Like the title says, does anyone know when fender skirts got named fender skirts? And why and by whom?
I would imagine the why is because they cover the wheels like a skirt covers legs or the skirt on a piece of furniture covers blocking, bracing etc under the furniture.
I know how fenders got their name. They fend off the dirt and rocks and water. Skirts have been called pants and spats. I guess skirts sounds better.
'32 Graham was first with "skirted '' fenders - but they're just more metal extending down, or "skirting". Chevrolet first sold skirts in '34, calling them "fender shields'' for many years.
Because you have to get on your knees and work at it if you hope to get anything accomplished inside one.
It's not a universal term. Like many things, they also have other names. For instance, a lot of people in my country also call them 'spats.' Like on shoes.
I'd guess the original attraction was to give a more "coach built" look to a lower class of car. Sometimes the manufacturers picked the name and that stuck. But just as often, the street picked the name and it became indelible. A little bit of a left turn for the thread, but I have a rusty recollection of 2 guys from different suburbs arguing about whether it was cool or yesterday's news to run skirts in their particular stomping grounds. Local influence must have been a big factor.
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