bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
Hey Jeff. I can lay a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood down flat in the Admiral and still have a foot left over with the gate closed.
Exner
- Thread starter bluefury361
- Start date
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
I love a Toro and a Riviera also. I've owned four Riv's. Mostly for form and style, not function. Largest two passenger cars around.
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
Yep. so was I.
Thanks Will... But I could never forgive myself if I put the Admiral through the torture of hauling all the crap this poor old burb has endured. The carpet is covered, but I have had enough oil slicks back there to assure the bed won't rust. I may own her long enough to wish I was nicer to her, but for now she gets the brunt of the chores... the old pickup gets it even worse, but not nearly so frequently. Every time I think about moving on to something else, I remember the days of duct taping dash pads to the roof of one of my benz's to get them back from the junkyard... not that my 400k mile beater was too nice, it was just too mickey mouse for my tastes.
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
Seriously,? ROFL
Dang.....I'm still waiting for delivery of my Exner book!!!!!
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
I have a book of "prototype cars of the twentieth century" that has an entire section devoted to VEx and his designs for Chrysler.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
Yep..... True story.....
there are a lot of vehicles that will perform the same function, but lack style and lag in sales for that reason.
What I don't understand are the "toaster" cars, and the folks who buy them. It's been said, "you are what you drive".
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
tis the season Bob. shipping is always slower this time of year. Enjoy the anticipation.
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
"Toaster cars"...
It is safe to assume that beauty is in the eye of the beholder...it is a subjective idea....and so same could be said about cars with fins, wings, clashing colors and portholes..superfluous extras or add ons in attempt to convey the sense of rocketships in space or aircraft flying...while driving down the road or interstate...the appropriation of symbology having little or nothing to do with a particular object.
"Style".
Yes, stylin made big bucks for the auto manufacturers back in the day (and still does)...and clearly there are lots of people who enjoy the fin "style" today. Nonetheless, I am not interested in elaborating on why this is; Im only interested in pointing out differences between useful design and the superflous. VEx is a perfect example.
I have passed through the sections discussing the 57-59 cars and also the cars from 60 - 62 and found the book much lacking in the information I was hoping to find out just who did what in the design studios and wished there was more detail on how the designs evolved into the production versions, but it just wasn't there. Mostly discussion of the specialty Ghia show cars that Exner was so keen on, but which I never really thought looked that close to the production models - in fact, it makes me wonder just how much of the production models was Exner vs others who were part of the design staff? I would have liked a lot more detail on how the decisions were made. And after Exner's major heart attack in late 1956, most of the design stuff had already been wrapped up for those models, but still no real detail. How the 60 - 62 models evolved was even more sketchy, as Exner was "consulted" during his recovery when designing those model years, but it sounds like Cliff Voss was responsible for a lot of the weirdness of some of those models, but who really did the 300F for example or the Imperial? Nice photos and interesting stuff in the book, but overall, a letdown to me. It seemed like Exner's talents waned in his later years given his last efforts that didn't impress me.
Last edited:
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
So it's not going to make Oprah's Book of the Month list?
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
I agree that there is a lot more to be told on the subject of the "Exner" period at Chrysler.
One needs to keep aware that the style departments at the auto makers was still a "concept of itself" in the early 50's. Women's influence in interior design and colors was becoming more evident then. So much for just function.
Many times new exterior design was approached as a competition amongst artists and designers.
As a budding new area, styling was king for the 50's into the 60's. The approach of aerodynamics in design pretty much put an end to style, as seen in todays car models.
One needs to keep aware that the style departments at the auto makers was still a "concept of itself" in the early 50's. Women's influence in interior design and colors was becoming more evident then. So much for just function.
Many times new exterior design was approached as a competition amongst artists and designers.
As a budding new area, styling was king for the 50's into the 60's. The approach of aerodynamics in design pretty much put an end to style, as seen in todays car models.
Duncan
Well-Known Member
I have just read through all of the pages of this thread. It is interesting. I would say first, stick to your guns, just leave your gun in the holster a little more. Don't need to be quite so aggressive about what you like or don't like. The others are going to stick to their guns as much as you are yours, so it really doesn't matter in the long run.
After having said that - I have to chuckle. Am I the only one here that likes them all? Age does seem to be a big factor, I don't care much for any of the cars before the very early 50s and especially the 40s and 30s. But I love the Forward Look, the Slab Sides, and the Fusys. All of them. They were all natural progressions, they all outshone their competition and they are all still classic. I do have to agree I dislike most of the new cars. It is like the designers can't stand any straight sharp edges or any undisturbed sheet metal - they all seem to want to put another curve, another crease another ridge in the sheet metal and perish the idea of any kind of undisturbed surface! But there are some standouts that I like and even I will be the first to admit those that I like today are probably ones that show the most throwback/nod to the past. Cars like the Chrysler 300 and the new Ford Taurus and even some of the new Caddies are starting to look decent again. Even the Ford Fusion is a pretty good looking car - I can actually see some thought behind its design - more than most of the other melted jelly beans you see nowadays. OK, now I'll re-holster my gun. :-D
After having said that - I have to chuckle. Am I the only one here that likes them all? Age does seem to be a big factor, I don't care much for any of the cars before the very early 50s and especially the 40s and 30s. But I love the Forward Look, the Slab Sides, and the Fusys. All of them. They were all natural progressions, they all outshone their competition and they are all still classic. I do have to agree I dislike most of the new cars. It is like the designers can't stand any straight sharp edges or any undisturbed sheet metal - they all seem to want to put another curve, another crease another ridge in the sheet metal and perish the idea of any kind of undisturbed surface! But there are some standouts that I like and even I will be the first to admit those that I like today are probably ones that show the most throwback/nod to the past. Cars like the Chrysler 300 and the new Ford Taurus and even some of the new Caddies are starting to look decent again. Even the Ford Fusion is a pretty good looking car - I can actually see some thought behind its design - more than most of the other melted jelly beans you see nowadays. OK, now I'll re-holster my gun. :-D
rapidtrans
Senior Member
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
The more dialog, the better, I think. It's OK to be adamant on a subject. Many good points have been brought out.
The opinions expressed here are why there have been so many styles, or lack of, offered throughout the past.
The opinions expressed here are why there have been so many styles, or lack of, offered throughout the past.
sb61fury
Well-Known Member
I just ordered mine today .
Double dang.....still waiting on my book. LOL!
Similar threads
