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San Francisco circa 1920. "Franklin auto at Franklin Motor Car Co." Note the Yellowstone Park sticker. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size.
The slanted grille looks different because the Franklin is air cooled and there is no radiator there, just apertures for air. I'm not familiar with that model, but from other Franklins I would expect a row of finned cylinders like those on radial aircraft engines, with a blower at the front looking just about like the top of your lawnmower's engine ducting air back over the cylinder heads. Franklins made before this one had fake radiator housings so they resembled other cars. This one is a statement of corporate confidence that air cooling was good and proper. Franklin soon folded on the styling and went back to fake radiators.
The "coffin nose" on this Franklin was not long for the world. Due primarily to pressure from dealers, who wanted a product that looked like other cars, the Franklin was sporting a "normal" looking radiator grille -- though a dummy, the engine remaining air cooled -- by 1924 or so.
really sets the car off from others. Way cool! Otherwise it's just a common car for the time.
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