CBoz Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Ok, since Harley Earl is back in the news, who *was* the best car designer? Looking purely at styling, here are my top picks (in no particular order):* Bob Gregorie (of course)* Raymond Loewy (check out the early Studebaker Starliners and Avantis -- www.raymondloewy.com * Bill MitchellOther thoughts? Let the debate begin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith L. Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Well, I would definitely put Gordon Buehrig on the short list. The 810 alone should place him there. In his later years he went to work for Ford helping design the '51 Vicky and the Continental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith L. Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 More thoughts. Ettore Bugatti for his type 51, 57. Battist Pininfarino for his beautiful Ferraris. Dutch Darrin for his Parkard. Also, how about C. G. Roebling. for perhaps the most sought after classic, the Mercer Raceabout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Phil Knapp Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Probably the top designer of high production American cars would have to be E. T. (Bob) Gregorie. His designs of the late 30's - early 40's Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns were outstanding. Hundreds of thousands of his designs were produced, many of which are still on the road today. Raymond Loewy did some good designs for Studebaker, but produced some really strange stuff (take a look at how Raymond Loewy ruined a 1941 Lincoln Cntinental at: http://community.webshots.com/photo/59943417/97536327yWjrzz and http://community.webshots.com/photo/59943417/97536187JQMKBH ). Gordon Buehrig and Dutch Darrin did some beautiful designs, but all on low production cars. I have never been attracted by European cars, so I have no opinion of European designers. In my opinion, the only classic car that General Motors ever produced was the Cadillac Series 60 Special of 1938 through 1941. I don't know if Harley Earl was responsible for that or not, having never been a GM fan either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith L. Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Phil, I agree with you about E. T. Gregorie. Under the guidence of Edsel the designs of the late 30's were the pettiest of the mass produced cars,esp. the convertibles. Also the entire design team get kudos for their beautiful design of the lesser known parts on the cars, the dash, knobs, taillights etc.I have gone to many car shows and concours. As a small test I've asked many early Ford owners who designed their cars. I am amazed at how many do not know, yet they own that particular car because of its looks. I hate to say this but...most of these people are owners with retro engines under the hood. Also I have yet to ask a Zephyr or Lincoln Continental owner who didn't answer with Bob Gregoie. If I own a piece of art I want to know the artist who created it. Is an automobile any less than a piece of rolling art.By the way, Bill Mitchell designed the Series 60 Special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBoz Posted April 10, 2004 Author Share Posted April 10, 2004 Keith's right -- a young Bill Mitchell was responsible for the 60 series Cadillac, which is why I put him in there, not Harley!BTW, Keith, I agree with your other choices as well; it would be hard to choose among them (although I'm not a very big Darrin fan myself). I distinctly remember as a kid being wowed by a picture of Bugatti's Atlantic coupe.There must be some good designers out there now: Look at the Audi TT coupe, for example -- absolutely beautiful car. I wouldn't mind having seen something as radical as that for the new Lincoln Zephyr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBoz Posted April 11, 2004 Author Share Posted April 11, 2004 Phil -You are absolutely right about Loewy's "treatment" of the Continental. So why did he cut down the original, beautiful grill for that little square one? From his biography, http://www.raymondloewy.com/about/bio2.html:In 1961, while designing the Avanti, Loewy posted a sign that said, "Weight is the enemy." The Avanti design eliminated the grill, which he argued, "In this age of fuel shortages you must eliminate weight. Who needs grills? Grills I always associate with sewers."So now we know the rest of the story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
48LCCOUPE Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Raymond Loewy did some good designs for Studebaker, but produced some really strange stuff (take a look at how Raymond Loewy ruined a 1941 Lincoln Cntinental at: http://community.webshots.com/photo/59943417/97536327yWjrzz and http://community.webshots.com/photo/59943417/97536187JQMKBH ). Phil, I'm confused. Did Loewy do this sort of uh, thing away from his job as an expression as in a hobby? I'm not familiar with these people and their stories, but I do know about Loewy and Avanti. The continental you mention seems a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_V12Bill Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Loewy ruined 2 41 coupes. One was built for his use on the East coast and one for the West coast. Both were slightly different and different colors I think. Both still exist. I hope he didn't ruin a third car for Mid-west use.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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