It may be wrong... but I love 'em...
Exner
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70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
or not.
Just my opinion. But on this one Im sticking to my guns nonetheless.
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Maybe this is why I like the '67 Imp so much, it seems equal parts slabbie and fuselage...
And then I think no, I'm a slabside guy through and through!
And then I think no, I'm a slabside guy through and through!
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
ya agree....the 67 Imp does sorta look like the "missing link" between the slabs and the fuselage cars. Very striking car indeed....and look ma, no crazy fins!
The designs are from different eras. I love them all from the fins through the early 80s.
But next to their contemporaries the "C" bodies with few exceptions really stand out. The 57s made the GM line-up instantly look 10 yrs old. I liked the all new 65s better than anyone elses bigs except possibly the Impala. Then the smooth fuselage cars came out while the competition big cars were carry overs. I felt the formals were the best riding handling bigs mopar ever made. With the classic look and plush interiors i figured mopar was in the game now. Then the energy crisis hit and big car sales tanked.
But next to their contemporaries the "C" bodies with few exceptions really stand out. The 57s made the GM line-up instantly look 10 yrs old. I liked the all new 65s better than anyone elses bigs except possibly the Impala. Then the smooth fuselage cars came out while the competition big cars were carry overs. I felt the formals were the best riding handling bigs mopar ever made. With the classic look and plush interiors i figured mopar was in the game now. Then the energy crisis hit and big car sales tanked.
I haven't met a Forward Look or a C-Body that I didn't like!
That includes the wayward D's lost in the mix too!
That includes the wayward D's lost in the mix too!
To each his own mate.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
You know that the industry went through the "fin wars" in mid to late fifties. And many of us are endeared to those fins 60 years later.
I just saw a '17 Corolla. Todays equivalent of the 50's Biscayne. The nose in this ugly disgusting Corolla is now caught up in the current "snout wars".
Will today's 10 year old be as endeared to that snout as us 10 year olds from the late fifties are now endeared to the fin?
Will they see that snout as the epitome of a certain art form and make them nostalgic for the 2017 cars?
When I saw the snout on that '17 Corolla, I could not believe how hideous it was in person. Probably like some old men in hats in the 50's when they saw a finned car.
I just saw a '17 Corolla. Todays equivalent of the 50's Biscayne. The nose in this ugly disgusting Corolla is now caught up in the current "snout wars".
Will today's 10 year old be as endeared to that snout as us 10 year olds from the late fifties are now endeared to the fin?
Will they see that snout as the epitome of a certain art form and make them nostalgic for the 2017 cars?
When I saw the snout on that '17 Corolla, I could not believe how hideous it was in person. Probably like some old men in hats in the 50's when they saw a finned car.
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I still vividly remember when Chrysler introduced the slab side 1965 Chrysler 300L and it was a car that I really liked. I liked best the front end styling and the cantilever roofline and the rest of the car was well done too. The 1965 Chrysler line was introduced in 1965 with the tag line: "The Most Beautiful Chrysler Ever Built". While I may not have felt that stongly, it was a nice looking design to me. But every other slab, except the 1964-66 Imperial that I liked for its uniqueness and nice overall clean design and elegance for a luxury car, never even seemed like anyone in styling cared to make something great - more a combination of different gee gaws such as sharp snouts or body side extensions at the rear and wrap around tail lights on some models. I really lost my enthusiasm for all other C body Chrysler products from 65 - 68 as I felt they were just boring and run of the mill designs (yawn). Rather, I prefer designs that evoke emotion, good or bad as long as there is some effort at being tasteful and not just weird. But I did feel the slabs had integrity of design and a solidity that was exceptional.
The formals to me were just an effort to copy previous GM big car designs and some Fords like the Lincoln, and were themes to me that were well worn by then, and unlike the slabs, the integrity of the Formals hit a new low as Chrysler cut costs everywhere just before they went bankrupt circa 1980. And I was there with Chrysler in the last years before the bankruptcy of 1980 and sadly watched it all happen. It was very predictable as Chrysler hopelessly tried to copy GM and Ford designs that were outdated and tried to cut costs even more than especially GM had managed to do, and the cars were always needing service that the company owned, way before they should have. But styling is a matter of opinion, and there is no "wrong" answer as a result at least to me. We all react to overall appearance differently it seems.
The formals to me were just an effort to copy previous GM big car designs and some Fords like the Lincoln, and were themes to me that were well worn by then, and unlike the slabs, the integrity of the Formals hit a new low as Chrysler cut costs everywhere just before they went bankrupt circa 1980. And I was there with Chrysler in the last years before the bankruptcy of 1980 and sadly watched it all happen. It was very predictable as Chrysler hopelessly tried to copy GM and Ford designs that were outdated and tried to cut costs even more than especially GM had managed to do, and the cars were always needing service that the company owned, way before they should have. But styling is a matter of opinion, and there is no "wrong" answer as a result at least to me. We all react to overall appearance differently it seems.
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70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
Totally agree Stan. They are "copy cat" models....and they seem to be aiming for an "aggressive" type of look to them. Sorta like the same mind set as was used with fins. Different century; same nonsense.
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
I love the "fuselage" desisn becuase I feel they represented a total departure from the past: slab side cars that have very tall roof lines and long flat sides with huge trunk space areas, and of course a complete 180 degree turn away from those god awful fins and all the ticky tacky stuff that Chrysler affixed to the car bodies (wut possible use is there in a model air plane stuck at the end of the hood, or rifle sight brake lights, horrific front grills and garish color schemes). The fuselage cars are big cars no doubt, even by that eras standards..but they have a low and fleet look to them, chrome loop bumpers that neatly incorporate headlights, and with little or no encumberances tacked on to the bodies. Its just a more honest design IMHO. The designers had thier party with the fin cars and are now sober by the time the fuselage cars were being concieved. Some of the fuselage design ques live on today, but I have yet to see huge fins juting up behind a mass marketed passenger car. If I look out in the parking lot where I live I cannot see one fin, on anything...yet I can see plenty cars that have some of the design elements from the fuselage cars. Why? cause in my opinion it makes sense. I know they look "purty" to some (which is ok) but in my eyes Fins just dont make any sense. An all out assault on common sense. Observe: the differences are undeniable. One makes sense, the other...well not so much.
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70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
Here we can see EXACTY what Chryco corp designers were thinking...the progression of design philosophy.....the past, the present (at 1970), the future. Note the lack of ANY non functional elements on the hood or in the grill....in fact there doesnt appear to be a "grill" in the 70X design protype. Yes, only prototype..but IMHO it shows whut they were thinking (designers). Stark, clean lines. Function, function and funtion....nothing else. There is pure, profound beauty to be found in nothingness. The one element that takes away from hood design of the 70X IMO is that prominent "pontiac" beak like hood. The beak is a mistake In my eyes. It should be completely flat, unless that serves a purpose, which I doubt. Fuselage car hoods are flat, so I dont know where that comes from (the curse of exner?).
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I'll take this one out of the three.
Everyone views change differently. My generation loves 1969's Dart's.
Some were shocked when they saw a 1960 Dart.
Not me....I thought both are very cool!
Some were shocked when they saw a 1960 Dart.
Not me....I thought both are very cool!
Pete Kaczmarski
Senior Member
Hmmmm...I don't know what car shows or places you go but I will take my finned Imperial to any slab side car you have.
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
thats a HUGE difference.
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
Well first off...I dont have a slab car. And I do make it to a few shows here and there....Chryslers at Carlise for example..multiple times.
Second although its nice to stroll around looking at cars all day or sitting behind a bumper...I guess Im more of a pure enthusiast..in that I much more prefer driving my car as well as spinning my own wrenches when required. Prob 10% car shows, 90% driving and trips. Nothing beats sitting behind a wide flat hood, throttle down and big block singing to me.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Nobody that is 10 Y.o. is going to be nostalgic about that. The technology will be soooo dated by the time they have a lick of disposable income, and cars just don't pull through like they did years ago. They are truly a appliances, sure I'm sure some people collect old toasters because of art Deco and such but dishwashers and microwaves nobody is looking for.Will they see that snout as the epitome of a certain art form and make them nostalgic for the 2017 cars?
When I saw the snout on that '17 Corolla, I could not believe how hideous it was in person. Probably like some old men in hats in the 50's when they saw a finned car
70_NPORT
Well-Known Member
Now this is a sweet ride; and its a slabbie!
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