JamesR Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Charles Phoenix doesn't seem to be a car person in exactly the same way that many people on this forum are car people, but he has a deep appreciation for the styling of cars from the mid fifties into the earlier sixties. His interest in cars seems to be part of a broader interest in mid-20th century Americana, architecture and pop-culture, but I love the cars he looks at on his youtube channel. He might come across as slightly odd, but I like his appreciation and enthusiasm for automotive styling. This Polara, is very cool I think, and sort of illustrates why old station wagons have become so popular. When done up stock, or at least as original as possible, they can be pretty spectacular. Charles Phoenix Joyride - 1960 Dodge Polara Station Wagon - YouTube 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Beautiful car, James, and thanks for sharing the video! To me, it's amazing that designer Virgil Exner could come up with beautiful cars, such as this, the 1955 Imperial, the 1956 Chrysler, etc., and then design atrocious cars such as the 1961 DeSoto, 1962 Dodge, and even worse proposals that never made it to fruition. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 You are only odd if you cannot afford it. If you can, it is "eccentric". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 8 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said: To me, it's amazing that designer Virgil Exner could come up with beautiful cars, such as this, the 1955 Imperial, the 1956 Chrysler, etc., and then design atrocious cars such as the 1961 DeSoto, 1962 Dodge, and even worse proposals that never made it to fruition. Is it possible that the guy who perfected the tail fin came up against a powerful "no more fins" contingent at Chrysler, and tried adapt his ideas to incompatible styling parameters? Same thing happened when the Rolling Stones tried to play disco (of sorts) in the late 1970's...failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 I think Mr. Exner lost his ability to distinguish beauty from ugliness. A while ago, we discussed his proposed asymmetrical designs, which are pictured in this thread (below) and which I think are the absolute ugliest things ever to come from a designer! https://forums.aaca.org/topic/333863-article-on-virgil-exners-asymmetrical-car-designs/?tab=comments#comment-1935577 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 In 1960 we lived in Princeton NJ where my friends parents had one of those in a Champagne color. I loved it then and have never found a set of those wheel covers. Thanks for the memories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 2 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said: I think Mr. Exner lost his ability to distinguish beauty from ugliness. A while ago, we discussed his proposed asymmetrical designs, which are pictured in this thread (below) and which I think are the absolute ugliest things ever to come from a designer! https://forums.aaca.org/topic/333863-article-on-virgil-exners-asymmetrical-car-designs/?tab=comments#comment-1935577 Exner was having a Mannerist crisis, just like Michelangelo did, losing his touch for finesse and delicacy in design. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now