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What upscale car in the 1930's had an airplane hood ornament with a turning propeller? I caught a glimpse of the car in a vintage auto coffeetable book but don't remember the car.

kind regards
Garrett Meadows

Don't know of any stock make, although there were a few aftermarket ones available.

Good site for researching hood ornaments:

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/08/hood-ornament-identifiaction-guide.html

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Hi Garrett

Franklins had those airplane hood ornaments to remind customers of their air-cooled engine having the same qualities of those powering airplanes.

By the late 1920's public fascination with airplanes and flight had reached a fever pitch with the first of the commercial airlines beginning operations. What better car to drive to the airport for that first, glamorous flight than an air-cooled Franklin?

Steve

30 & 31 Franklin

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Keep in mind that the radiator and/or hood ornaments, especialy of the PRE war and early post war era were touted as bug defelctors. Not sure how well they really work as bug deflectors but then again i know of of no credible study ever done about it either.

A function I never thought of - If a rolling tire out front doesn't persuade the bugs to go elsewhere I guess a propeller will.

Sorry to get a little off topic, cabin fever is setting in, and I'm getting itchy to get the car on the road.

I just got in from shoveling snow in 12?F and 50 mph winds. I'm throwing it on piles over my head because I have no more room to put it.

Hope others on the East cost are doing OK.

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That's the name of the car! Franklin. Beautiful car! Thank you.
Garrett M

Simply beautiful. Thank you for sharing those pics.
Garrett M

I didn't know that hood ornaments had any other function other than decorative.
Although, I can't see that a hood ornament would very effective in deflecting bugs, unless the bugs happened to be in the direct line of the hood ornament. Still, effective or not, the hood ornaments were quite attractive.
Garrett M

Believe me, my heart goes out to you East Coasters. I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, for two gawd-forsaken-years. Coming from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, I was in total shock my first winter there. I had been out mowing the lawn in my shirt sleeves on a Wednesday afternoon. That night, a foot of snow fell. The next morning when I tried to go to work, I couldn't get my vehicle more than about a car-length out of the garage when it got stuck in the snow. Ugh.

Garrett M