The dawn of the Fabulous Fifties was greeted with some major style changes for domestic cars, although the process actually began in 1949 for many auto builders.
Aside from notable design changes, the early 1950s are most noteworthy for not being noteworthy in the eyes of many car guys who instead view the back nine of the 1950s as that decade’s defining moment in terms of cool style.
It is a debatable conclusion if one considers the front-ends of 1950s cars because many of them had outstanding grille designs that were in fact timeless and classic in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar.
Jim Sutherland
Therefore, we have decided to list some of our favorite front grilles built for use on domestic cars sold in 1950.
The first car on our list is the 1950 Buick Super Riviera, mainly because of its striking front grille that looked like it could use a competent orthodontist if the car was human. The nine vertical bars on the 1950 Buick Super Riviera’s front grille cascaded downward from the top and jutted out over the car’s front bumper until it reached the end of the line a few inches below the bumper.
It was a bold design that separated Buick from every one of its GM stablemates, including the company’s flagship Cadillac in 1950.
One of the most iconic front grilles in automotive history can be found on the 1950 Studebaker Commander, affectionally nicknamed the “Bullet-nosed” Studie because of its unusual design that mimicked the front end of a bullet.
Studebaker was a small domestic car company that was forced to be highly creative on a tight budget so an oddball front grille was a good fit because it could generate publicity for the little automotive builder. The 1950 Studebaker’s striking front grille design was a “love-it-or-leave -it” decision for potential buyers at the time. A surprising number of people loved it enough to buy a 1950 Bullet-nosed Studie. For the record, kids loved them, then and even now.
Studebaker was on a roll since 1947 because they were the first automaker to offer completely new post-war designs for their cars, a trend that enhanced the car company’s sales and continued through the introduction of their 1950 models. However, Studebaker’s sales success was short-lived-and even their Bullet-nosed model sales peaked in 1950 when their cars’ unusual front grilles had their biggest impact.
The post-war DeSoto was a functional sedan that was became a TV star on ‘Happy Days’ because it was Howard Cunningham’s choice of wheels on the show. The message was a 1948 DeSoto was the most uncool set of wheels available for Howard and his family because of its homely appearance.
However, the 1950 DeSoto had an amazing front grille that was the automotive equivalent of Farrah Fawcett’s legendary front teeth because it was bold and beautiful. Unfortunately, the rest of the 1950 DeSoto was as homely as the ’48 version and could not keep up with the newer car’s outstanding front grille in terms of beauty-unlike the rest of Farrah Fawcett.
The 1950 Mercury is a strong candidate for Hall of Fame custom car status because Mercs from this era were platforms for the legendary lead sleds. Additionally, many lead sled Mercs had a DeSoto front grille transplant because they were a very cool addition to the custom build.
However, we at MyStarCollectorCar believe the 1950 Merc’s factory front grille was a solid addition to the car in stock form and richly deserves a place at the last entry on our cool 1950 car grille list.
Our final opinion is most domestic vehicles built in 1950 are not the pick of the litter in the car hobby but a long look at their front grilles may change a few minds.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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