Bug Deflectors

A common feature found in cars during the 1950s was a device called a “bug deflector.” When the weather got warm and insects were about, often even a short drive would result in a coating of smushed bugs on the car windshield. Gasoline stations back then were full service and when buying gasoline from Marvin Marr’s Sinclair station or from Hill Oil Company, the station attendant would wash your windshield, check your oil and, if asked, check the pressure in your tires. If you didn’t need gasoline, you would have to get the mess off the windshield on your own. This was hard, especially when the big grasshoppers were about.

In order to combat this, many cars had a bug deflector mounted on the front of the hood near the hood ornament. These were not standard equipment, but could be purchased at an auto parts store or at an automobile dealership.

Most bug deflectors were a plastic “v” shaped device. The aim was to divert the air flow to the side so the bugs would miss the windshield. Some of them may have been made of metal with a nice chrome finish.

Today you don’t see bug deflectors. And, at gasoline stations you have to wash your own windshield when you get gasoline.

The bug deflectors were not perfect, but they did make a difference. The plastic ones came in various colors to match the color of your vehicle. Like so many other things I remember growing up in Superior, the bug deflectors are gone.