When Ford's Falcon Got a Sporty Hardtop

Ford's Falcon introduced for 1960 was the most successful new American "compact" car, as I posted here.

For 1962 it was decided to enhance the line by adding a sportier Futura series.  This was further upgraded for 1963 -- the last year for the original body -- by marketing convertible and hardtop versions.  Some background can be found here.

The Futura hardtop is illustrated below.

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The original 1960 Ford Falcon 4-door sedan.

Rear quarter view, Owls Head auction photo.

Side view of a two-door Falcon.  This was the basis for the hardtop version.

The 1963 Falcon Futura hardtop coupe, Barrett-Jackson auction photos.  The new top design is more angular than the rest of the car, which has a more rounded look.  But the rounded parts of all Falcons were counterpoised by strong horizontal character lines, allowing the top to blend better.

Another horizontal element is the decorative spear trim on the side.

Rear quarter view.  The aft end is the same as regular Falcons aside from the Futura name and chrome strip.  This view shows off the new top best.

But Futura's top was not exclusive.  Also for 1963, Ford placed a similar top on its sporty Galaxie 500s, as can be seen in this Mecum auctions photo.

Toyota's Slowly-Growing Camry

Toyota's XV series, marketed as the Camry, has been a best-selling "standard" sedan in the USA for many years now.  And over time, those cars have become larger.  This is nothing new: for instance, I traced the growth of the Honda Civic here.

Another change has been Camry's styling.  Originally, it was uncomplicated and pleasing.  More recently, following Toyota's new styling direction, it has been jazzed up as a faux- racing competition car.

As an aside, I never paid much attention to Camrys until at some point in the mid-1990s I happened to rent one in Cleveland for a combination professional meeting and sales trip.  My Camry was impressively peppy both around town and on freeways.  For several days I wondered what kind of motor it had, halfway suspecting there were six cylinders under the hood.  The day I was to return the Camry to the car rental folks I pulled into a parking lot and popped open the hood.  I counted electrical leads to cylinders and came up with only four.  So it seemed that Toyota's multi-valve motor made a simple four-cylinder car perform much better than the others I'd driven over the years.  I was impressed.

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1992 - 1996
Wheelbase is 103 inches (2620 mm).  This is the first of what the Wikipedia link above calls the "wide-body" Camrys.  Styling is that of a rounded-off "three-box" package typical of the 1970s and early '80s.  The rounded edges might have been the result of wind-tunnel testing or simply might have been a gesture to aerodynamically-influenced designs elsewhere that began to appear in the mid-1980s.

1997 - 2001
Wheelbase is 105.1 inches (2670 mm).  This generation Camry is a styling transition to later generations that tended to have similar design characteristics.  Its general appearance is of the "soft" school of aerodynamic styling featuring few sharp, straight, angular details.

2002 - 2006
Wheelbase is 107.1 inches (2720 mm).  Now the Camry has a more crisp look that I find difficult to criticize.  It's not exciting or gorgeous, nor it it likely to ever be considered a design classic.  It's just very competently done.  Do note the doors and their windows -- later Camrys will have very similar ones.

2007 - 2011
Wheelbase is 109.3 inches (2776 mm).  Although given a different XV number, this generation Camry has doors and side windows that seem the almost the same as those seen in the previous image.  (Aft door cut lines seem identical.)  The rear is more rounded, but the frontal details are close to those that appeared for 2002.

2012 - 2017
Wheelbase is 109.3 inches (2775 mm).  This Camry has the same wheelbase as the previous version.  Again, there is great similarity in the doors and windows, though they are not exactly the same.  The roof profile is slightly different.

2018 -
Wheelbase is now 11.2 inches (2820 mm).  And the doors and side windows differ from the 2002-2017 style.  The overall design is tending towards fussy ugliness.

Chrysler's Flightsweeps: Promoting Tailfins Without Serious Fins

Two interesting Chrysler Corporation concept cars that are little-known today were the 1955 Flightsweep I convertible and Flightsweep II coupe.  They were designed in Detroit and built on DeSoto chassis' by Ghia in Italy.  And they apparently were powered by Chrysler V-8 motors.

There are few photos of these cars on the Internet and little information, though some can be found here.

The Flightsweeps debuted in August of 1955, shortly before the 1956 Corporation product line sporting small tailfins was announced.  They were part of a plan to prepare potential buyers for the tailfins that were the coming thing, so far as Chrysler was concerned.

What I find interesting is that these Maury Baldwin- designed cars didn't actually have raised tailfins.  But they looked like they had them.  And that was what mattered.

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Side view of a 1955 DeSoto Firedome hardtop coupe for sale.  This represents the Chrysler line at the debut of the Firesweeps.

Mecum auction photo of a 1957 DeSoto hardtop coupe, the first year of serious Chrysler Corporation tailfins (1956 was a transition model year where small fins were grafted onto the '55's rear fenders).  This was the sort of design the Firesweeps were preparing the public for.

The Firesweep II in profile.  Note that the rear fender extension of the beltline is essentially horizontal: not a true tailfin.  What gives the car a tailfin feeling seen from the side is the two-tone paint design on the car's sides, especially the aft uptake of green paint ending in a slightly raised fender segment.  If that segment can be called a tailfin, it would have to be a near-microscopic one.

Front three-quarter view.  The hoods above the headlights add both physical and visual length to the car, especially when seen from the side.  From the point of view of this image, they detract from the Flightsweep's appearance.

A spread from a brochure that can be considerably enlarged by clicking on it.  Note the background view of the car's rear.  The sloped trunk lid reveals the inside of the right rear fender.  Here we find something that seems fin-like, but nothing like the tall fins seen on most Chrysler Corporation cars of the late 1950s.

Finally, a rear-quarter view of the Firesweep I, providing another perspective on the tailfins.  Here they do seem fin-like, but if the car had a normal, more raised trunk, they would disappear.

American Motors' Sawed-Off Models

A while ago I wrote a post titled "General Motors' Chopped-Off 1978s."  It had to do with the need to downsize cars for better fuel economy following the 1973 oil crisis.  The subject was new-design cars having what looked like reduced rear overhang from what might have been longer design proposals.

But a few years earlier American Motors marketed two models that were actual shortened versions of larger cars.  This was a comparatively inexpensive way of expanding its product line.

The first was the 1968 AMX, a two-seat version of its new '68 Javelin, a sporty car influenced by the success of Ford's Mustang.

In the Spring of 1970 AMC introduced the Gremlin, that looked like a (literally) sawed-off version of its 1970 Hornet that appeared in 1969.

The AMX had modest sales, its two seats making it a specialized version of what was essentially a niche product.  It since has become something of a cult car.  The Gremlin sold surprisingly well.  More than 670,000 were made during its nine model-year run.

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The top (Barrett-Jackson) photo is of a 1968 AMX, the lower is a "for sale" photo of a '68 Javelin.  The cars are basically the same from the B-pillars forward, and the AMX appears to share some aft-end sheet metal with the Javelin.  I plan to write more about these cars in a later post.  As for dimensions, their respective wheelbases are 97 in. (2464 mm) and 109 in. (2769 mm).  Lengths are 177 in. (4491 mm) and 189.2 in. (4806 mm).  About an English foot difference in both cases.

The upper photo (unknown source) is of a 1971 Gremlin, the lower image is of a 1972 Hornet two-door (there also was a four-door version).  Again, the design surgery was at the B-pillar.  But abaft of there, the Gremlin has unique styling.  Dimensions are: respective wheelbases 96 in. (2438 mm), 108in. (2743 mm); lengths 161.3 in. (4097 mm), 179.3 in. (4554 mm).  In English units, the Gremlin wheelbase is one foot shorter and its length a foot and a half so.

Chrysler Corporation's 1954 Facelifts

While Chrysler Corporation was readying its soon-to-be-successful 1955 redesign, it was in a serious downwards sales spiral.  Its 1949-52 postwar redesign was not stylish, and Ford Motor Company edged ahead of it in total sales.  Chrysler's 1953 redesigned line was more attractive, but its biggest sellers, Plymouths and Dodges, became smaller while the American industry trend was to larger cars.  DeSotos, Chryslers and Chrysler Imperials were based on a body that carried features General Motors cars had been using since 1948.

Model year 1954 saw the corporation's sales dive, continuing its slide in market share.  GM had introduced redesigned Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs that looked futuristic due to their wraparound windshields.  Chrysler's line looked dowdy by comparison.

Even so, Chrysler had made the effort to facelift its new 1953 designs in order to make them as appealing as possible while awaiting new styling boss Virgil Exner's 1955s.  As mentioned, that effort didn't pay off, though it's possible sales might have been even worse had nothing much been done for '54.

Below are examples of front-end styling for 1953 and 1954 Chrysler Corporation brands.  Fronts were where most of the facelift effort was made.

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1953 Plymouth Cranbrook Convertible - Mecum auction photo

1954 Plymouth Belvedere
The grille bars and turn indicator lights were rearranged and side trim was altered.  Plymouth grille designs for both years were different from the early-1950s norm.  The '53 version's theme is more coherent, but I suspect potential buyers might have expected both more artistry and convention.

1953 Dodge Coronet - factory photo

1954 Dodge Royal Convertible - Mecum photo
Redesigned grille fitting in the same opening, plus flipped side trim.  The 1953 grille design was a variation on a theme established for 1951.  This too was non-mainstream.  The 1954 design is more conventional, that central knob hinting at the 1955 design having a central hood prow flanked by openings.

1953 DeSoto Sportsman - Mecum photo

1954 DeSoto Firedome Sedan
DeSoto's grille teeth were restyled and the opening enlarged.  Reshaped bumper.  Once again, side trim was changed.  The vertical bars theme was a strong one, though also used by Buick and Mercury at various times.  I consider the '54 DeSoto's the most effective of these various facelifts.

1953 Chrysler New Yorker Convertible - Mecum photo

1954 Chrysler New Yorker Newport
Grille restyled, new headlight assemblies, new bumper and side trim for Chryslers.  The new grille design is an improvement because it is stronger than the previous one.

1953 Chrysler Imperial Sedan - factory photo

1954 Chrysler Imperial Newport - Mecum photo
The Chrysler Imperial was to become a separate brand for 1955.  Before that, its styling was made increasingly distinct from that of lesser Chryslers.  Its '54 facelift was in line with the other brands: new grille, bumper and side trim.  The 1953 grille was a somewhat weak, sunken affair, so almost any change would have improved it.
Unless otherwise noted, photos are of cars listed for sale by car brokers.

Phantom Corsair as Movie Star

Time for another change of pace.  I wrote about ketchup heir Rust Heinz's Cord-based Phantom Corsair here.  In that post I noted that the car played the role of the Flying Wombat brand in the 1938 comedy movie "Young in Heart".

I found a few marginal-quality outtake images from the film on the Web and thought it might be amusing to post them.

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This seems to be a publicity photo including the Flying Wombat, Paulette Goddard and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

View of the Flying Wombat showroom.  It's a matte shot, most of the background being painted.  The cars are either painted or altered photos.

Showroom scene.

These showroom scenes include a diagram view of the car in the background.

MGB - The Modernized MG Sports Car

Probably more than any other car, it was the MG that sparked the USA's postwar interest in sports cars.  Although the styling of those MG TC and MG TD Midgets was decidedly prewar, they were in most other ways also very different from the Chevrolets and Fords that dominated street scenes in the very late 1940s and early 1950s.  Besides being different, they were fairly affordable compared to the likes of Jaguar XK120s.

Whereas TCs were rather spindly looking, the TDs seemed more substantial.  They too eventually needed modernization, so the TF, which I wrote about here, was introduced.  There was a limit to how many model years prewar styling would be viable in the American market, even for a sports car.  So for 1955 the redesigned MGA was introduced.  I posted about it here.  The A received a new frame along with the new body, but its wheelbase was the same as the T-series MG just mentioned -- 94 inches (2,388 mm).

The MGA proved to be a short-lived transitional model.  It was replaced by the MGB, a considerably modernized design using a unit-body instead of body-and-frame construction.  Its wheelbase was slightly shorter at 91 inches (2,312 mm).  Its length was 153 inches (3,886 mm), again shorter than the MGA at 156 inches (3,962 mm), whereas the older TF was 147 inches (3,734 mm) long.

The MGB was long-lived, versions remaining in production as late as 1980.  However, it was long out of date stylistically and engineering-wise by that time.

The images below feature an early B from 1963 that was advertised for sale.  A few photos of previous MGs are included for context.

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The MG TF, last of the old breed.  Go to the TF link above for a discussion of its styling.

Factory photo of the MGA.  Its styling was in line with sports car fashions of the early '50s.

And this is the MGB.  No more distinct rear fenders.  More of a panoramic windshield.  The traditional MG grille design is now strongly horizontal.  Headlights are inset slightly from the front of the car in contrast to the protruding ones on the MGA.  All-in-all, frontal styling is good, although the long chrome strip on the side of the car awkwardly extends too far forward.  I award demerits for its touching of the headlight rim and the front wheel opening.  Better it should have terminated about a third of the way between the opening and the leading door cut line.

Again, consider the position of the side strip.  If it were shortened, its leading section should also be lowered a little, making it truly horizontal.

Side-view comparison with an MGA.  The driver's seating position has been moved forward a bit, a good thing.  This also allows more trunk room, making the car more practical.

To my way of thinking, the rear of the car is its greatest styling weakness.  The fender line becomes rather boring by that point -- a slight bump in its profile would add interest.  The vertical tail light ensembles give the rear a slightly pinched appearance.  I would terminate them at about the level of the trunk lid cut line.  These tail lights were also used on the new MG Midget announced in the summer of 1961, and were used on both cars as an economy measure.

Dodge, Typical 1941 American Car

By the 1941 model year, mainstream American cars had reached an important milestone in the design evolution from boxy bodies with discrete elements (headlights, hoods, fenders, etc.) to integrated, envelope-bodies such as appeared on 1949 Fords.

This milestone was the elimination of awkwardness.  Body components were now largely integrated and overall shapes were rounded as a gesture (as well as a little reality) toward aerodynamic efficiency -- "streamlining" was the catchword of the day.  But the key 1941 distinction was that shapes and details, including ornamentation, were in synch.  Some brands attained this before 1941, and by that year almost all brands had followed into line.

This post features what I'm calling a "typical" 1941 brand: Chrysler Corporation's Dodge.  Why Dodge?  For one thing it was a lower-middle market level brand -- not an inexpensive entry-level car, nor a high-priced fancy one, inaccessible to an average car buyer.  It was not a product of a minor firm that might have lacked product development funds, especially as the Great Depression was finally ending: it was essentially state-of-the-art from an engineering standpoint.  It was not a Ford product, Fords being industry engineering laggards in many respects.  Nor was it a General Motors brand, GM being the style leader.  So Dodges represent a kind of happy medium.  Chrysler Corporation was engineering-dominated and prosperous.  Dodge styling was in line with current fashions.

Below are photos of '41 Dodges up for sale.  The black six-window car is a Dodge Custom Town Sedan that was offered for auction by Mecum.  The two-tone four-window Dodge Luxury Liner 4-door sedan was offered for sale by Specialty Sales.  Click on the images to enlarge.

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The Dodge Custom Town Sedan.  Fenders were still somewhat separate items in 1941, yet more far more integrated than those of cars of a decade before due to the high, wide catwalk between the wheels and the hood.  Some Dodges still had exposed running boards, unlike many other '41s.  The grille design was in the newly fashionable horizontal mode, headlights had moved to the edges of the front fenders.  This body was introduced across the Chrysler line for 1940.

In those days, stylists usually paid little attention cars' rear ends, so these tended to be rather plain, as seen here.  Chrysler Corporation cars featured a brake light positioned on the trunk lid above the license plate.  Back windows were given curved glass, the rest had flat glass -- common 1941 practice.

Sides views showing open and shut doors.  Six-window Chrysler products had latches fitted to B-pillars, so back-seat doors were hinged at the rear.  Note the position of the steering wheel and its column.

The driver's compartment.  Not really seen is the bench-style front seat common on American cars through the 1950s.  Fabric covering on doors and the seat is typical for 1941 -- fine, fuzzy texture and bland colors.

The instrument panel has a somewhat symmetrical layout in that the instruments on the left could in theory (and in practice, for all I know) be swapped with the clock and glove box on the right when exported to countries with right-hand drive.  The center has the radio speaker and those buttons to its left are for station selection.  This car's steering wheel ensemble contains a horn ring; my father's '41 Pontiac's horn was activated by small buttons on steering wheel spokes.  Note the steering wheel column-mounted gear selector, a fashionable feature.  It eliminated a floor-mounted shift that interfered with a passenger seated in the middle of the bench; the idea was to claim six-passenger seating as a marketing feature.  The disadvantage of column shifts was that connections were wobbly, not as precise as floor-mounted versions.

The Dodge Luxury Liner.  Its rear doors are hinged on the B-pillars, a safer arrangement.  This model has a fancier interior than that of the Custom Town Sedan.  The running board is partly sheathed.

View of the 1941 Dodge grille.

The four instruments at the left next to the partly hidden speedometer are for fuel level, water temperature, oil pressure, and battery -- not necessarily in that order.  The fabrics on the seats and door panels are more richly textured and colorful than usual for 1941.

The rear passenger compartment is also fancy from a fabric standpoint.  On the other hand, those grab straps were common then, as were the robe cord and ash tray mounded on the back of the front seat.  There should be a window crank on the door, but it seems to be missing.

The trunk is typical for '41.  The vertical spare tire placement allows access with lesser disturbance of carried items than would be the case for a spare being hidden under the floor.  This also potentially freed up space for the gas tank.