It Was a See-Through Sensation-- Part 1

The Plexiglas Pontiac sedan was cutting edge in 1939, and it's still pretty cool today. From the July 31st Chicago Tribune by Paul Duchene.

It was a concept car, but perhaps two of the most interesting of them were two Pontiacs bodied in clear Plexiglas in 1939 and 1940. The first one, and only known survivor is being offered by RM Auctions in Plymouth, Michigan.

General Motors collaborated with the chemical company Rohm & Haas in 1939 to build a clear plastic car for the 1939 New York World's Fair to be exhibited in the "Highways and Horizons pavilion.

Pontiac supplied drawings of a 1939 Deluxe Six four-door sedan who constructed a clear plastic replica of the body shell and fit it on a real chassis.

Rohm & Haas had stumbled onto what they would trademark as Plexiglas while working on laminated glass techniques. Engineers discovered it could be heated over wooden bucks and would take the shape beneath it, hardening as it cooled.

This invention was used a lot in the coming World War II in aircraft canopies, noses and gun turrets.

This particular car was built as a 1939 six-cylinder Pontiac Deluxe sedan-- an "A" body shared with Chevrolet and Buick.

Nice photos accompany the article.

I'd Sure Like to See This Vehicle. More to Come. --RoadDog