"Nose art" is the term used to describe the "art" painted on the noses of many WWII planes. Often, it consisted of pinup pictures and the name of the airplane ... frequently named after the pilot's girl friend. Google "nose art" if you want to see a bunch of examples.

But, airplanes isn't the subject of today's post. Nope, today I've got examples of designs of the front-end (nose) of some pretty cool autos! Because most cars today use internal combustion engines (ie. gasoline users) and since most of those engines are mounted at the front of the car, designers, in order to cool and remove heat from the engines, usually create a large opening for air to enter the engine compartment. And rather than just leave a big hole in the front, they cleverly cover it with a grill or "something."

That's exactly the case in the first image ... a 1954 Plymouth Explorer "concept" car by Ghia:

And a 1962 Ferrari 250G ... I'd like to own this one!

In this 55 Chevy Biscane XP37, the designers put the airintake (and covering grill) down low ... I suspect it reduces the drag caused by the air entering the engine compartment, but I'm not sure:

Sometimes, as in this Bugatti design, more air is needed than can be supplied by the opening in the nose.  So, hood louvers are created in the hood covering the engine: 

Here's a classic Plymouth Hot Rod created and styled by Bob Foose, a well-known, Southern California, stylist:

And, a closeup of the Plymouth's headlights: 

You all know this ... a  VW Wagon.  There's no grill on this vehicle ... you guessed it ... the engine is in the back!

Air is also an essential ingredient in the explosive fuel/oxygen mixture. Sometimes special air intake pipes like these are used in very high performance autos to get more oxygen into the engine:

All of these cool cars (no pun intended) were photographed at the Peterson Auto Museum ... a must visit for those who like automobiles. 

And, as I've said before, I believe the designers of these autos are real artists! "Nose art" or "Knows art"?  You choose ... either works for me! :)

Bye for now,

Adam

P.S. Thanks for looking!