I have been reading an article concerning the Oldsmobile Rocket engine history. http://ateupwithmotor.com
Pictures of one Oldsmobile car appear in the article, which I believe is a 1950 model. It has a one piece curved glass windshield.
Is this a first for a volume production (or indeed any) car?.
If not, anyone know who first introduced it?.

Roger.

 

Rog, I recall the first one-piece curved windshield I saw was on the Buick LeSabre show car around 1950.

My grandfather's 1951 Buick Roadmaster and most of the GM line had curved glass.

By the mid-fifties or so, nearly every American car had this type of windshield.

Gary

 

You're talking about this photo, right?




I'm pretty sure that's a '50 Olds 98. Only the '49 and '50 Oldsmobiles had that style of vent under the headlights. But all '49 Oldsmobiles had a split front windshield, which this car does not have, so it's not a '49. For '50, the 76 and 88 series Oldsmobiles had a split windshield, while the 98 had a one-piece. So, by process of elimination, this is a 1950 Olds 98.


Here's the front cover of the '50 Olds brochure, and it also gives a better angle on the windshield of the 98.




The 98 does not have a curved windshield in the way that is meant when that phrase is used. It wasn't until 1954 that Oldsmobiles featured a curved windshield.

Here's a page from the '54 Olds brochure. Note how much the windshield wraps around to the side in comparison to the cars above.



Elsewhere in this same brochure, they make a point of the curved windshield and how much more visibility it gave.





As far as Buick, it was the same as far as when introduced.


Here's a page out of the '53 Buick brochure. No curved windshield on the Roadmaster.





On the '54 Roadmaster, however, we have a curved windshield.

 

I think it depends on the definition of "curved."

Here's the '51 Roadmaster from the '51 Buick brochure. Is the windshield curved? Maybe, but not to the extent that the '54 and up were.





For comparison, here's the '52. Again, curved, perhaps, but just a bit, and not the dramatic wrap-around that came later.





Here's a '57 Roadmaster. Now that's a curved-glass windshield.





I think the crossover point is the angle of the A pillar. On the full curved-glass windshields ('54 and up), it is actually forward-slanted, or at least vertical, getting more dramatically forward-slanted as the years went on. Compare the '54 Buick, where the A pillar is vertical, with '57, where it is sharply forward-slanted. On the '53 and earlier car, it's rear-slanted. Note the back-glass treatment on the '57 as well. Curved-glass rear with, again, an unconventional, rear-slanted C pilllar.

 

Ford pretty much followed GM, although one year later.


The '54 Ford windshield featured a mild curvature, but not the dramatic wrap-around. The A pillar is definitely rear-slanted.




By '55, though, we're talking serious curved windshield. The A-pillar is vertical.





By '57, Ford had the full wrap-around with forward-slanted A pillar.

 

I meant glass that wasn't flat rather than the wrap around that became popular (and caused many bruised knees) later.
So the first manufacturer to use other that flat glass windshields was GM?.
In the USA anyway, I don't know if other makers elsewhere beat them to it. I can't think of any British cars before 1952 with curved glass.

Roger.

 

You children know nothing! The ones that wrapped around the sides were known as panoramic windshields.

 

 

Just a follow connected to windshield glass.
Two piece windshields obviously had a restricted wiper pattern, mostly not clearing the middle of the screen. Most cars with wrap around (or panoramic as we have been told ) windshields still had "clap hands" wipers still leaving a massive blind spot in the middle of the glass in rain.
From the early 1960's cars started having an asymmetric pattern clearing the glass much more effectively, I understand an adequate wiper pattern became mandatory eventually.
So who first marketed a car with such a system?. I mean the drivers side blade sweeping upright to the A pillar and a continuous swept area across the rest of the glass.

Please bear with me, the UK has had a little snow, so the transport system has ground to a halt and I have too much time on my hands.

Roger.

 

I went through my old Shar-R-proof archives and found this:

Dw141 Bent One Piece Windshield fits all of these,

Buick 1950-53 Sedan 2D models 46D, 56S, 76S, Coupe 4D or Town Sedan
4508, 4708, Sedan 4D Models 42, 51, 71, Estate Wagon.

Cadillac 1950-52 Sedan 4D

Oldsmobile 1950-51 Sedan 2D, Town Sedan 4D, Sedan 4D.

These vehicles appear to be the first for the One piece Production glass for multi body vehicles.

Dw109 share theses vehicles: All of these Vehicles share the same split Bent Windshields.

Chevrolet 1949-52 Truck, Sedan Delivery, Coupe, Sedans 2D, Sedan 4D.
Oldsmobile 1949-50 Coupe Business, Club Coupe Sport, Sedan 2D, Sedan 4D.
Pontiac 1949-52 Coupe and Business Sport, Sedan 2D, Sedan 2D Touring, Sedan 4D,
Sedan Delivery
Buick (excluded)

 

My sole contribution is that I appreciate an ad that shows viewing area by being able to check out a woman's rack. My kind of ad.

 

Not so fast...

Mid-way through '50 production, 88s eliminated the split windshield and went to one piece glass.

The car above is a later '50 88.

 

True story, as I remember and have read (for what that is worth)Old's used up what was left of the 49 windshield trim and glass on the early 88's.I have personally seen early 50's 88's with split windshields..... Tedd