Damn... I only get 5, eh.. 1957 ford.. 1959 chevy impala 1962 chevy impala 1962 pontiac any full size 1969 cadi de ville rag top
in no particular order.. 1931 Cord Speedster 1935 Duesenberg SJ Dual Cowl Phaeton or 1935 SSJ 1966 Ford GT-40 MK1 1963 Corvette Coupe 1955 Chrysler C-300 I could probably make a top 100 list, There are just too many I like.
1. 1949 Cadillac Coupe deville hard top. 2. 1951 Ford Customline Victoria Coupe 3. 1951 Chev. Styleline Belare Hardtop Coupe 4. 1961 Chev Belare Sport Coupe 5. 1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Convertible coupe
Same cars as alot of other people--but I think WHO designed them is just as important as which ones: 1) 1963-1965 Riviera (Bill Mitchell e.) 2) 1953-1954 Studebaker Starliner Coupe (Raymond Loewy) 3) 1949 Cadillac Sedanette (Harley Earl) 4) 1957 Chrysler 300C ( Virgil Exner e.) 5) 1963 1/2 -1967 Corvette (Bill Mitchell e.) All these Industrial Designers: Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, Virgil Exner, Raymond Loewy, along with the Early Ford guys: John Tjaarda & E.T. Gregorie are the guys responsible for the bulk of the automotive designs that we consider "cool". Being an Industrial Designer, I've seen repeatedly that designers tend to get overlooked. Some people believe that Harley earl was an "engineer" purely because he had such an powerful position at GM. His own namesake website even strongly suggests this, though he had no formal training in engineering- whatsoever- and pioneered methods that every industrial (automotive) Designer still uses today.
I,m a litle late to post here but I found this list to be what i would agree with. Especially the 61 Lincoln. I had one of these and was impressed by its construction, and design. It has similarities to the old Lincoln Continental, also it had some interesting things to note, It was built on the Thunderbird unibody platfrom and was a really strong chassis/body. It was actually first designed to be the Thunderbird but Henry Ford II wanted it for the lincoln.
1964 mercury cyclone,1967 plymouth GTX,1965 pontiac GTO,19631/2 ford galaxie,1968-70 AMX. in my humble opinion these are some of the nicest body styles ever made! lets see what you guys can find wrong with any of them.later matt
I always liked the '38 Ford Standard front end, with the Cord-inspired styling, a lot better than a '38 Deluxe. I like '37 Fords almost as much as the '38 Standard. A '55 Ford "bumblebee" convertible (yellow and black two tone) has to be one of the prettiest things that ever sat on four wheels. Of course I'm partial to '38-'39 Ford trucks, too.
Here's mine in no particular order: 1930-31 Model A coupe 1931 A-400 sedan 1932 3-window coupe 1967 Shelby Mustang 1969 Corvette
If I ignore my muscle car era pics, I'd say Tucker '57 DeSoto Mercury Turnpike Cruiser 59 Buick 58 Lincoln I'm surprised how much love there is for the '57 DeSoto, thought I was the only one who obsessed over those. Also surprised how few voted for the 49-51 Mercury. Will gladly trade my '51 coupe for any of my above pics of equal value.
as tempted as I am to list one-off "Motorama" concept cars, or some Barris and Roth showrods....I'll stick to what I think the original point of the question was. To list top 5 designs that were produced for the consumer market, or were intended to be. Don't think I'm crazy, but here's mine.....in order. 1. 1964 Meyers Manx ( monocoque) 2. 1938 Phantom Corsair 3. 1935 Stout Scarab 4. 1963 Studebaker Avanti 5. 1973-4 AMC Javelin AMX If I could continue the list, a 54' Kaiser Darrin, Muntz Jet, and 71' Stutz Blackhawk would be in there. Maybe a new thread of top 5 showrods and top 5 concept cars should be in order?
1953 Studebaker Commander Hdtp 1957 Chrysler 300-C 1963 Buick Riviera 1967 Cadillac Eldorado 1956 Lincoln Continental MK II Honerable Mention: 1963 Studebaker Avanti
1965 GTO 1953-4 STUDEBAKER { partial to it since I have one} 63-65 Riv 40 Ford coupe and of course 40-41 Willys Coupe
ohh man I forgot the 57 Desoto, it was one of the wildest looking fin fendered cars made, and looked good!
For several years there was a Mark II Continental parked in the street over on the east side of Houston off Broadway north of the South Loop 610. I used to drive by there regularly and was always astonished that a Classic Car would be parke don a very narrow residential street day and night and not end up vandalized to death.
1933 Ford 3-window, the people's choice 1937 Cord 812 V8 supercharged, what more could you want? 1953 Studebaker Starlite coupe, my first love. 1955 Corvette, who could resist? And the dark horse candidate: Cadillac Allante Put Maserati badges on it, and no one would know better. Consolation prize -- 1954 Kaiser Darrin, sheer kinkiness.
#1 on my list,, 32 ford's,,any bodystyle #2,,,40 Ford standard coupes #3,,49/50 Ford club coupes,,never had one but always liked them #4,,50 mercs get in my eyes #5,,,Big fined caddys,,,HRP
Great thread, guys! I have to agree that it's a tossed salad of personal favorites and the real milestone cars, AND I have trouble keeping it to five cars!!! How about five from each DECADE, from about 1900 through the end of the original factory muscle era in the mid-'70s? Anyway, I also have my own personal favorites! '57 DeSoto (ALL, esp., hardtops!); '33 Ford 3-window (though it couldn't have happened without the "baby Buick" Marquette); '53 Hudson Hornet hardtop; '33 Pierce Silver Arrow; '31 Reo Royale (Northrup); '32 Graham Blue Streak; '36/'37 Cord (all); '56 Stude/Packard Golden Hawk (should've had a four speed!!!). '63 Buick Riviera, '68 Caddy el Dorado, '71 Hemi 'Cuda, '31 Ford-A, '30 Jordan Speedway Ace. OK, OK, I cheated. That's 10 !!! LOL
in no particular order 33-34 ford 1940 ford coupe 56 ford 2 door hardtop fairlane 56 ford f100 69 Mach 1 Mustang i know they are all fords but they all have perfectly flowing lines every angle goes together and no line detracts from another of course this is just my opinion
Not in order -1949 Hudson Commodore -1928 Ford 5 window coupe -1955 Chevy -1969 Chevelle SS -1959 El Camino
Several have mentioned it but no one has posted a photo - it's a tough job but somebody has to do it.... If you look up Art Deco in Wikipedia this is the only car in the Photo Gallery. Gordon Buehrig who designed the iconic Cord 810/812 said that the original Westchester sedan (top) was the purest expression of his design. The top photo shows a very early model as it does not yet incorporate the 'phone dial' hubcaps which were not originally intended, but actually only added as a solution to cool overheating brakes....
36 Ford 3-window 40 Ford Coupe 61 Ford Starliner 63 1/2 Ford Galaxie 57 Ford T-Bird Looks like I may be a Ford guy.
56-57-58-59 corvette 55-56-58 chevy 31 ford coupe 35 ford coupe any phaeton .............................
If it hasn't been mentioned.....47-53 Chevy truck,the Advanced design.Smooth timeless styling that looks as fresh today as it did 60 years ago.
No particular order , still : 32 Ford 3 window 40 Ford Coupe 37 Cord- both enclosed and sedan 32 Cadillac -ALL 63 Studebaker Avanti 67 Chevrolet Impala HT 65 Pontiac 2+2 62 Chrysler 300 series cars 68 A M C A M X 53 Chevrolet Corvette scrubba
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