Nash

astra gnome — Astra-Gnome in a press release from the Richard Arbib Company, 1956. The image belongs to Anders de Lange.

In the mid-50s, American car design was inspired by space technology. AMC created a bubbletop car that would take everyone's breath away. Say hello to Astra-Gnome!

Based on Metropolitan

Actually, the prototype was to be called Metro-Gnome, which is pronounced "metronome" in English. But the Metro name already belonged to International Harvester. Therefore, AMC chose the name Astra-Gnome instead. A shame, because the nice bubbletop car was actually based on a 1955 Nash Metropolitan - which was colloquially called the Metro.

Designed by Richard Arbib

The name Metro-Gnome could have linked the prototype to the model already in production. But the purpose of Astra-Gnome was not to show a possible new generation of Metropolitan. The futuristic car was made to represent AMC on New York International Auto Show in 1956. It was Richard Arbib's design studio in New York that was commissioned to develop an exciting future study for AMC – not just as a design or empty shell, but as a fully drivable car. The design of the bodywork was put aside Andrew Mazzara (NEW). Richard Arbib had previously worked for, among others, GM and Packard - and now AMC. He spent 6 months converting a Nash Metropolitan into the Astra-Gnome and barely managed to finish in time for the show.

The car still exists

It is in a private museum in Los Angeles run by Metropolitan Pit Stop. The proprietor Jimmy Valentine occasionally takes it out on the road where it naturally attracts a lot of attention – even in LA.

Funny visions of the future

Richard Arbib believed that the cars in the year 2000 would look like the Astra-Gnome. In the USA in the 50s you could read in magazines such as Popular Science, that the highways in the future would have a magnetic field that would make the cars of the future self-driving. Covered wheel arches were part of Nash's Airflyte concept. Not only did it reduce air resistance – it also added extra rigidity to the bodywork. Also, partially hidden wheels gave a visual effect of floating above the asphalt. The aluminum plates on the sides could be easily replaced and optionally supplied in colours. The glass roof can be opened and closed by an electric motor. With the roof open, one can practically walk upright into the car and sit down in the swiveling leather seats. According to Arbib, the glass dome provides perfect acoustics for the sound in the hi-fi radio. The most impressive thing about Arbib's design - seen from today's eyes - is that the superstructure only gave a marginal increase in weight compared to the original Metropolitan model.

Small car concept

It is safe to say that glass domes and covered wheel arches never became a hit in the automotive world. But since the Astra-Gnome was based on a small car, it could emphasize positive aspects of small cars and thus give positive signals to the Nash Metropolitan - the donor car which was only 3,80 meters long and 1,45 meters wide. Astra-Gnome had increased the length to a moderate 4,20 and the width to a whopping 1,83 meters without changing the dimensions of the Metropolitan's original chassis. Richard Arbib had worked deliberately to make optimal use of the space. 6 specially designed suitcases, which only existed on the drawing board, were to fill up voids in the car, including in the width. Thus it would be able to accommodate as much as a full-size American car, although the Astro-Gnome only had 2 seats.

Inspired other designers

It's not hard to see how the Astra-Gnome has inspired American car designers - at least Bill Mitchell at GM. The front of Mitchell's 1963 Buick Riviera has great similarities with Astra-Gnome. It is also easy to find similarities between the Astro-Gnome's rear side panels and the insets along the rear sides of the 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special. Mitchell was working at Cadillac at the time.

Car enthusiasts and their watches

Have you noticed that people who like exclusive cars are often also attracted to beautiful watches? Richard Arbib loved watches and has, among other things, designed a special watch case for them Hamilton Electric Watches. One of the novelties on the Astra-Gnome was a high center clock unit of the Hamilton Celestial Time Zone Clock type. This was a very advanced device that could have been installed in a jet plane. Shape and location helped to create an illusion of the future. Perhaps Arbib envisioned today's mid-mounted infotainment screens?

Facts about Astra-Gnome

Source: Press release from RIchard Arbib in 1956 shared by Anders de Lange.

Chassis: Nash Metropolitan
Engine: Austin A40 4-cylinder
Weight: approx. 900 kg
Wheelbase: 216 cm
Length: 419 cm
Height: 134 cm
Width: 183 cm
Diameter of glass dome: 165 cm
Body: All aluminum built by Andrew Mazzara
Equipment: Air conditioning, hi-fi radio, 4 headlights
Tires: Goodyear 5,90 x 13
Interior: Leather supplied by Leather Upholstory Group

"In spite of the advanced nature of the Astra-Gnome's styling, it is a car that with very few changes could be produced and would offer the public a host of practical mechanical and safety innovations" – Richard Arbib

From the Metropolitan Pit Stop. Source: metpitstop.com

Astra-Gnome in press release from Richard Arbib Company. The picture belongs to Anders de Lange.

See

The YouTube channel "The Vintage Vehicle Show" visits Jimmy Valentine at The Metropolitan Pit Stop Museum in Los Angeles, USA.

nash metropolitan — Amerikan Motors in Sørum

Did you know that there is a separate car club for American post-war brands that lost the battle to the Big 3 - GM, Ford and Chrysler?

The Eight Amcars Club (EAC) aims to save as many of these brands as possible. There are Packard, Kaiser, Studebaker, DeSoto, Henry J, Willys, Hudson and Nash. Throughout the fifties, the American car market was booming. Even though people bought cars like never before, there was a big battle for customers. In order to capture the customers, you had to come up with a new model every year that would surpass both the previous model and the competitors. Longer, wider, stronger engine, more equipment, more chrome, and so on - at the lowest possible price. The competition made it difficult for all manufacturers to keep up. The paradox was that it wasn't them Best the cars that won. They were the ones with the most capital behind them.

I have an old photo album where famous and dear family members are standing in front of a car. A car I have seen in several pictures. It belonged to one of my mother's uncles. From what I have managed to find out, it must be a 4-door Kaiser, perhaps a 1951 model. The picture was taken at Nes in Romerike. It rolled in the same area that the EAC is based in.

The Amcar people talk easily about their roots when defending their hobby. The Kaiser'n in my family album testifies to that. But in the hunt for an amcar, it is easy to make a mistake about which models they represent ects the roots. I myself was born in the 50s and remember well which cars rolled on the roads then. I can tell that there were very few Cadillacs and Lincolns with a continental kit in the back. The cars of the EAC members represent Norwegian roots to a far greater extent than what is seen from newly imported Amcar cars. Studebaker, for example, was hugely popular in Norway.

I don't know how widespread Kaiser really was in Norway. I took a trip to EAC to see one with my own eyes. They had a two-tone Kaiser Manhattan in the exhibit, and an unrestored 4-door Kaiser outside. Kaiser Manhattan must have been a real dollar grin when it rolled around on the country roads of Romerike. But when I look closer, it's quite simply equipped, and according to the specs it has a – for the time being – relatively ordinary side-vented six. It was an American for Norwegian conditions. Almost like a Tesla.

Many believe that it is the smaller Tesla 3 that is best suited for Norway. The Kaiser group also had a smaller car, called the Henry J after one of the founders. You'll find Henry J at EAC, - one on display, while another is under restoration. I think they look brilliant considering they were produced in the first half of the 50s. They had 4-cylinder engines and bodies with good use of the interior space. But Henry J was probably at least 25 years ahead of his time. The trend beyond the 50s was not sobriety, - it was maximum. I think those who couldn't afford a new fullsizer, rather bought a used one, rather than a new Henry J.

What surprised me the most was knowing that Henry J was rolling on Norwegian roads. The exhibited model had Norwegian history.

We are talking about "roots" here.

In the workshop is this pompous DeSoto. DeSotos are big, beautiful cars.

Nash 600. 1949 model way ahead of its time with its streamlined pontoon body. It is also long.

This Henry J is under restoration. I like the color-matched upholstery on the top of the dash.

The homepages of the Eight Amcars Club (café and exhibition open between 12.00-17.00 on Sundays).

HONEST ABOUT CARS

In time and space with Astra-Gnome