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Continental tire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- for the German corporation, see Continental AG
A Continental tire is an upright, external, mounted spare tire behind an automobile's trunk compartment. This term also describes a completely fake design that is stamped into the trunk lid. It is a bulge that only suggests a spare tire.
The 1939 Lincoln Continental's short trunk with rear spare tire mount was a distinctive design. Similar spare tire placements on vehicles were described as a "Continental kit". This became a customizing aftermarket appearance accessory during the 1950s.
Contemporary examples of Continental kits are sometimes found on overly decorated and tacky customized automobiles made popular by the Pimp My Ride show.
Early European sports cars had their spare tire attached on the back of the automobile since their trunk or storage space was often very small.
In the United States, the external Continental tire mounting was an option on various types of cars during the 1950s and early 1960s. On some models, such as on the Nash Metropolitan, Jeepster Commando, and Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, the Continental tire was a standard feature. Most often, the car's rear bumper was extended and the tire had a fabric or metal cover. The bracket for the spare wheel was designed to swing away for access to the trunk.
Numerous compact SUV models of today have an exposed rear mounted spare tire. This is no longer described as a Continental tire. The historic Jeep DJ "Surrey Gala" model came with a striped pink and white fabric cover for its so-called "continental tire mount".