Dodge's Odd 1961 Facelift

This is another "What Were They Thinking?" post.  As the title above states, the subject is how the 1960 Dodge design was reworked for the 1961 model year.  The result was not a happy one aesthetically.

It seems that Chrysler Corporation's sales were not going well.  The highly successful 1957 line with its prominent tailfin theme was becoming stale in the eyes of potential buyers.  The corporation's 1960 line was based on unit-body construction, replacing traditional body-on-frame assembly.  This made drastic facelifting more difficult and costly than before. 

Nevertheless, Chrysler planned redesigns of many of its models for 1962, so it's possible that the 1961 design was intended to be a transition to a new, non-tailfin theme.  My automobile reference library is pretty good, but lacking in information about Dodge.  Also, the Internet seems to lack detailed information on 1960-61 Dodges.  So I can't provide background on the facelift, even though plenty of resources must have been devoted to it.

The best I can do at present is discuss Dodge styling for those two model years.

Images below are of Dodges listed for sale on the internet.

Gallery

1960 Dodge Polara
This example of Dodge's top-of-the line features plenty of blingy, jazzy ornamentation.  Eliminating the (ugh!) quad headlights, the chrome swash abaft of the rear wheel opening, the tailfins, and the knock-kneed front bumper assembly, there remains a pretty clean, attractive design.

1961 Dodge Dart Phoenix
But that taut, hood / front fender shaping for 1960 was reduced to a flabby frontal theme for '61.  The front fender line is soft, having little character.  The concave grille also lacks character, though 1962 Plymouths featured similar shaping.  Those little horizontal slots along the upper and lower framing of the Dodge grille might be echoes of similar shapes on early 1950s Dodge grilles -- though that link's probably way too subtle for most folks, I suspect.

The tail fins are distinctive.  A love-'em strongly or hate-'em strongly design characteristic that meets Bob Lutz's approval.  He contended that bland does not excite potential buyers.  That said, I think the tailfins could have been eliminated, along with all the rear fender chrome and extended tail light housing, revealing an attractive car.

The unitary body construction required no serious changes to the passenger compartment zone.  Besides the flabby front end, we find that the tailfin profile has been reversed, the high point being forward instead of aft.  That reduces the fin's prominence.  But now the fin seems odd because it has no aerodynamic stability functionality.  It's simply an odd shape.

Jet fighter-like details were fashionable for 1950s-vintage American designs, especially at Ford, but also here at Chrysler.  Those prominent, extended tail light assemblies echoed by bumper detailing below, could have been an inch (25.4 mm) or so shorter.

Rear ends for 1961 received a new bumper design.  The tail lights are now tucked inboard of those strange tailfins, creating awkwardness.  The after part of the trunk lid is reshaped, while its transition to the bumper is filled by cramped detailing.  Retaining the '60 trunk design would have been better.