Henry King may have been Exner's superior when he arrived at Chrysler in 1949, but Exner was made head of styling in 1952. At that time styling was working on giving the 1953-54 bodies a facelift - new grilles, taillights, trim, etc. That was when Exner expressed his dislike for the projected 1955 models and was able to convince Chrysler management a major restyling was in order. The 1955 models were a major change from 1954 - longer, lower, wraparound windshields, no more rear fender bulges, new trim and two tone options, and overall styling that equalled, if not beat, the opposition. The 1953 models would have looked great in 1951.
Henry King was head of the Plymouth studio when the 1955 models were being restyled. The work on the major restyling began in May, 1952, and Chrysler management also agreed Plymouth should have a V8 for 1955. Not enough time to develop a new engine for 1955 so the engineers worked on getting a Dodge-based engine. The new Plymouth V8 would show up for 1956.
