Art-deco Ruxtons overwhelm at Pebble Beach

Right. Holiday is over and we’re going back to work. Well, okay – just one more look back at Pebble Beach before we do just that. Now, there was quite a lot that impressed. How about a Bentley Speed Six with drophead coupe body by Saoutchik. Yes – a Bentley! Or that gorgeous little 1913 Peugeot L45 racer in between all that big machinery and century-old BIS Mercedes racers.

But it’s this image of a string of 1929/1930 front wheel driven Ruxton Sedans at the prestigious concours that stays with us above all. To see one of those crazy multi-coloured creatures is something you won’t forget soon – but four of them! We learned that this unusual colour scheme was designed by art-deco architect Joseph Urban to lengthen the appearance of the car through broad bands of white intermixed with vivid colours. Certainly a most daring feature to put on the market in the middle of the big crisis…

(Picture courtesy Kimball Studios)

Pubblicato:

lunedì agosto 18th, 2014

Sconosciuto

20 Agosto 2014, 21:02

It was a huge status symbol in the 1930's to take an already expensive car and equip it with a set of double white side wall tires.

Also, keep in mind as well that 7 of the Ruxton's shown of Pebble Beach were owned by the same person.

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Rick Ford

20 Agosto 2014, 19:54

The demise of white wall tyres is to be welcomed, nay, applauded, let us hope polished wheel discs follow.
In the early days the reason for dark colours below the waistline was to relegate dirt where it belonged.

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Sconosciuto

19 Agosto 2014, 12:27

Not to mention the varnished spokes, which try as I may I cannot find any period photos of cars fitted with, certainly not on my Buick, yet they also seem obligatory today! Only option I have found "in period" is body colour rather than black, but I don't know if this really was a period option? I should have thought the poor quality of varnish vailable would preclude the use of it as it is important to stop the wood drying out?

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Sconosciuto

19 Agosto 2014, 05:53

The real news here is the gradual disappearance of white wall tyres. Only one of those Ruxtons have them, yesterdays Hispano lacked them and I notice from the gallery that many American exotics on the coast run also now ride on 'ordinary' tyres. Like exotic colour schemes and chrome wheels these were sometimes available but rarely seen before 1940, so its pleasing to see that theres a modest retreat 'across the pond' from the horror of over resoration.

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Sconosciuto

19 Agosto 2014, 02:42

It is just so hard to imagine that these cars are from that Era. The overwhelming impression one gets of the 1930s is a period of desperation. We think mostly of the terrible black and white photos of the countless jobless and starving. Perhaps the designer had in mind to make a statement of resistance to the gloom and doom?

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Art-deco Ruxtons overwhelm at Pebble Beach

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