Seems we do this once a year and my list changes every time... Here we go again (not in any order): 1. '32 Roadster (easy one) 2. '49 Ford club coupe (always on my list) 3. '63-'65 Buick Riviera (not only a great design, but it plunged itself over a bridge in NH and saved America from having another Kennedy in office) 4. '36 Ford coupe (another all timer) 5. '38 Ford coupe (are you kidding me???)
My list, like Ryan's, changes...but every week or so in my case. 1. 1903 curved dash oldsmobile (gotta love that stick steering, I wanna see someone make a rod outta one of these...) 2. 1956 pontiac (I'm prejudiced) 3. (a tie) 1949 ford and 1949 chevy coupes 4. 1960 Ford Ranchero (I still think mercury shoulda got on the bandwagon with their "comet" design and built a lil truck like the ranchero...) 5. 1939 lincoln
Somewhat hard to finalize something like this for me, but....in the running would be Lincoln Zephyr 49-51 Ford and Chevy CLUB coupes (I LOVE that extra trunk space) Pretty much ANYTHING Gm put out in 58. Classic lines on the whole lot of em . But I'm very partial to the Pontiacs
1. '34 Ford 3W (or Victoria, or Tudor) 2. '50 Ford Convert 3. '41 Buick Special Sedanette (or '49 Buick, or '50 Chev) 4. '40 Ford Dlx Coupe 5. '55 Chrysler 300 6. '36 Ford 3W 7. '62 Pontiac Grand Prix 8. '60 Ferrari 250GT Pininfarina Coupe 9. '61 Aston Martin DB4 Mine change every year too. I have a (fraudulent) '50 and '36 Fords; I wonder if I can scarf up any more of them before I die?
Ryan, that was no RIV, it was an Electra if i remember right. Best Automotve Design----Man, thats a tough one. They're like a woman , I like mine the best, but there ALL worth lookin at. You could argue this till the end of time and NEVER come up with an answer that the magority would agree on. Thats what makes the world go round. We all look at things through our own eyeballs, and some of us are CROSSEYED. Thers a little beauty in all of em. Can i have one of each?
1. 63-64 Rivi(hey it's a classey car) 2. 59 Elky(my dream car...truck....whatever) 3. 61 bubble top Impala(love that ass) 4. 60 Austin Healey(with a sbc/4 speed) 5. 62 vette(first 327) 6. 63 Ac/Shelby Cobra(narrow fender, and a 260) 7. 67 Gt40 These are all beutiful cars and my goal is to own as many as possible through out my life(so far haven't owned any). -Jesse
1/1936 Delage D8-60 le mans coupe(only made one...disappeared in the sixties, my dad is building a replica of it.hence the bias,but it IS an AMAZING design.) 2/Ford GT 40 MK II 3/1964 Maserati 3500 GT 4/Edsel fords 1932 alloy boat tail roadster 5/MY 31 RPU
'33 Ford Roadster, with fenders and bumpers! Type 57 Bugatti Roadster '38 Ford Standard 2dr sedan '39 Packard convertible '40 Buick convertible '41 Mercury coupe '49 Oldsmobile Sedanette '53 Oldsmobile 88 2dr ht '56 Ford Crown Victoria MGTF '57 TR-3 '57 Desoto 2dr ht '57 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham '59 Chevrolet Impala 2dr ht '59 or '60 Corvette '61 Cadillac Coupe Deville '61 Oldsmobile Starfire '63 Jaguar XK-E Convertible, Red, Tan interior '64 TR-4 '67 Corvette 427 coupe '67 Ford Econoline, short wb, no window cargo van '67 or '68 Buick Wildcat 2dr ht guess I got a little carried away....
Very tough subject cause everyone has thier own taste and wont change for anyone else.All I can say is there were and still is some very nice designs by americans,europeans,ect.This is what I call my working mans list of best designs.1.53 Studebaker coupe-this thing was like light years ahead of anyones design at that time and still looks great today. 2.55 Chevrolet, sedan or hardtop-it was and still is the poormans hot rod.A car that has been done by everyone in everyway and has stood the test of time. 3.57 Ford hardtop or 300 series sedan-a lot less trim than a 57 chevy and a very well executed design,a 57 ford tailight,can be reconized at 100 yards,love the small fins. 4.33-34 plymouth or Dodge-looks like its already had a 2" chop. 5.63 Thunderbird-love the car-hate the the roof-looks like they had some extra 59 ford roofs and stuck them on an otherwise perfect design. 6.37 Ford- to be considered such an ugly duckling in the past-you sure see a lot of its styling cues on all kinds of rods. 7.Model T Fords- you say What! Yea its a square box,but what a cool square box-its the car that started it all for HENRY,and what a great basis simple design,its so simple it hurts! 8.57 Buick-she looks fast sittin still,love that rear roof view and the quarters. 9.53 chevy business coupe-this thing with some minor dechroming and lowering becomes instant cool.love that short roof and long trunk. 10.60 Ford starliner-Of course!This baby looks like,someone let the local custom car club design the new fords and BATMAN STOPPED BY TO HELP!
OK, this is a very easy one. As I see it any car that I have ever owned certainly fits on this list. For instance, who could argue with putting a '37 Chrysler Airflow up there with the styling beauties of all time? And what about a '48 Anglia, a '67 Chrysler Imperial (a car I should NEVER have sold), a '41 Olds fastback featuring a real styling adventure grille treatment and on and on and... Seriously, I liked them at the time I bought them and still like them now. Mty list also includes on a more beliveable scale, a 1) 1948 Cadillac, any body style except the holdover limo; 2)1956 Lincoln coupe and convert; 3)1940 Ford, any body style 4)Any Delahaye ever made, they had more style and my drool meter goes completely off the top every time I see one; 5)Any 1930 -1936 Packard; 6)'49-'51 Ford or Merc coupe or convert; 7)Any '32-'39 Ford; 8)1955-1956 Chrysler; 9)1962-1964 Dodge or Plymouth; and 10)1940-1941 Willys. As others have said, ask me tomorrow and I'm sure my answer will change.
I like kustoms, but somehow the best kustomfodder needs to be changed to look their best... I dig 53-54 BelAirs, but in stock configuration they are nowhere near my toplist. Ditto on 49 Mercs, 49-52 Chevy Fleetline, 57 Ranchero and the rest of the bunch. 63-65 Riviera on the other hand really needs nothing. Its an extremely wellbalanced design, which unlike most other designs was improved during its lifespan (65s hidden lights). 67-69 Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado (the 67 is the nice one, all the changes done to i later cluttered it up and the 69 has lost much of the 67s crispness. Got to add that 67 was a nice year for Cadillacs in general. 66 Olds Toronado. A car that took balls to present to the public and in my opinion its underrated today (like the 67 Eldo). (Most GM had to ofer in the mid-sixties really. 1964 is a good year.) Aston Martin DB4 probably the worlds best car when it was new in 58. It could do things no other closed production car could at that time. The design by Touring of Milan is also so clean it doesnt have anything "too much" like most cars in these years (yeah, the 58 Impala may be one of my absolute favorite cars, -but not with the stock stance and chrome...). Citroen DS / ID. Its a wild and not a very harmonic design, but probably the technically and designwise raddest car compared to its context to ever be presented. When it was new in the mid fiftes it basically made all other sedans OLD, -they were half a meter taller, had thick posts and rode on leafsprings. The DS rode on hydraulics had slim sixtiesstyle posts, an unpainted glassroof (with a dim light coming through) etc. etc. That Citroen managed to massproduce it and sell them to all kinds of buyers all over Europe for 20 years and even win Rallys with it is one of carhistorys great mysterys... Only car that could touch it when it stylewise when it was new, was the Studebaker. Techwise it was way out front. Auburn and Cord. Anyone who has been close enough to a Cord 812 to touch it knows what Im talking about.. The best sixties italian design was really great. I have mentioned the Aston DB4, but Alfa Romeo Giulia, Giulietta and GTV, Maserati 3500, Ferrrari 250LM and the Chevypowered Iso Rivolta are all personal favorites. Bentley Continental (the fastback aluminiumbodied one from the early fifties). Nice lines, low stance and speed to back it all up. Jaguar XJ6, the first sixties one with short wheelbase. A very timeless and wellbalanced design. One of extremely few cars that looks way better as 4door than as 2door hardtops. Jaguar cluttered this one up bigtime over the years. The eighties one with huge bumpers etc. has lost it all. Jaguars 6cyl inliner (used in most Jags over many years) is among the best looking engines in the world, -especially when sitting in one of the racecars like the C-type. In general the sixties was a good decade for cardesign. Finding good designs in the seventies is hard. Most of the nice then cars were drawn in the late sixties (like the XJ6). The best looking american cars were in my book the boattail Riviera and then maybe the Cadillac Seville (both the standard sedan and the bustleback). Citroen CX and Alfa Romeo Alfetta were also good designs from the era, -but all of them looks best from a distance. Up close all the magic is gone. The only carmake that produce good designs today is in my opinion Alfa Romeo. The 156 sportwagon is a nice little car. So is its larger sedan-brother. Buick is the biggest dissapointment. Just think of it. Buick allways had among the best looking cars in the late 30ies, 40ies, 50ies (1957 Special is great), 60ies and early 70ies (boattail). These are very different eras, with very different schools of design, but Buick was allways among the best. Look at them now...
Heres mine, not in any particular order 1. 40 ford coupe 2. 49 chev fleetline 3. 55 chev ht 4. 56-62 vette 5. 61 impala ht
all good ones. I know, wrong place, but I always thought the late 50's Karman Ghia was one of the sexiest car designs ever. And no one mentioned the new ferarri enzo?
1. 33-34 Ford coupes 2. 37-38-39 Fords 3. all the early Vetts 4. 65 Gto 5. Early T-Birds 6. 59-60 Impala's 7. Anything with a bed attached to it 8. 56 chevy 9. long legs...beautiful hair, great smile, perky.. opps wrong list.
in no particular order and the first i came up with are tons more but these are a couple of my favorites so this list sure aint fair i love alot more cars and designs... for example the ghia chryslers from the early and mid fiftes... chrysler 1957, etc, but these are some of my favorites... * studebaker 1953 coupe both ht and post. * ford 1933-34 5w coupe * studebaker 1950-51 starliner * buick 1939 coupe (i just love em) * kaiser sungodess * 1930 buick coupe
How about the best automotive design that makes for the easiest conversion to a hot rod.....my choice would be a 1939ford deluxe coupe....add a dropped axle, bigger back tires and hit the road.
Not necessarily best design, but my fav's. 27 T-Coupe 31 or 32 Ford Roadster (fenderless) 35 Ford Cabriolet 40 Ford Standard Coupe 41 Willys Coupe 60s Jaguar XKE 50s Austin Healey 55 Thunderbird 50s Henry J 54 Chevy 54 Pontiac 57 Olds 59 Impala or El Camino 64 Riviera 71 Roadrunner (my first car and I love that Coke bottle design)
any car I dont like,already and a new skilsaw with some spare blades.......Oh and I need a roll of mig wire!
How many choices do we get?? My Top Ten: 1932 Ford 3-window coupe 1933-34 Ford 3-window coupe 1935 Ford 3-window coupe 1928 Model A roadster 1940 Ford pickup 1933 Willys 1949-51 Chevy 2 door 1932 Ford Vicky 1962 'bubbletop' Chevy Bel-Air/Impala 1956 Olds 2 door The above cars are ones that I think are styled "just about right" as they rolled off of the assembly line. No major customizing need be done to make any of them look killer. Would LOVE to build any one or all of 'em someday!
And everyone has forgotten the 49 Hudson which was the first step down body which set the stage for everything that followed. Others Ive admired for body design and not necessarily what was under the hood: Jag XK120 Jensen Interceptor 40 Cad 60S 38 Cad V16 (art deco) 39 Merc convert sedan 40 Ford coupe and pickup 51 Ford Victoria 53-4 Buick Skylark 57 Buick ElCabalero wagon 55 Ford Crown Vic 37 Cord 53 Kaiser Darrin
My list, in no particular order Daytona Cobra Coupe '65 427 Cobra GT 40 Mk II Duesenberg SJ '49 Beetle(split window) '38 Ford coupe '98 Viper '32 Ford coupe '56 Bel Air hardtop
My list would have a lot of the same cars that have already been listed. I think the 53 Stude would be high on the list. I did realize there would be a lot of Buicks on my list. I don't have a preference for Buicks but they had a lot of well designed cars. Cars that looked good without touching them. Like the 53/54 Skylarks,the 57 Cabalero and the 60s Rivs. One that wasn't on other people's list was the 40 Merc but they do need a chop to look right. Clark
26T roadster 30-31 roadster evilfordcoups "evilfordcoupe" 49-53 mercs - chopped and channeled just right 55-57 crown vic's 55-62 buicks 67 RS/SS Camero - peek-a-boo headlights...no rear spoiler....vinyl roof...Deluxe interior...i'd love to get the seats and console for a rod.....
33-34 Fords - every model, every part, looked like it was designed by the same person. 39-40 Ford Opera Coupe - if you chop one of these, you should your goodies "mechanically separated" 53-56 Ford pick up truck - perfect Riviera 63-65 'nuf said, 66-67 what can be done with the pony car look on a big palette. Corvette 62, 63-67, 68-72 luv that ducktail, later ones just looked like what they were, the American sports car, big, bold fenders, accenting big tires, shark nose, Kamm rear with big, purposeful round tailights. I just like 'em. 55 Chevy - Simple, it's when Chevy caught up to... 51 Ford - Club coupe. Bullet nose kinda dated it IMHO. Ferrari Daytona Coupe - Can anyone find a sports coupe that was designed after it that didn't have part of it imitated? 73 AMC Matador Coupe - remove the headlight "pods" and the bumpers and you have a big Ferrari Daytona. Jaguar E-type Con'v. - sex on wheels 57 Chrysler Windsor 2 dr hardtop - Virgil Exner's moment of clarity. 61-63 T-Bird 67 Cadillac Eldorado, 'cept those gawdawful FWD wheels. bits 67 Buick Electra hubcaps 58 Edsel tailights, just the curved ones on the decklid. Studebaker Avanti bumpers and outside mirrors 36 Auburn front clip - Swept back leading fender edge 70 Riviera side trim 58 Buick Grill pattern 32 Ford grill and frame 60 Ford Starliner roof Studebaker Lark headlight rings 55-57 Nomad Tailgate 41 Studebaker front fenders and taillights 79 Mustang rubber moulding that tied the back 5mph bumper to the front 5mph bumper 93 Buick Riviera taillights Front bucket seat trim, 65 Impala SS 63-65 Riveria rear seat speaker grill 69 Camaro front under bumper valance and turn signals 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse coupe rear window
The question is wether you mean best from the factory or best after it's customized. I don't mean lowering, I mean changing body panels and major trim. Mercs look great after they're chopped and the grill and trim are swapped out, but there's a reason they all get that treatment. Without it, they're kinda lame. Same thing for Model A coupes. A little off the top and they go from grandma's car to rip snorting badass. My list would be the cars that don't need the body mods to make them right. So, in no particular order 1: 58 Pontiac 2 drs. The bonnie, super and star chiefs. 2: 49-52 Chevy fleetlines 3: 55-57 Chevies, especially the Nomads. 4: 38-40 Ford coupes 5: 59 El Camino and 2 door Impalas 6: early 60's Chevy and Pontiac 2 door bubbletops 7: 70 Chevelle and G.T.O. 8: 59 Caddy 9: 55-57 Chevy Pickups 10: 63 Split Window Vette Funny, I've owned all of these except the 38-40 Fords and the 63 Vette. These were all cars that didn't need body mods to be cool.
The Jalopy Journal
