Elwood Engel stories
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Elwood Engel stories



Hello again to all...

> According to several books, in Chrysler Corporation during the 50's-60's 
> and 70's, the stylists had a lot LESS control and the engineers had a lot 
> MORE control than in GM & Ford.  That was in part why our Imperials handle, 
> perform, and stop better than say a Lincoln, Cadillac,

I would strongly agree here.

> On the other hand, the marketing was not quite as 
> good as the other 2 of the "big 3".  

Strong agreement here too. 

I recently read a book called "A century of auto design" (or something 
similar). This was an excellent, fact-filled book that I had trouble putting 
down. However, their coverage of post-Exner Chrysler styling was predictably 
brief and dismissive. Even the Exner chapter was a bit light compared to the 
in-depth coverage of the various GM studio heads.

If you can believe it, there was no mention of the ground-breaking (IMHO) '69 
fuselage cars, nor the '70 E-bodies & '71 B-bodies. I suspect it may have been 
because all three were the work of lesser known designers (John Herlitz on the 
E & Bs) rather than actual studio heads. I does appear that Engel wasn't very 
happy at Chrysler and managed from a distance (according to the book). I spoke 
personally to John Herlitz in 1996, and he didn't seem to have any real 
fondness for Engel.

I'm sure many of you have heard the story of Engel ripping hunks of clay from 
the Charger-like sail panels of the '69 Polara proposal? 

How I would love to see some of the fuselage concept sketches! I'd also love to 
know how over-the-top the baroquoe '74+ Chrysler C-body & '75 Cordoba might 
have been. I've heard of a concept "great-gatsby" Cordoba that used custom 
WHITE tires! 

Carmine F.

'61 LeBaron
'73 LeBaron Coupe

'70 Dart
'72 Polara Wagon
'73 Dodge D-200 Adventuer
'75 Duster
'76 Newport Custom W/highlander interior
'89 Fifth Ave
'89 LeBaron Convertible
-- 
_______________________________________________
Sign-up for your own FREE Personalized E-mail at Mail.com
http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup




Home Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network


Copyright © The Forward Look Network. All rights reserved.

Opinions expressed in posts reflect the views of their respective authors.
This site contains affiliate links for which we may be compensated.