitter cases with accompanying hats in the same style as that worn by Lady Gaga.

Lindsay Lohan in Sombrero.