Dar's and Chuck's top ten beautiful and homely cars

 

I’m writing this column in the south, enjoying 70-degree temps and observing from afar the frigid and snowy weather that engulfed the Midwest just after I departed St. Joseph.

Joining me is my good friend Chuck Hassel, a fellow car nut who grew up in the Chicago area but now resides in South Carolina.  We’ve make our visit south each January to escape the colder northern climes (well, at least I do) and, more importantly, to discuss cars.   We love all kinds of cars, be they new or old.

Chuck has been ogling cars since he was a little kid.   His education includes degrees in engineering from Purdue and product design from Art Center College in California.

I showed Chuck a copy of my last week’s column about the Hemmings Classic Car editorial with Richard Lenitello’s eight ugliest cars and my reaction to his selections.   Naturally we began coming up with ugly candidates of our own.   We agreed up with our top ten list.

We also thought it would be fun to see if we could come up with a list of the ten most beautiful cars.   It was a challenge, but we did it. 

So, behold, our list of the ten homeliest (ugly seems too cruel a word) and ten most beautiful American cars ever offered.  After each vehicle selected we have added a brief remark on why it was selected:

TEN HOMELIEST VEHICLES:

            1937 - ‘39 Willys (bug-eyed headlights and a pointed snout)

1958 Buick (massive looking, a ponderous chrome-mobile)

1958 Ford (a failed attempt to duplicate the look of the new 4-place T-bird)

            1958 Oldsmobile (see 1958 Buick above)

            1958 Packard (stacked fins and tacked-on quad headlights, a sorry end to a great marque)

            1961 DeSoto (unrelated dual grille openings, clunky-looking taillight housing)

            1961 Plymouth (cabbage grater grille with Halloween headlights that scared small children)

            1980 Ford Thunderbird/Mercury Cougar (the stylist must have lost their French curve, a box was their inspiration)

            2000 – ’05 Chevrolet Monte Carlo (a crisp design that obviously sat too long in the hot sun)

            2001 – ’05 Pontiac Aztek (not sure if it’s a van or a car but not Pontiac’s best effort)

High on many automotive lists of homely cars is the overwrought 1958 Buick, shown here in the Limited series.

           

The rather scary front end styling of the 1961 Plymouth has been said to be so ugly it scared small children.  It certainly wasn't designer Virgil Exner's best efforts.

TEN BEAUTIFUL VEHICLES:

           

            1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow (one of the first American vehicles to feature breathtaking aerodynamic lines that set it apart)

1936 Cord 810/812 (Gordon Buehrig’s Cord was a styling masterpiece, radical for its time, still eye candy today)

1939 Lincoln Continental Mk 1 (One of Edsel Ford’s best efforts, providing a must-buy luxury car for the Palm Beach set)

1953 Studebaker (Studebaker stunned American car buyers with Raymond Loewy’s European inspired design)

1955 Chevrolet (featured a Ferrari grille, V-8 power and all-new body of classic simplicity)

1960 Dodge Matador/Chrysler New Yorker (perhaps Virgil Exner, Sr.’s highest achievement and his most successful fin effort)

            1961 Lincoln Continental (award winning then, still stunning to look at)

            1966 Buick Riviera (Words like elegant, graceful and sophisticated are used to describe this Dave Holl’s masterpiece)

            1970 ½ Chevrolet Camaro (in production for 11 years, the crisp, clean  Italianate pony car was a huge favorite) 

1971 Plymouth Satellite coupe (a muscular yet elegant car, it’s bold loop bumper was a perfect compliment to the athletic car)

 This photo, taken at the Concours d'Elegance of Southwest Michigan in St. Joseph, shows me standing in front of one of Studebaker's prettiest coupes ever.  The 1953 - 54 Commander coupe was designed with input from internationally known Raymond Loewy.  Most best looking car lists include this design beauty.

Above is the iconic and great looking 1961 Lincoln Continental 4-door convertible.   Considered by many to be the finest looking Lincoln ever introduced.   Wouldn't it be great if Lincoln could return to market a Town Car-like model that has the impact of this landmark luxury model.

If you don’t recall what some of our selections look like and a photo is not shown, use your computer’s search engine and type in the year and car.  Photos galore will appear to remind you just how ugly or beautiful these cars were.

I visited the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey and spotted these great automobiles.

This pretty Mercedes had a wood IP!

A classy Mercedes

This 1958 Dodge Sierra wagon was for sale and the price was right.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time a two-tone paint stripe was ringed by chrome trim.  I've read that Virgil Exner, Sr. was responsible for this colorful option.

An Exner-designed 1961 Chrysler New Yorker convertible. 

I've always loved gold nomenclature on a white painted automobile.  A 1962 Chrysler

Pretty pre-War Cadillac with two-tone paint.

I've always loved pastel pink and white paint jobs, especially on the 1958 Edsel Citation.

Only Cadillac could get away with offering fins like this and find so many buyers.

Most people like the fastback version of the 1967 - 69 Barracuda.  But I like the coupe look too.   The concave rear window was very unusual for a low priced car.

Gorgeous custom interior on 1966 Corvair 4-door Monza

Prettiest fins on the market.  1959 Buick LeSabre

Unusual trim piece on the 1962 Dodge Polara 500

Virgil Exner seemed to love placing headlights in unusual places.

Wish today's cars could be optioned with these colors.

Capturing the art of the auto

  

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The tail fin defined the Cadillac during the fifties and none shouted Cadillac like the P-38 Lightning aircraft-inspired tailfins found on the 1948 – 1956 models.  A close-up shot of this 1955 Cadillac Eldorado iconic fin best personifies the luxury brand’s tail fin legacy.

I’ve been eyeballing automobiles since 1954.  Regardless of where I am – in a parking lot, on the freeway or on Niles Avenue – my eyes screen each car that passes by.   I can’t help it.

In the 58 years since my automotive awakening I’ve acquired a fondness for a number of the older cars once spotted on the highways.  Of late I have made an effort, when attending car shows, to capture images of these favorites with my camera at car shows.

With some cars, I like only a portion of the overall design, like the grille or the rear taillight.  So over the past many years, I’ve been drawn to photograph only a section of the vehicle in an artistic fashion.   Some have actually come out pretty nicely and can almost be consider works of art – at least to my eyes. 

I was pleasantly surprised recently when someone visited the Concours d’Elegance of Southwest Michigan’s Facebook page and wrote a complimentary remark about a photo I had posted of a 1955 Cadillac Eldorado rear quarter fender view.  I had used this particular photo when I announced the recent decision by the Concours National Advisory and Executive Boards that the Cadillac would be the featured marque in 2013 to commemorate the luxury automaker’s 110^th anniversary.

The Facebook visitor’s comment, “This picture in undeniably beautiful” made my day and got me to thinking about some of the other photos of cars that I’ve taken over the past 10 – 15 years. 

So I opened my iPhoto album – now filled with 5,452 images – and looked for my favorite pictorial “car parts,” so-to-speak.   I found a number that really ring my bell.

The aforementioned 1955 Cadillac photo is at the top of the list.   If you want a photograph of GM’s luxury division that say loud and clear “I’m a Cadillac,” then I feel this photo accomplishes the task.   I only shot the tail of the car and from slightly above.  The famous P-38 Lightning aircraft-inspired tail fins were used on the Cadillac from the 1948 original until through 1957 model.

This picture resonates even though the trunk on the vehicle in the photograph isn’t completely closed.  The strong sculptural statement of the finned taillight simply carries the day.

Another photo that garners comments when I share it is one I took many years ago while visiting Carlisle, (Pa.) Chrysler Nationals.  I’m a huge fan of Virgil Exner, Sr.’s 1955 cars that featured the “Forward Look.”  But what makes my photo of this particular Dodge notable isn’t the car’s handsome grille, but rather the dramatic effect caused by reflection in the chrome trim from the overhead stripped canvas tent.  It reminds viewers of peppermint candy and makes the photo memorable.

I often discover that shiny car surfaces make great mirrors for self-portrait.   In 2009 at Hershey, Pa., I came across a really nice black 1954 Buick Special. 

In 1954 GM introduced all-new Olds, Cadillac and Buick models.  I liked the cars a lot because they all featured the first mass-produced wraparound windshields.  Of the three GM luxury cars, I have always favored the Buick and its rear subtle fin.  When I spotted the black 1954 Special at Hershey, I had to take a photo of that fin.  The self-portrait was just a bonus.

I’m not savvy enough to use PhotoShop.   I take a photo and if it turns out great, it’s pure luck.   I attended the since-discontinued Venetian Festival car show some years back and took a photo of a nice two-tone 1955 Chevy Bel Air.  

This image isn’t quite a work of art but it captures perfectly the essence of the new, clean styling of the popular Chevy.  Most folks seem to like the 1957 Tri-Five Chevy better than the initial ‘ 55, but I’ve always been won over by the clean, pure lines of the original.  

Few cars are introduced that are perfect in every way.  With the ’55 Chevy I wouldn’t change a thing.  The 1955 Chevy is one of those perfect cars, in my opinion, and this photo shows why.  This cleanly designed, unadorned beauty represents the very best from GM’s top designer Harley Earl.

I admire all classic Packards and can understand why the luxury brand remains a favorite of serious collectors.  At Hershey this past fall I spotted a beautiful roadster from afar.   I wasn’t drawn to it because it was a Packard, but because of its beautiful color.  It shouted, “Look at me!” 

On closer inspection, I became enamored by the beautiful wheels on the 1929 automobile.   Disc-like, they were painted the same color as the car’s body.   Most importantly, in the wheel’s center, was the traditional Packard red hexagon.  This photo captures flawlessly the combination of colors and shapes that work beautifully together and pleases the eye.

Great art?  No, but it reveals perfectly the elegance of the era.

If you would like to see my photos that I’ve mentioned in today’s column in high definition, please visit my blog site at http://darscars.blogspot.com/.  I will post all the photos that I’ve mentioned.  I also welcome your comments on my blog. 

By the way, if readers use Facebook and have not yet visited the Concours d’Elegance of Southwest Michigan Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ConcoursSWMI), please do so.   And while on your visit, please “like” us.   It will keep you connected with the many activities of the fundraising event.

 Take a shiny, curved chromed surface and add color stripes from an overhead tent and you have a dramatic photograph.  This 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer was snapped by Dar at a Carlisle, Penn. Chrysler National show a few years back.

Whether up close or from afar, an automobile painted a gorgeous color will capture attention.   And none did it better than this 1929 Packard at Hershey.  Dar snapped the automobile’s wheel, capturing both the elegance of the wheel design and the stunning turquoise and red color combination.

 A 1954 black Buick Special rear fender makes for a perfect mirror to caption a self-portrait.  This photo may not be great art, but it speaks to the writer because the ’54 Buick is a favorite of his.

Both Dar’s grandfather and brother owned a 1955 Chevy.  The all-new car was one of Chevrolet’s most significant models, as it introduced not only its famous small block V-8 but also fresh, clean new styling, as shown in this rear quarter view that still looks fabulous 57 years later.

         

Remember the delightful DeSotos?

Owners George and Nancy Wuszke of Southwest Michigan own probably one of the finest and most beautiful DeSotos ever assembled.   Designed under the leadership of Chrysler VP of Design Virgil Exner, Sr, the 1957 DeSoto Adventurer was the ultimate DeSoto and highly collectible today.

In auto columns past, I have shared with readers my favorite models produced by GM's Chevrolet and Oldsmobile divisions, Ford Motor Company's Mercury and Ford Division and Chrysler Corporation's Plymouth.  I came across a stunning photo of a mid-fifties DeSoto the other day and it reminded me of how much I miss that great American automobile brand.  Methinks it is time to pick my favorite DeSotos and share my reasons for my picks with readers.

DeSoto was introduced as a new marque, along with Plymouth, by Walter P. Chrysler in 1928 just four years after he had founded Chrysler Corporation.  The Spanish explore Hernando de Soto was the inspiration for the new car's name.   The new DeSoto was created to provide competition in the mid-priced class.

In a spasm of corporate expansion that year, Walter P. also acquired the Dodge Brothers operation.  In one swell swoop, the still wet-behind-the-ears Chrysler Corporation had grown almost overnight from a one car operation (Chrysler), created from the ashes of the Maxwell Car Company, to a successful and bona fide multi-divisional competitor to the mighty General Motors.  It has been reported that if the Dodge brand had been purchased earlier in 1928, DeSoto would never have been introduced, as the two models filled nearly the same sales niche.

DeSoto's success was immediate.  It's first year sales totaled over 81,000 units and the new brand became the most successful new car ever introduced up to that time.  Following its initial success just before the Great Depression, DeSoto went on to become an important part of the Chrysler Corporation team, especially in the late 40s and the 50s when sales sometimes were equal to those of sibling Chrysler. 

I first took note of DeSotos when the all-new models were introduced in 1955 along with the other 'Million Dollar Look' Chrysler Corporation vehicles designed by Virgil Exner, Sr.  It was a beautiful automobile.  The advertising jingle created for DeSoto and heard on the popular Groucho Marx show "You Bet Your Life" really hit the spot.  The DeSotos of that era were delightful and they were delovely.

At the time, as a junior high kid, I had no idea that the popular and catchy DeSoto jingle of "It's Delightly, It's Delovely, It's DeSoto" was taken from a Cole Porter song written for the popular 1934 Broadway play "Anything Goes." (Note:  Ironically "Anything Goes" is back on Broadway in 2012)

The quickness of DeSoto's demise in the fall of 1960 after being a huge sales success in 1957 still astounds me.  Who would have guessed in 1955 - 1957 when Desoto sold very well in the mid-priced field that the brand would be gone in three short years?  Its demise can be attributed to a number of factors: the Eisenhower Recession in 1958, an overcrowded mid-priced field, highly publicized quality issues and car buyer's shift to economical and smaller vehicles at the end of the 1950s.

The all-new and highly successful 1957 finned DeSotos were rushed into production and had significant quality issues.  When the little changed 1958 models were introduced, a severe recession caused sales to plunge by more than half.  With times tough, car buyers started ignoring the large-sized DeSoto (and other mid-priced brands like Buick, Olds, Mercury as well) and started buying smaller and more economical imports and models from AMC and Studebaker.  It didn't help either that DeSoto and Chrysler models were nearly exactly the same car except for different bumpers, grilles and taillights. 

Following the poor sales performance in 1958 and 1959, DeSoto never recovered.  By the1960 model year only two series with limited number of models were offered.  The plug was pulled on the once robust brand on November 30,1960 after only 3,034 units were built of the 1961 model.

DeSoto is no more, but during the brand's hay day a number of memorable cars were built. The pre-war DeSotos that catch my eye at car shows are the controversial and poor selling but influential 1934 - 36 Airflow and the 1942 model that was fitted with powered pop-up headlights (advertised at "Air-Foil" lights "Out of Sight Except at Night"), a first for a North American mass-production vehicle.  The 1936 - 37 Cord 810/812's hidden lights preceded DeSoto's but were mechanical and operated by hand with a crank.

The DeSotos following WWII were conservatively styled until Exner's all-new1955 models appeared.  Then for the next few years, DeSotos were styling homeruns.  I'm especially keen on the 1955 hardtop cars with the three-toned paintjobs.  The all-new (again) 1957 DeSotos, with bodies featuring the best expression of Exner's finned look, are still considered design benchmarks.  There is not a contrary line on that breathtakingly beautiful automobile.

To address and hopefully correct the severe quality issues of the beautiful but poorly built 1957 - 59 cars, Chrysler Corporation in 1960 introduced all-new "Unibody" construction across the line (excepting Imperial).  DeSoto new body was great looking and was again shared with sibling Chrysler.  Unfortunately a combination of little styling differentiation between DeSoto and sibling Chrysler and persistent rumors in the press of its demise, the brand's sales fell again, to under 30,000. 

The suits at Chrysler did what had to be done.  Despite an improving economy and a noticeable sales up tick by buyers of middle priced, large cars, the writing was on the wall.  After 32 years, the once successful and popular DeSoto brand was discontinued.  Alas, after sales of over 2,056,000 vehicles during its lifetime, another great American marque had bitten the dust.

The choice: 1959 Buick vs. 1960 Dodge

I get asked a lot of car questions.  Some via email, some by phone and some by folks on the street.  Yesterday a bride-to-be emailed me to ask if I could help her locate a vintage car to transport her and the groom from the church to the reception hall.  No stretch limo for her, she wants a 1965 Mustang like the one her husband once owned.

Unless I know the owner of a specific requested model, I usually forward the request on to Ned Wollengslegel, president of the local Southwestern Michigan Car Collectors car club, hoping that he can be of assistance.

Another often-asked question is to name my favorite vintage car.  Over the many decades since I became enamored with automotive design, the answer to that question changes by the week, sometimes by the day! 

For the longest time my favorite cars were the 1957 Chrysler Corporation finned cars created under the direction of designer Virgil Exner, Sr.  One week my favorite would be the Desoto, only to be replaced by the Swept-wing Dodge.  And the 1957 Imperial has appeared at the top of the list many times. 

I’m also a huge fan of the dramatically new1959 GM models that were rushed to market in response to the overwhelming success of the 1957 Chrysler Corporation models.  All five GM models were redone that year with the wild bat-wing Chevy at the bottom of the rung and the iconic “spaceship” finned Cadillac at the top.  I like them all but my favorites have always been the Delta-winged Buick and Linear Look Oldsmobile.  Pontiac with its all-new split grille was easy on the eyes too.

The car that ultimately bumped the 1957 Chrysler Corporation offerings from the top of my Mopar list was another Exner effort that came out in 1960 to replace the by-then dated 1957 Chrysler models.  As I wrote a few weeks back in this column, I was never a big fan of the 1960 Plymouth until recent years, but I really loved the 1960 Chrysler and especially the Dodge Polara/Matador offerings from the get-go.

One only has to attend a vintage car auction to discover the fact that American-built cars from the mid-fifties to the early 70s are favorites of collectors.  And why not?  During that brief 15 years some of the most flamboyant and powerful autos ever to grace a dealership showroom were designed, produced and sold.

Not before and not since have the automakers produced a more varied assortment of models that delighted the eyes with stylistic features (fins, retractable hardtops, tri-tone colors, etc.) and affordable performance (GTO, Roadrunner, etc.)  It certainly is my favorite era of automotive design, bar none.

On my recent Great Smoky Mountains family vacation my daughter asked me to name my favorite car.  Brain freeze prevented me from picking a favorite from my top two picks:  the 1959 Buick and the 1960 Dodge Polara/Matador.  To me, they are both automotive perfection.

It is very rare that a new car comes along that is designed so perfectly (to my eyes) that I wouldn’t change a thing.  I saw the Buick months before its introduction in a summer parade in downtown Flint.  GM held a parade to commemorate it’s golden anniversary. 

The 1959 Buick was on a float and my eyes couldn’t believe that this beautiful car with the canted headlights in front and delta-wing fins in back belonged to a Buick. It look nothing like the bulbous and chromey 1958 model.  I was ecstatic when later that fall my uncle who resided across the road bought a 4-door Special.

Designer Virgil Exner, Sr. had his work cut out for him when he had to replace his successful 1957-59 Chrysler Corporation models.  By 1959 his highly recognized finned look had become passe.  What do you do for an encore?

Exner stuck with the fin look one more year and again produced some spectacular vehicles.  I’ve always loved the Chrysler and DeSotos of that year and I’ve grown to appreciate the Plymouth but I’ve always been gaga over the premium large Dodge Matador and Polara.

Dodge also built a full-size Dodge Dart in 1960 but on a slightly shorter wheelbase.  It shared the Polara/Matador front fenders, roofline and doors but received smaller fins out back and had a cheaper looking grille and was built on the Plymouth platform.  By the way, a nice 1960 red Dart convertible will be in this summer’s Concours d’Elegance in Lake Bluff Park.

The Dart is nice but its bigger brothers, the Matador and Polara, are way better.  That’s because Exner attached two beautifully proportioned and integrated fins on the car’s rear quarters.  Then he topped the new look off by putting gorgeous rocket-like taillights at the rear and a rich-looking grille at the front. A perfect looking car.

I simply can’t decide which I like best.  Guess I’ll have to buy both and get rid of my Neon…after winning the lottery.