I think that those are both amazing cars. The problem is that there are so many amazing european cars that have been built, it makes it hard to choose. A D type Jag might make the cut, like I said earlier a 917 would be on my list, possibly a 550 spyder. A C type Jag is a cool car too, changing direction a little the gurney-weslake V12 F1 car is probably the most beautiful F1 car ever built. I have always liked 962 porsches for something later model. I don't know all of the different lotus designations very well but they have made some nice looking/working cars. I especially like the early sixties formula jr's. In more street types of cars you have the 250 ferraris of course, I like the 246 ferraris too they are a nice looking car for the money. There is the Jag XK-SS, Early E-type jag, the list goes on and on. I have trouble picking the top five. It seems like there are fewer american cars that were really at the pinnacle of automotive design.
Great point...i should have checked up...i included it because i understood there was an American on the design team, however i could be wrong. Thanks for the point.
Well, your definition of SLEEKER is way different than mine. The Model T is as far from a sleek design as I can think of from a car standpoint. As far as that goes - your definition of DESIGN is different than mine as well. I work in a technical field - so a really good design doesn't just look good - it has to function well to boot. And as far as the Ts and As on the salt....the deuce outnumbered them then and likely still outnumbers them now. ...and when you mention the fact that "guys" just put those bodies on a duece frame as a quick and easy way to get the V8 you're close but no cigar. In 1938, John Athan and Ed Iskenderian found a '32 frame in a junkyard and bought it for $25. For lack of money, John was forced to take a '29 body and fit it to the '32 rails. By that time the GREAT DESIGN of the 32 Ford was already being deeply realized. A guy could easily take the lights, fenders and windscreen off of an otherwise stock bodied Duece and hit the salts for a weekend - and do really well. By monday he could have all the fenders back on for his drive to work... ...and we know it didn't stop there. I'm not saying that the Duece deserves top spot - but at the same time I wouldn't call it's voters "sheep"....
I was only picking American production cars. If I was to choose a short run race car the '58 Scarab would top the list.
As the question was automotive, and not limited to cars 1) 1941 Willys (and Ford and Bantam) Jeep No other vehicle still shows its heritage so obviously in the 2006 model. 2) Ford GT40 3) 1963 Corvette split window 4) 1959 Cadillac Eldorado 5) 1932 Ford Roadster # 2 was about to be the 289 FIA Cobra, but then I remembered that they were really English.
66-67 Buick Riviera 55-57 Lincoln Continental 60 Cadillac 2 door hardtop 57 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz 59 Chevrolet El Camino And I'm with DrJ, for a non-series production car I'd go with a Scarab and I'd an Apollo too.
1929 Plymouth Model U Coupe 1936 Plymouth Coupe 1936 Studebaker Dictator 1956 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe 1960 Ford Starliner
I think the top 5 would be: 1. 1932 Ford 5 window 2. 1955 Chevy 2dr post 3. 1968 Shelby GT 500 4. 1964 GTO 5. 1938 Ford Coupe
1. 57 chevy 2. 59 El Camino 3. 62 Impala 4. 53 Cadilac 5. 53 Corvette If you couldnt tell, im a rather young harley earl finatic at age 16, And its all thanks to my 57 Chevy 2 door hardtop
32 ford 59 chevy 63 vette 65 mustang fastback Viper coupe Honorable mention to the shelby cobra. Technically a AC design, but as Carrol himself said, designed by goodyear.....every time they came out with wider tires, he used bigger flares to make em fit.
Here is my list ... 56 Lincoln Premier/Capri 53 Kaiser 49 Cadillac 60 Special 60 Ford convertible 62 Ford Thunderbird Honorable mentions went to ... 55 Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop 65 Buick Riveria 51 Ford Club Coupe 60 Plymouth Fury Convertible 64 Olds 98 .... Jack
Oh, good, this stupid thread is back! I can argue with myself and others some more! Three months ago, this was my list, unstable though it was: - 34 Ford 3W - Cord 812 Cab, top down - 40 Ford dlx cpe - 50 Ford cvt, top up (today I say "or coupe") - 61 Pontiac bubbletop (or '62 Chev Bel Air bubble) All these others were lurking in my mind, waiting to jump out, so today I'll turn 'em loose: - 34 Packard Phaeton - 37 Ford Cabriolet (not club), top up - 41 Buick Spl sedanette - 53 Stude hardtop - 53 Buick Skylark - 55-56 Chrysler 300 - 70.5 Camaro - 84 Corvette I added one rule to the original question: these are the Best Designs as they were originally built -- no customizing allowed, as that would result in a different list. Now I get to quibble with some of my fellow posters: Denise, I think "favorite" and "best" are indistinguishable for most of us. Even as a design professional, I couldn't defend any of my choices based on purely objective criteria. I could agree that the Packard and Cord that I mentioned aren't cars I particularly want, despite their excellent designs; maybe that's what you were talking about. JimA, I have to disagree that popularity should have any significance in these nominations. If it did, Cord and Studebaker would have no place here, and Wal-Mart would be acknowledged as the Best American Retailer. Oboy, what fun! See you in another three months!
32 Ford (All inclusive) 40-41 Lincoln Continental Graham Hollywood & Huppmobile Skylark (Body is Cord Beverly but G&H noses are better) 53 Studebaker Loewy Coupe 57 Chevrolet Nomad
#1 1941 Willys coupe #2 1932 Ford roadster #3 1940 Lincoln Zephyr 3 window #4 1955 Chev Nomad #5 1959 Caddy I believe the above cars made lasting impressions on the way the automotive indusrty went.
First top5 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe 1933 Plymouth coupe 1931 Ford widebed pickup 1930 Ford A coupe 1927 Ford T roadster Second top 5 1961 Mercury Comet 1958 Ford Fairlane 1950 Chevy business coupe 1922 Ford T roadster 1958 Dragmaster
My favorites in no order -1932 Ford (lets face it , any body style!!) -1967-68 Mustang fastback -1930-31 Model "A" deluxe roadster -1941-45 Willys WWII Jeep (industrial simplicity at its finest) -1936 Ford 3 window coupe
My current list, no order (Subject to change as I read the other lists!) -56 Ford Victoria hardtop (not the "Crown") -any 28 through 32 Hiboy -52 Ford Crestline Victoria ht. -58-60 Squarebird -36 Ford 3 window
1941 Lincoln continental 1932 3W Ford coupe 1953 Studebaker coupe 1950 oldsmobile 2 door 1949 Mercury 2 door
The best car of all time is: The Ford fox body 5.0 Mustang. These cars are bullet proof, easy to fix, and lots of FUN. Best bang for the buck even when they were new!
These are not necessarily all the cars I'd spend money to own, given their current prices, but I think if the subject is simply "Best Design", then these are my top pics: 1. 1937 Cord 2. 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham 3. 1961 Lincoln Continental 4. 1953 Studebaker Starliner 5. 1953 Buick Skylark
I'll be kind of general to the overall basic design except one. No special order to my 5. The the next 5 #1 Most unusual/rare (to me) the 5 or 6 36 Ford coupes built with stainless bodies quite a design & execution Ford GT40 Any 56 thru 60 vette. changes were kind of cosmetic (but the steering design sucks.) Stude Golden Hawkes Lincoln Zephers #'s 6 thru 10, still not in order Square birds 31 or 32 ford Vicky 33-34 Ford 3 window. The concept of a car & pickup El Camino's & Rancheros 57 thru 60 60 or 61 ford Starliner or maybe Tri5 Chev's (tossup)
Gang- It is, of course, insane to even attempt a list like this (and that's one of the reasons they are so much fun), so I'll just interject this opinion. Any such list that fails to include Raymond Lowey's 1953 Studebaker Starlite Coupe (and somewhere near the top, I might add) should be automatically discarded. (-:
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