Cars and trucks built before about 1935 came on wire spoke wheels with small metal caps installed to seal the wheel hub on the axle. Those early "HUBcaps" were smaller than 4" in diameter and made of heavy gauge plated steel hammered onto the hub of the wheel. Their main function was to keep dirt out of the spindle nut and wheel bearings.

Photos courtesy of Hubcapcafe.com
Visit that website to see more classic car pictures.

In the mid ‘30s, hubcaps became more decorative than functional. The ‘dog dish’ style was born, chrome hemispheres 9 inches in diameter, covering the lug nuts and the center of the wheel. About the same time, wheel technology advanced and spoke wheels were replaced by wheels formed from stamped steel.

In the ‘40s, Cadillac lead the pack in adding sparkling chrome by the acre: bumpers, grills, trim lines, window borders, hood ornaments, hood vents, headlights, running boards, etc. Increasing the size of the chrome hubcaps, and then trim rings, added reflective surface.

By the ‘50s, hubcap diameters increased to the point they covered the entire steel wheel. Many of this period were flat chrome rounds looking like Frisbees, with little differentiation. This was the time the term ‘wheel cover’ became common.

Over time, the terms ‘hubcaps’ and ‘wheel covers’ have become synonymous as the lightweight, full-diameter decorative coverings of standard steel wheels.

One of the hallmarks of modern hubcaps is their interchangeability. Nearly any hubcap of the correct size will fit any Standard Steel Wheel that will take a hubcap.

This means that changing styles is very easy. We are not limited to those styles (or the silver paint) designed by our particular auto manufacturer.

"Wheelskins" is a relatively new term, since the late 1990s. 

Styled Steel or Alloy Wheels do not have the normal continuous recess around the bead area of the wheel for standard hubcaps to mount into.

Wheelskins were invented to provide an inexpensive way to put chrome on styled wheels.

Wheelskins mount with clips to grab the outer edge of the rim or they may grab the wheel inside the holes between the spokes.

Each Wheelskin is designed to fit one specific styled wheel, and it will not fit any other wheel.

Click to Read more about Wheelskins

Click to Read about differences between

                Styled and Standard Wheels