![]() Thick B pillars replaced frameless glass rear quarter windows on hardtops and opera windows help with outward visibility. There was also the threat of rollover crash standards in the 1970s that never materialized at the time. ![]() Back then many cars had thick C and/or D pillars creating massive blind spots and opera windows aided in visibility. Opera windows were far from non-functional. And opera windows rapidly disappeared on 1980s models.īelow is a gallery showing some of those opera windows. I suspect the reason for this same-year introduction by two different firms had to do with the usual auto industry grapevine along with reports from stylists hired from competing companies.īy the late 1970s every American car maker was selling some models with some sort of opera window feature. Those were small rear-quarter windows that could be interpreted as large opera windows. One thing I find a little puzzling is that they appeared in classical form on 1973 Lincolns while in the same model year some General Motors cars introduced somethings fairly similar in spirit. Actually, I doubt that was ever the intent the real intent was to add a bit of retro-sophistication to certain car models. ![]() It was what was called "opera windows," perhaps a reference to features of certain horse-drawn carriages.įor mid-1970s American cars, opera windows were small windows placed on C-pillars so that distinguished back-seat passengers on their way to cultural events presumably could discretely peek out at the unwashed masses along the way. That's because the feature in question was essentially a non-functional (aside from generating sales) frivolity. ![]() I'm inclined to blame management rather than styling staff for the fad featured in this post. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |