Car trunks, was Re: Bonnets & boots

[nlpnt at yahoo.com]

> Amanda Lewanski commented:
> 
> <<<Wow, this is Amanda,caught in your format. This is another 
favorite, car
> bonnets and car boots. Seems like the British "dress" their cars, 
and our
> terms put them more as utilitarian conveyances--hood and trunk. 
Anyone know
> how this particular difference originated? 


The term "trunk" came about because, originally, it was just that- a 
steamer trunk strapped to a rack on the back of the car (not supplied 
with the car). As the car caught on, many companies started making 
accessories for it, including special car trunks which bypassed the 
rack and were bolted directly to the car.
 By the late '20s, auto manufacturers everywhere discovered the 
profits in selling "genuine" accessories through their dealers' parts 
departments; with the Art Deco movement came stylized bolt-on trunks 
that were designed for a specific model of car. 
 The next step, cars with designed-in trunks, came in the mid-30s; 
they were first offered alongside traditional, trunkless sedans and 
immediately outsold them; by the start of WWII most auto mfrs. 
worldwide had dropped trunkless models.
 The next step, hatchbacks, were pioneered in the late '40s, caught 
on big in the '70s/early '80s, and are now the most popular bodystyle 
in Europe and poised for a comeback in America.

---Noel, resident gearhead