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Post Your All-Time Favorite Postwar Car Designs


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Any 1959-1963 Full-Size Buick or Oldsmobile<BR>Any 1957-1959 Mercury<BR>Any 1958-1960 Lincoln<BR>Any 1969-1973 Chrysler or Imperial<BR>Any 1971-1973 Full-Size Buick or Oldsmobile<BR>

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Guest BruceW

1957 Cadillac Coupe DeVille<BR>1961-1962 Chevrolet Impala SS<BR>1953-54 Mercury Monterey<BR>1953-1954 Pontiac<BR>1948 Tucker<BR>1954-57 Oldsmobile Holiday 88<BR>1957 Chevrolet Cameo<BR>

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Folks, I have to tell you about the Dodge Polaris. This is a great memory for me.<P>In 1964, two Highschool friends decided to end arguments about which car was faster: Rich's mothers 2 door, black Polaris, or, Nick's dad's 1964 Ford Galaxie convertible. Back then, we could go to Maple Grove Dragway near Reading, PA, and, for a $3.00 entrance fee, race.<P>The Polaris won, Rich received a plastic trophy, and, that was that, except...<P>Phone Rich the next day, asked what we should do, and, he responed: "I'm Grounded".<P>Turns out, we washed all the shoe polish numbers off the windows before his Mom got home, however, he proudly placed his trophy on the mantle. Mom went ballistic, asking where the trophy came from? That's a memory.

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Guest c.johnson

'53 Buick convertable (I love to see them smile!!!!) smile.gif<P>'67 Cougar XR7 cool.gif<BR>And...<BR>Anything American made, paid for, and still taken care of...<P>cj<BR>

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1. 1953 Studebaker coupes.<BR> 2. late 1950's Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Spyder<BR> 3. 1957-58 BMW 507<BR> 4. 1949-54 Jaguar XK120<BR> 5. 1957 Ford Thunderbird<BR> 6. 2001 Ford Thunderbird<BR> 7. 1968 Dodge Charger<BR> 8. 1957-62 MGA<BR> 9. 1958-66 Elva Courier<BR>10. 1958-1968 Aston Martin DB4/5/6<BR>11. 1960 Chrysler 300D<BR>12. 1956 Chrysler 300B<BR>13. 1998-up Jaguar XJ8<BR>14. 1969-76 Triumph TR6<BR>15. 1955-56 Packard (all)<BR>16. 1955 Chevy (begrudgingly)<BR>17. 1963-65 Buick Riviera<BR>18. 1993-1999 Chrysler Sebring convertible <BR>19. 2000 Chrysler PT Cruiser<BR>20. 2001 Buick Blackhawk (show car, look it up! See: <A HREF="http://www.buickclub.org/blackhawk/" TARGET=_blank>www.buickclub.org/blackhawk/</A> )

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Clincher's comments brought this to mind. A few years ago I took some parts for my 1933 to a machine shop. The owner was into old cars (mostly early model Ts but he had a total basket case of a 1916 or so Dodge). During our many conversations he often bemoaned the lack of "pre-war" parts at the local swap meets. I whole heartedly agreed because it seemed most parts I had been seeing were for 1950s and 1960s vehicles.<P>It was only later when he mentioned a swap meet being put on by a club that was only going to allow "pre-war" parts, that is parts prior to 1918. Only then did I figure out that pre-war was pre-WW1. smile.gif

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My picks (in no particular order) are<BR>1969 SS/RS Camaro convertable<BR>Any Nash Metropolitan<BR>Early XKE (coupe or conv)<BR>1967 Austin Healey 3000<BR>1946-48 Plymouth business coupe<BR>1935-40 Packard<BR>Sunbeam Tiger<BR>1970 Mach 1<BR>1948 Ford Pickup

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Some of my favorites - '57 DeSoto convertibles and hardtops with those tail fins that go on forever, Jaguar 140 and 150 roadsters in BRG, Chrysler late '40s Town & Country convertibles, '57 Chevy hardtops, the '63 & '64 Studebaker Avanti, '60 Porsches with the Super 90 package and the mid '50s Mercedes coupe with those great gullwing doors.

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Well Im kinda like Clincher - which war are you talking about? Seriously tho, I have to kinda agree on that Dodge - my late Uncle worked at Chrysler and always had something new and exciting - one day showed up to visit with a brand new shiny black 63 Polara 500 convertible - white top/interior, push-button torque-flite, and under the hood a 426 wedge! Id only had my drivers license a short time but when he tossed me the keys it was the thrill of a life-time. Another favorite was the 61 Plymouth Valient the one with the fake spare tire on the trunk lid. Think they won some kind of styling award that year. My current favorite is sitting right out in my garage tho - my 1967 GTO - gold, black vinal top, black interior, his-n-hers shifter, rally wheels, and a custom sport wood rim steering wheel. It looks great parked right along side my 1914 Model T!<BR>Terry

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  • 12 years later...

In thinking about this the old rule of thumb comes to mind that the best original designs are tough to improve upon. Some cars that come to mind include the '55 - '57 T-bird, '61 - '63 Lincoln, '64 - '66 Mustang, Series 1 Jaguar E Type, and all of the Mercedes SL series, each a fresh design rather than a facelift. The subsequent facelifts on those models, particularly the American ones IMO were not as pure as the initial design.

There are a few exceptions, the TR4 to TR6 transition comes to mind. But usually, it seems a hallmark of a great design is that it is tough to improve on.

Edited by Steve_Mack_CT
clarity (see edit history)
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1. 1953 Studebaker coupes.<BR> 2. late 1950's Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Spyder<BR> 3. 1957-58 BMW 507<BR> 4. 1949-54 Jaguar XK120<BR> 5. 1957 Ford Thunderbird<BR> 6. 2001 Ford Thunderbird<BR> 7. 1968 Dodge Charger<BR> 8. 1957-62 MGA<BR> 9. 1958-66 Elva Courier<BR>10. 1958-1968 Aston Martin DB4/5/6<BR>11. 1960 Chrysler 300D<BR>12. 1956 Chrysler 300B<BR>13. 1998-up Jaguar XJ8<BR>14. 1969-76 Triumph TR6<BR>15. 1955-56 Packard (all)<BR>16. 1955 Chevy (begrudgingly)<BR>17. 1963-65 Buick Riviera<BR>18. 1993-1999 Chrysler Sebring convertible <BR>19. 2000 Chrysler PT Cruiser<BR>20. 2001 Buick Blackhawk (show car, look it up! See: <A HREF="http://www.buickclub.org/blackhawk/" TARGET=_blank>www.buickclub.org/blackhawk/</A> )

Wow. Twelve years ago and there's almost nothing there I'd change. I might bump the Riviera for a 2nd generation Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the PT Cruiser would be bumped by a Pininfarina Ferrari or two. And somehow I managed to leave off the 1940 LaSalle coupe I've wanted since I was 10, which should have been somewhere around #9. Otherwise I wouldn't change a thing.:cool:

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Dave, I would have to say that most of my favorite (pre or postwar) designs have remained relatively constant over time as well. Left off the MG "T" series because it is really a carry over car for all practical purposes...

Pontiac '53 not sure I understand your comment - how can one's favorites be too broad or narrow? I mean, the sole criteria as I understand it is the cars be postwar and what designs you like? My list could be longer, but I just hit what was at the top.

On my list I chose to keep off non AACA eligible cars but I think there have been some very attractive cars penned in recent years as well, particularly some of the American "retros" or for a totally fresh look the Audi A-5, which I think is the perfect, modern day "personal car" - a segment that used to thrive.

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Folks' date=' I have to tell you about the Dodge Polaris. This is a great memory for me.<P>In 1964, two Highschool friends decided to end arguments about which car was faster: Rich's mothers 2 door, black Polaris, or, Nick's dad's 1964 Ford Galaxie convertible. Back then, we could go to Maple Grove Dragway near Reading, PA, and, for a $3.00 entrance fee, race.<P>The Polaris won, Rich received a plastic trophy, and, that was that, except...<P>Phone Rich the next day, asked what we should do, and, he responed: "I'm Grounded".<P>Turns out, we washed all the shoe polish numbers off the windows before his Mom got home, however, he proudly placed his trophy on the mantle. Mom went ballistic, asking where the trophy came from? That's a memory.[/quote']

The only Polaris I know of 1963 would be this one;http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Polaris-a3.jpg/300px-Polaris-a3.jpg

Are you sure about that? Perhaps you meant POLARA??? If you did mean the former, I'm sure it would have been a very wild ride indeed. Uh where would you sit?

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My personal favorite since yout has been the 1959 Facel-Vega HK-500 but I think I have gotten over wanting one. Another is the 1953 Allard Palm Beach. For a sedan, the 3/4 size 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brogham with the suicide doors. Not going into late models.

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Guest Bill Miller

First Series E-Type Jaguar drophead (convertible). Timeless lines, no contest for a production car and auction prices for a non-rare car like this bear me out. Keeping them running is another matter of course but I would love to have one sitting in my living room.

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Guest Foggy norm

56 continental, 53 studebaker hardtop (called convertable), 57 T-bird, 46 packard clipper. I liked the Matador but was oversized for the chassis.

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Guest straight shooter
My personal favorite since yout has been the 1959 Facel-Vega HK-500 but I think I have gotten over wanting one. Another is the 1953 Allard Palm Beach. For a sedan, the 3/4 size 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brogham with the suicide doors. Not going into late models.

The Facel-Vega HK-500 is one of my all time favorites. :P

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To keep my list reasonable I'm only going to mention American cars. First, with no competition, is the 1956-57 Continental but the '61-64 Continentals are also nice. Next I guess would be the Chrysler 300's going from the 1957 300C to the 1960 300F and the 1967 DeSoto Adventurer. The 1950 Chrysler Town & Country is also nice. Cadillac is lead by the 1956 convertible or Coupe deVille. For Pontiac it would be the 1957-58 Bonneville plus the 1960 convertible and the '66-67 GTO. Buicks would be the '59 convertible and 2-door hardtop and the 66-67 Gran Sport. Also, a '65 Wildcat. Oldsmobile would be almost anything from 1963-1965 plus a 1957 Ninety-Eight convertible. Ford would be a '56 or '63 Sunliner or Victoria Coupe and the '57 T-Bird. For Studebaker I will say 1953 Coupe; none others need apply. Chevy, the '58 Impala convertible and the '67 Malibu, for Corvette 1961-62. I very much admire '53-54 and '56 Mercurys and '52-55 Lincolns. One of the best and cleanest looking cars is the '53 Packard Caribbean. Outstanding station wagon designs are the '55 Chevy Nomad and the '56 Ford Parklane. The 1952-54 full-size Nash was a very nice design as was the '51-54 Packards. Both were ahead of their time.

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