"Flying Wedge" school of design

[Guest]

How will history (and/or the market) view the "flying wedge" school of design (Triumph TR7&8, Fiat X1/9, Pontiac Fiero, Bricklin SV1, Maserati Merak, Lotus Espirit)? Who gets the credit for pioneering this genre? Does this mark a milestone in automotive design, or is it a footnote of failure?

[Guest]

I believe Bertone originated it, such styling as you describe,particularly with reference to maserati is called"classic bertone wedge".

[Tom Deering]

I have always attributed that wedge design to Virgil Exner and his "Forward Look" that was used in his '57-'61 Chrysler Corp. products. The best examples were the DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial.<P> Now the concept impresses me as being over used and I long for the return of window sills being parallel to the ground. <P> Tom

[Guest]

I forgot to mention the DeTomaso Pantera on my list. I would expect that it has more potential as a future collectible than any of the others on the list.

[1937hd45]

I thought it ruined the looks of the Triumph when it first came out, my opinion hasn't changed in all these years.

[Peter J.Heizmann]

Do not know who originated the "wedge" design. I agree with 1937 that the TR7 & 8 ruined the traditional Triumph. The wedge design actually was the final straw that put them out of business in a nutshell.<P>The following are comments by Richard Newton in his book: "Illustrated Triumph Buyer's Guide" in chapter 12.<P>-"...it was a flying doorstop."<BR>-"Dealers were telling Leyland they wanted a simple, reliable and durable Triumph - the dealers were right." The problem was the TR7 was not simple, not reliable and anthing but durable.<P>-"A blown head gasket was a common malady".<BR>-"...the wiring was a monumental tangle that could tax the patience of a Saint."<BR>-Newton's last comment: "It may be concluded that history will prove the TR7 was a horrible mistake, dead wrong from the drawing board to the production line."<P>I read some years ago about restoring a TR7. The author's opening remark was: STEP ONE: Get an Electrical Engineering degree before proceding to STEP TWO.<P>Regards, Peter J

[Guest]

Well, we all heard the one about why the british don't have capital punishment.

[Guest]

I'm afraid this inherently fat-butted approach still lives. The Cadillac Evoq and Vison have a lot of this in them. I believe some of the original push in the late 60's/early 70's was due to perceived aerodynamic advantage. While the Exner Mopars, and their Dart showcar predecessors, have a rising side view, it's all fin and not the actual body as in the later Italian and Triumph stuff.

[Peter J.Heizmann]

split5555: <P>Interesting comment.<P>Sort of let the consumer perform the testing.<P>Regards, Peter J.

[Peter J.Heizmann]

split5555: <P>Interesting comment.<P>Sort of let the consumer perform the testing.<P>Regards, Peter J. <p>[ 03-01-2002: Message edited by: Peter J Heizmann ]

[Peter J.Heizmann]

Sorry about the double post. That's what happens when the dog wants to go out and a computer wizard returns, then, arbitrarily hits "add reply" a second time.

[Dave@Moon]

The TR7 may be the saddest story in all of automotive history. The sour taste it left in American mouths has tarnished the name Triumph to this day. Here we have a marque that bested it's chief competator (MG) in performance, prestige and sales virtually every year they were produced, yet today is far less popular and often less valuable.<P>For example, when I bought my TR6 in 1990 there had never been a model or toy produced in it's image up to that point. (A few years later that was corrected by Detail Cars and Revell by a couple of diecasts). Try to name one other <I>sports car</I> that sold nearly 100,000 units for which that's true!<P>You almost never hear of a movement to resurrect the marque the way MG was. The cars of Abingdon were sheltered during the 1970's by BL's neglect, wheras BL's baby, the Triumph, received star treatment at exactly the wrong moment. As a result Triumph became the standard bearer of all that BL had to offer the world, which was a treatise of the fruits of a completely dissaffected workforce.<P>I once gave a presentation to a serivce manager's convention on hazardous waste disposal when I was with the PA-DER. I was chosen because I was a car buff, and had just bought my TR6. I mentioned it in the presentation. One of the service managers later at the luncheon told me of his experiences during this era as manager of a Sterling (Rover) dealership service department. It was shocking. <P>They had a pechant for shorts, open circuts and dash fires which resulted from sloppy wiring behind the dash. This commonly needed to be traced and repaired. Removing the dash revealed the wiring, literally a maze of hundreds of dash wires. This would be typical of a car of that era, especially a high-end car like Sterling. One problem, however...<I><B>they were all GREEN!!</I></B> <P>Has anybody seen a Sterling recently??? <P>As for the "flying doorstop" design, I feel it was clumsily executed but clearly predictive. The goofy roofline spoiled the effect of the design, which can be better seen when viewing a convertible TR7 or TR8. These cars I feel make the design work. <P>Now if somone could only explain to me the thinking behind those ridiculous plaid seats!