Editing Nash Motors (section)

==Introduction of the Nash Airflyte==

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2009}}
[[File:Nash Stateman 2-Door Sedan 1951.jpg|thumb|right|Nash Statesman 2-Door Sedan 1951]]
[[Image:NashMotorsLogo.jpg|150px|thumb|left|The Nash shield, as it appeared on cars of the 1940s and 1950s]]
The aerodynamic 1949 Nash "Airflyte" was the first car of an advanced design introduced by the company after the War. Its aerodynamic body shape was developed in a wind tunnel. A "radically aerodynamic" format was first proposed around 1943 by two independent designers, Ted Pietsch and Bob Koto, to Nash's vice president of engineering, Nils E. Wahlberg.<ref name="TheDesigners">{{cite book |last1=Foster |first1=Patrick R. |title=The Nash Styling Sketchbook |date=1998 |publisher=The Olde Milford Press |isbn=978-0-9662019-0-1 |page=1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BPqI4GNSPNQC&dq=Nils+Wahlberg+Nash&pg=PA1 |chapter=The Designers |access-date=April 14, 2022}}</ref> The resulting all-new 1949 production cars were similar to the proposed sketches.<ref name="TheDesigners"/> The objective was to reduce the automobile's body's drag coefficient by using a smooth shape and enclosed front fenders.<ref name="Crittenden">{{cite web |last1=Crittenden |first1=Bill |title=Airflyte |url= https://www.carsandracingstuff.com/library/a/airflyte_n.php |work=The Crittenden Automotive Library |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref> Closed fenders were conceived by Nash engineers also in the exploration for added strength of unibody construction. In contrast, Hudson, a close competitor, incorporated an actual unibody frame section into its closed rear wheel openings at about the same time.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} The "cutting-edge aerodynamics" of the all-new postwar design were the most "alarming" in the industry since the [[Chrysler Airflow]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mueller | first=Mike |title=Fifties American Cars |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=1997 |page=67 |isbn=978-0-87938-924-6 }}</ref> It was built at one of two new factories in [[El Segundo, California]], where the factory is still being used, having been re-purposed as the [[Boeing Satellite Development Center]], immediately south of [[Los Angeles International Airport]], on Nash Street.

A one-piece curved safety glass windshield was used on both models. Wide and low, the automobile featured more interior room than its 1948 predecessor, although its height was {{convert|6|in}} lower. Due to its enclosed front fenders, Nash automobiles had a larger turning radius than most other cars. The 600 models used a {{convert|112|in|adj=on}} wheelbase while the Ambassador models stretched to {{convert|121|in|0}}. Both shared the same bodies. Coil springs were used on all four wheels. Both models offered Three trim lines: Super, Super Special, and the top-line Custom. Power was provided by an {{convert|82|hp|lk=in|adj=on}}, {{convert|176|cuin|L|adj=on}} flathead I6 cylinder in the 600 and a {{convert|112|hp|lk=in|adj=on}} [[Overhead valve engine|OHV]], {{convert|234|cuin|L|adj=on}} I6 in the Ambassador.

In 1949, Nash became the first American car with seat belts as a factory option.<ref name="Janik">{{cite web |last1=Janik |first1=Erika |title=The Surprisingly Controversial History Of Seat Belts |url= https://www.wpr.org/surprisingly-controversial-history-seat-belts |work=Wisconsin Public Radio |date=25 September 2017 |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref> They were installed in 40,000 cars, yet buyers did not want them and had dealers remove them.<ref name="Nash-1949">{{cite book |last1=Ronan |first1=Larry |title=Seatbelts: 1949-1956 |date=April 1979 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT-TSC-NHTSA-79-1) |page=17}}</ref> There was "heated debate despite increasing scientific research" about their value and the option was "met with insurmountable sales resistance" with Nash reporting that after one year "only 1,000 had been used" by customers.<ref name="Janik"/><ref name="Nash-1949"/>

The few changes for the 1950 Airflytes were a wider rear window, concealed fuel filler cap, some dashboard features, and the addition on Ambassadors of a [[General Motors|GM]] [[Hydramatic]] automatic transmission option. The 600 models were renamed the "Statesman". A five-position "Airliner" reclining front passenger seatback was optional for both models. The stroke on the Statesman engine was increased {{cvt|1/4|in}}, giving {{convert|186|cuin|L}} and {{cvt |85|hp}}, and the Ambassador received a new cylinder head that increased power to {{cvt|115|hp}}.

Changes for the 1951 model Airflytes were to the rear fenders, elongated to incorporate vertical taillights, a new conventional dashboard replacing the Uniscope mounted on the steering column, and a new upright bar grille with horizontal parking lights as well as the addition of GM Hydramatic as a Statesman option. The three best sales years for Nash up to that time were 1949, 1950, and 1951.

[[File:1950-nash-001.jpg|thumb|right|Nash Rambler Convertible "Landau" Coupe, c.1950, fixed profile convertible with retracting roof and rigid doors, the featured car of [[Lois Lane]] of the series ''Adventures of Superman''<ref name="how">{{cite web|title=1951 Rambler Custom Landau |website=auto.howstuffworks.com |url= http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1951-rambler-custom-landau.htm |date=27 May 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200815143528/http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1951-rambler-custom-landau.htm |archive-date=15 August 2020 |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="artic">{{cite web|title=Lois Lane's 1950 Nash Rambler Custom |website=articboy.com |url= http://www.arcticboy.com/Pages/superman.html |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="hemming">{{cite magazine|title=TV Cars |magazine=Hemmings Classic Car |date=June 2005 |first=Jim |last=Donnelly |url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/tv-cars |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref>]]

[[File:AlgiersMetropolitan1 cropped.jpg|thumb|right|Nash Metropolitan]]

Nash-Kelvinator's president, George Mason, felt Nash had the best chance of reaching a larger market by building small cars. He directed Nash towards developing the first compact of the post-war era, the 1950 [[Nash Rambler]], which was marketed as an up-market, feature-laden convertible. Mason orchestrated a contract manufacturing arrangement with Austin of the UK to build Nash's new subcompact car, the [[Nash Metropolitan|Metropolitan]]. It was introduced in March of 1954.<ref>{{cite web |title=1954 Nash Metropolitan |url= https://drives.today/articles/999/history/1954-nash-metropolitan.html |work=Drives.Today |date=25 August 2022 |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref>

The full-size Nash Airflytes were wholly re-designed for the 1952 model year. They were promoted as the Golden Airflytes in honor of Nash Motors' 50th anniversary as an automobile builder because the company was counting the years of the Thomas B. Jeffery Company as part of their heritage. Therefore, "Great Cars Since 1902" became one of the company's advertising slogans. Nash was the only American car manufacturer besides Ford Motor Company to introduce an all-new 1952 model. 

The new Golden Airflytes presented a more modern, squared-off look than did the 1949 through 1951 models, which were often compared to inverted bathtubs. Nash contracted [[Battista "Pinin" Farina]] of Italy to design a body for the new Golden Airflyte. Management wanted a better design, and the result was a combination of an in-house design and Pinin Farina's model. Also in 1952, Nash began offering automatic transmissions, either a GM [[Hydramatic]] or a Borg-Warner overdrive transmission. Power was provided by a six-cylinder engine that was now bored out to {{convert|252|cuin|L}}.

Using its Kelvinator refrigeration experience, the automobile industry's first single-unit heating and [[air conditioning]] system was introduced by Nash in 1954.<ref name=albinder>{{cite web|url= http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_rearview_mirror_9/index.html |first=Al |last=Binder |author2=Ward's staff |title=Rearview Mirror |work=Ward's AutoWorld |date=1 February 2001 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111124194941/http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_rearview_mirror_9/index.html |archive-date=24 November 2011 |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref> This was a compact, affordable system for the mass market with controls on the dash and an electric clutch.<ref>{{cite book |last=Daly |first= Steven |title= Automotive Air-Conditioning and Climate Control Systems |publisher=Elsevier Science & Technology Books |year=2006 |page=2 |isbn=978-0-7506-6955-9}}</ref> Entirely incorporated within the engine bay, the combined heating and cooling system had cold air for passengers enter through dash-mounted vents.<ref name=albinder/> Competing systems used a separate heating system and an engine-mounted compressor with an [[evaporator]] in the car's trunk to deliver cold air through the rear package shelf and overhead vents. The alternative layout pioneered by Nash "became established practice and continues to form the basis of the modern and more sophisticated automatic climate control systems."<ref>{{cite book |last=Nunney |first=Malcolm J. |title=Light and Heavy Vehicle Technology |publisher=Elsevier Science & Technology Books |year=2006 |page=147 |isbn=978-0-7506-8037-0}}</ref>