Exner's ugliest design

pwd72s · 08:52 AM

https://journal.classiccars.com/2021/09/18/pick-of-the-day-1961-dart-phoenix-d-500-convertible-rare-piece-of-dodge-history/

A hodge podge of poorly designed body pieces that were somehow forced together. The only thing I like about the exterior of that car is the flipper hubcaps.

However, if I was driving that thing back in 1961? I'd have to pop the hood to "check the oil" at every gas stop...just to watch the pump jockey's eyes widen and hear the sharp intake of breath as his eyes fell on those lovely cross ram intake manifolds.

masraum · 02-11-2024, 10:33 AM

That design is what I'd call "a risk" or "edgy". It's one of those things where some guy imagined it and it could have gone either way based on the whims of society. Just the right person responding to it with "genius!" could have made it successul. But yeah, not my thing for sure.

When I was 15-16 there was a big old junk yard near by. A buddy and I used to go and wander through it at times. Way in the back they had a dodge/chrysler/plymouth something that I think was from the late 40s or early 50s. Huge, rounded fenders and hood, and a V-8 with crossram intakes where the carbs set out past the valve covers like the one in your link, except that I'm pretty sure it had what I remember to be 2 small 1bbl carbs. As a teen, I thought that was REALLY cool (although it would have been much cooler with bigger carbs). I remember thinking the DZ302 camaro with the crossram 4bbl intake was also very cool.

pwd72s · 02-11-2024, 11:40 AM

Agreed..back in the day, working in the design studio of any of the "big three" has to be a high pressure job. Maybe not so much today, with most cars designed in a rolling jelly bean aerodynamics shape.

Flatbutt1 · 02-11-2024, 12:29 PM

It may have been saved with a different front end. Definitely a different grille. YMMV

HobieMarty · 02-11-2024, 02:04 PM

Yeah, I agree Virgil had a strange idea of what was stylish, take for instance the Plymouth Valiant. I always thought they were really weird cars, now I just think they are quirky looking, still weird though.

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Otter74 · 02-11-2024, 03:52 PM

1962 was peak weirdness for Dodge and Plymouth - check out the ‘62 Dart with its sort of split-level front end. The side treatments that showed up on most of the non-Chrysler cars in 1962 were previewed on the Valiant in 1960.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

Yes, Chrysler had some quirky cars in the early 60s, but they balanced it with really boring bodies in the late 60s. I’m a MoPar guy and I did not know they put those long ram intakes on 383s. Learn something every day. We owned a 62 Valiant (a prince of a car) like the one in the picture Marty posted. Red with a black interior.

Dixie · Dixie's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

A hodge podge of poorly designed body pieces that were somehow forced together. The only thing I like about the exterior of that car is the flipper hubcaps.

Yet it has more style, grace, and artistry than any modern vehicle being made today.

HobieMarty · 02-12-2024, 06:09 AM

True that!!! It may have a weird style, but at least it does have, style!!!
Concerning the front end and grill, the Ford Falcon has a similar look

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jcommin · jcommin's Garage

Everyone has their day in the sun and Exner is no different. He designed some great looking cars, including the VW Karmen Ghia and I love the 57 Chrysler 300, but he couldn't get past the fin fad. He overreached in the early 60s - his fin cars went sideways and got caught up with the rumor that the GM full size cars were going to get downsized. His 60 and 61 designs are just ugly. You can definitely see the design differences from Exner, to Engel.

He is not alone - Harley Earl suffered the same fate. There is a significant difference between the GM 58 and 59 designs. All of the GM full size cars are awful and became very dated, the Chevy being the least awful. There are a few other GM designers that were followers of Earl that couldn't get past the jet age fad.

oldE · 02-12-2024, 10:18 AM

I remember when those cars came out. The big Chrysler cars were not to my liking, but they carried off the 'look'. The compacts were too small to try to support all those disjointed fins and surface development. As a result they were just plain ugly.
Thankfully the weird design language was quickly dropped.

Best
Les

Zeke · 02-12-2024, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Yes, Chrysler had some quirky cars in the early 60s, but they balanced it with really boring bodies in the late 60s. I’m a MoPar guy and I did not know they put those long ram intakes on 383s. Learn something every day. We owned a 62 Valiant (a prince of a car) like the one in the picture Marty posted. Red with a black interior.

I actually like that car's design. The grille definitely could use a makeover but in its day that was the thing.

Cop car 383's had two 4-barrel carbs crossing over but not like that. I knew a guy that had one of those and he went through the motor and hot rodded it more. The sound of that thing was awesome.

I think he had an early X pipe so it really rattled the windows when he fired it up.

Otter74 · 02-12-2024, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcommin

Everyone has their day in the sun and Exner is no different. He designed some great looking cars, including the VW Karmen Ghia and I love the 57 Chrysler 300, but he couldn't get past the fin fad. He overreached in the early 60s - his fin cars went sideways and got caught up with the rumor that the GM full size cars were going to get downsized. His 60 and 61 designs are just ugly. You can definitely see the design differences from Exner, to Engel.

He is not alone - Harley Earl suffered the same fate. There is a significant difference between the GM 58 and 59 designs. All of the GM full size cars are awful and became very dated, the Chevy being the least awful. There are a few other GM designers that were followers of Earl that couldn't get past the jet age fad.

Exner did not design the Karmann Ghia. It is, famously, substantially a reapplication on
A smaller platform of most of the same themes of Exner’s Chrysler d’Elegance, but that interpretation was done in-house by Ghia without any clear attribution, basically collaboratively between Mario Boano, Luigi Segre, Giovanni Savonucci and whoever else.