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Jul 25, 2016 16:22:03 GMT
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Of course, it would be very un-RR of me to say "eeww i h8 dat design" so let's say I find the designs style of those retro American cars "engaging" and "original". It is, though, to be fair, very distinctive, and as form of pop culture, very interesting. The cars I talk about, of course are those enormous american sedans, especially the "space age" ones like this or the infamous Continental or They have really distinctive designs, and I wonder if they have a specific name? I also wonder what brought them about? How did they go from to lots of space age cars? Just curious really. Thanks for any replies in advance!
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her
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Porsche
West Midlands
Kev from B'ham.
Posts: 4,725
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Jul 25, 2016 17:34:27 GMT
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You need to put [img*][*/img] at the ends of you photo links to get them to appear in your posts. (Omiting the *s).
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Last Edit: Jul 25, 2016 17:35:40 GMT by Porsche
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Jul 25, 2016 17:46:55 GMT
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changed
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her
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Darkspeed
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,702
Club RR Member Number: 39
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Jul 25, 2016 19:49:03 GMT
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1. Concept cars 2. Imagination and competition - arms race, space race, just plain old trying to out do the competition.
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Jul 25, 2016 20:53:24 GMT
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It was the time of the "race to space" and there was huge public interest in rocketry,aliens and all that sort of thing.It didn't just influence cars that looked like rockets and ray guns but much more mundane items like desk lamps and fans etc.
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Jul 25, 2016 21:02:54 GMT
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Ahhh makes sense. Thanks guys
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her
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Jul 25, 2016 21:15:21 GMT
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You just need to take this styling with a big pinch of salt, this was automobile styling at it's most outrageous. If you were a Yank in the 1960's you drove a 25 foot long chromium plated juke box which did 7mpg & had tailfins which would make the Saturn rockets feel underdressed. I think they're fabulous. This one has a UFO-style bubble cabin;
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Jul 25, 2016 22:44:45 GMT
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Is this not more jet age? I associated space age with Pontiac TranSport and Syd Mead designs. TBH just looking for an excuse to post these pics.
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Click picture for more
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Jul 25, 2016 23:28:54 GMT
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The jet age was more the late 40s into the early 50s. That's when you'd find exhaust vents of the sides of buicks and little turbines on mercury bumpers. Even the names... skylark was a plane. As was thunderbird. Fifties into the 60s was space age and saw names like galaxie and rocket, and the styling to match. Obviously a lot of overlap bit not the same, not quite.
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Jul 25, 2016 23:31:50 GMT
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Ahhh Yeah figures, actually.
Those Americans, 'eh? They sure know how to pull off a good show.
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her
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I believe that GM designer Harley Earl based the original tail fins on the Lockheed P38 Lightning, fighter plane. From this:- To this:- 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. From there on it was an inevitable process of one-upmanship. To my mind the most extreme example of American styling must be the 1961 Imperial which trumps (that verb suddenly takes on a new meaning now ) even the imfamous '59 Cadillac Eldorado. ("interesting" side note, the Chrysler Imperial had a squarish/funny shaped steering wheel 10 years before the Austin Allegro.)
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mk14dr
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 4,472
Club RR Member Number: 85
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Jul 27, 2016 21:54:40 GMT
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morrisoxide
Part of things
It's just a question of style
Posts: 444
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I thought I was going to retch seeing people post more pictures of these cars but I'm actually starting to enjoy it.
Sorry if I missed something since I last read it but why were American cars soooo big? There were very few european cars that even could be compared in size. A big car to me, like the XJ series 1, looks quite small compared to these! (EDIT: I just thought of the Aston Martin Lagonda, but that was quite ahead in the future compared to this)
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I have a Jaguar XJS - RARRGHH! She is called Lily, and she is my best friend! goo.gl/bT3ASP <-- video of her
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Jul 28, 2016 10:19:42 GMT
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Rebuilt the 390cubic inch on that with my Dad a few years back.
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mk14dr
Yorkshire and The Humber
Posts: 4,472
Club RR Member Number: 85
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Jul 28, 2016 10:20:39 GMT
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Because the country is so big.
The distances between towns and cities are vast compared to most of Europe. If you're travelling that sort of distance for days at a time you don't want to be couped up in an AD016 or even a Farina. In the late 50/early 60s the freeways/interstates were all but complete, combine that with fuel so cheap it was a fraction of the price per gallon than in the UK then the question would be why not build audaciously, ostentatiously big cars?
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Jul 28, 2016 10:45:42 GMT
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I thought I was going to retch seeing people post more pictures of these cars but I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Sorry if I missed something since I last read it but why were American cars soooo big? There were very few european cars that even could be compared in size. A big car to me, like the XJ series 1, looks quite small compared to these! (EDIT: I just thought of the Aston Martin Lagonda, but that was quite ahead in the future compared to this) As you might have guessed by my user name I've got a bit of a thing for the Jaguar Mk X. Jaguar realised that the key to biggest potential sales was North America where sales were already reasonably healthy, how to improve them? Design a quintessentially British car around the American consumer - the Mark Ten Jaguar, (later rebadged as the 420G). I don't think they got the type of sales they'd hoped for unfortunately but the result was a car with the look & ambience of a Jag and the space you'd expect of a moderately sized US saloon car, (gasoline then cost the equivalent of 11p a gallon so they didn't care a hoot about fuel consumption figures). The Mk X didn't set America alight but it also never really took off in the UK either, at 6'6" wide and just under 17' in length, I think that it still holds the record for being the widest production saloon made in the UK, it wasn't comfortable on British roads of the time, (think mainly twisty country lanes & A roads rather than the M6). US car design was:- Unconstrained by space; they had big multi-lane roads throughout all states, towns & cities. Unconstrained by fuel consumption; they were pumping their own crude oil as fast as they could, gasoline was plentiful & cheap. Unconstrained by what we in the UK would have regarded as 'good taste' of the time. Why did they build their cars soooo big? Because they could!Have a tail-fin off the DeSoto Adventurer I recently saw at a car show; Pembrey Show 2016
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Last Edit: Jul 28, 2016 10:49:07 GMT by MkX
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79cord
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,608
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Jul 28, 2016 10:49:14 GMT
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Yep, a highly competitive market trying to outdo itself & 'Wow' buyers, with annual facelifts from all competitors. Even the Americans new they were excessive as the Beetle & other European brands came to have an impact upon the market, & their 'compacts' introduced for '59/60 with the Studebaker Lark, Chev Corvair, Ford Falcon, Dodge Dart. Not to mention Ford US selling Cortinas & GM Opels But though diversifying with smaller offerings throughout the '60's, the BIG cars still stayed that way well into the 70's even if the style wasn't as ostentatious. A favourite & significantly influential design 1953 Studebaker Starliner, large enough that they had to use their 'stationwagon' landcruiser chassis.
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Last Edit: Jul 28, 2016 13:12:41 GMT by 79cord
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Jul 28, 2016 15:15:21 GMT
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I thought I was going to retch seeing people post more pictures of these cars but I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Sorry if I missed something since I last read it but why were American cars soooo big? There were very few european cars that even could be compared in size. A big car to me, like the XJ series 1, looks quite small compared to these! (EDIT: I just thought of the Aston Martin Lagonda, but that was quite ahead in the future compared to this) Because our roads tended to look like this. Turning and stopping just weren't considered. Soaking up bumps getting you and your large family to your destination in comfort was all that mattered at the time
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Jul 28, 2016 15:47:36 GMT
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I'm glad someone's posted a picture of the 1953 Studebaker above because it helps to illustrate the arms race culture in American car design. By 1957 that basic Studebaker design had been corrupted into this:- Studebaker's marketing people had to go along with the fashion just because everyone else was doing it (and they couldn't afford to design a totally new bodyshell) so the original Raymond Lowey design, genuinely different from other American cars of the time, was spoiled. The same basic car was also used for the last of the Packard marque. And even as someone who loves 50s american cars, I struggle to say anything nice about these.
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