Just a follow up to the Designing the '53 Fords post, I found this smaller article just as interesting. Ford was trying to build the car they felt the public wanted in their dream automobile. They com... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
I wonder how many knock your socks off designs got shelved by the bean counters before they came up with the final design. Which in my estimation is under rated and one of the best bases for a mild custom.
What Ford was doing was trying to compete with Chevrolet. Yep, second to the '53 Chivvy, I liked the Ford.
I wonder how many mild customs, or Kustoms were an exact copy of one of the prototypes, and they just didn't know about it. That would be interesting. We all believe that our Kustomizing of a car is to make it the way the factory should have in the first place. I'm Just sayin'
There's a book en***led "Ford at Fifty" and it includes many or all of these wonderful pictures and a lot more too. Our family had the publication since it was new in '53, I was too young to know what it was all about back then but over the years I look at it and am amazed at the concepts and designs. It was probably like that with the other manufacturers too but haven's seen it chronicled like in the Ford at Fifty book.
All of my last few posts have been from that exact book: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=7945 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=7954 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=7997
Excellent material, for sure! Living in southern Michigan I still remember going to Dearborn when in grade school on field trips to several of Ford's plants and office buildings and seeing some of those models on display. Again I was too young to fully appreciate it all but it still sticks in the memory. I think the last field trip we took was to see the new Mustangs on the production line so it must've been '64. Great times.
--------------------------- They were trying to capture the 'little people' market. Mart3406 =======================
"What does the customer want"??? I want that Nucleon!!! Come on Ford, hurry up! It's been more than 50 years and I'm still waiting!!!! Mart3406 =============================
I've gone thru the Henry Ford more times than I can remember since the late 50s. Every time I do, it's like seeing new stuff again. Their car collection & stuff is just awesome. That place is amazing, as is Greenfield Village.
I was a kid all of 8 yrs old and recall the 46 fords came out. I think my dad infuenced me cause he liked to go to the dealers when the new cars came out. those were the days when they used them big old air raid spotlights in LA, just follow the beam. Then every year we went out to see them. I can recall the locations we moved to by what year car was out, I lived in Buena Park when the new 49 Fords appeared, big deal then. 52 fords were the big news and big change. Dad bought a 54 and the main thing i recall about it was had my first car accident with it!
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