I’m thinking the manufacturing processes determined the over all shape of the car. They were all pretty much done by engineers. Styling came around in the late 40’s, early 50’s
...and making money...if the pie looks the same the choosing gets a little more hmmm, eeny, meeny, miny, moe...they're all the same go to the closest dealer...but there's many reasons...Copy is a good one...
No, there was styling from the beginning.... One meaning of the word "style" is what is currently popular. And it changes continuously, and folks making products for sale have been aware of this for a long long time, and it's been a driving force in the design of consumer products for a long long time. If you look at any car from the past 100+ years, you could be able to figure out when it was made withing a few years, just by looking at the styling. There were certain time periods when style changed rapidly, and other times things weren't so rushed. Examples... the period 1930 to 1941 saw major changes every couple years, while the next major changes occurred in 1947-49. Then things were kind of stagnant until the mid 50s, when they were moving fast, then settled down again by the mid 60s. But the bottom line is that if you want to sell more cars, you either gotta price them really cheap, or keep up with the current styling trends.
Ever notice every makers 33-34 has a grill much like the Ford.No one had the old flat open grill. Had to be some communication between makers.
Marketing studies. Styles and designs are studied and leaked to the public for their reactions. Concept cars are another way to integrate a new design or part of one. If a design gets good reception from the public, other manufacturers will copy them as much as they can and not get into copyright infringement, and even then some get into trouble. And then there’s the laziness factor. Some companies are too cheap to pay much for their own market studies, so they buy generic studies from other companies or just copy other designs. A lot of the Pacific companies blatantly copy other companies designs, I think it was Mahindra that got into hot water for copying the design of the original Jeep to use on their ATV’s. They got sued by Chrysler who owns the copyrights to the Jeep design.
They were competing for the same markets. You wouldn't try to sell a Nike basketball ball shoe to a pro skate boarder to use at the park. And any time they deviated too much from the current trends and market it usually had bad results......look at the Edsel
You don't consider " Victorian"( 1830-1920) a style ? Remember the carriage on the " body by Fisher" sill plate ? Cars of that era were styled after carriages & wagons .
Isn’t that just one word ? it has always been that way I always thought that this had something to do with the 2nd war. (Car style was probably sorted a year or two before they actually were released).
At lunch over a beer and another beer maybe at the tavern down the road from the plants...but Squirrel has a good point that in Design School I can see the students doing projects, considering theory with linear flow, airflow and shaping...The manufacturers were already producing stuff so yeah, crossing companies through job change, firing, layoffs...so many potential ways to have trends flowing across the isles...
Ford himself was busted for his Ford Trimotor plane design by the Germans. Copyright infringement 101. https://wahsonline.com/henry-fords-tin-goose-lays-golden-egg/
"Aerodynamics" Not necessarily. Mitchell Co. designed a car with laid back grill & windshield vs the standard vertical style. People called it the "drunken Mitchell" & it bombed.
It takes a bold leader to make change. Imagine the 1941 market when this hit, they had to be thinking "Buck Rodgers" when you see it next to everything else 41. Of note, no running boards. The sinister 50deg rake to the windshield. Hey, the rear fenders are part of the body. "A normally tall man can see over it." was in their ad copy. Designed largely by Howard "Dutch" Darrin but if you can believe this, Packard toned it down. Darrin had full fade away front fenders that went thru the rear doors too. Even the svelte and "modern" 41 Cadillac 60S looked old by comparison, yes? Yeah man, it takes a leader (or 2) to make change that sticks. Just some personal observations.
Highlander there were always a few exceptions, Packard was good at being a leader. But as Sgt. seemed to imply they all followed a pattern. In 1920 almost everyone tilted their windshield back. How did everyone know to do it together? They all lost running boards about the same time. '33 and '34 were the years of suicide doors, which were not a good idea. I've wondered about this topic for quite a while, glad someone started this thread.
It didn't work out well for Chrysler and their airflow designs, my guess is that other manufacturers took Chrysler's experience and made slow changes so as to not lose money. You need to be different...just a little different, not a lot different.
Buying trends are a big part of it, extreme design deviation has rarely been hugely successful with the buying public. They want what is familiar. People want what their neighbors have but slightly better. Most people say they want to stand out but subconsciously that is not true, that phrase is a marketing gimmick that I have seen tossed around since I got my driver's license and went car crazy. One example I remember was the off topic Chevy pickup I bought brand new in 2000 that just had a simple body kit, special wheels and a slight lowering job, the sales pamphlet sold it as "Show your wild and unique side" or something along those lines. The truck was not much more unique than a standard issue one, but just different enough to be noticeable to some folks.
Your selling style . running boards and high roofs . Fat fenders , high body lines and low roofs . Big loud garish cars with fins , bobbles and filigree. Toned down slab sided land yachts with pillowy soft suspension . that’s what this web site covers . after that you had fuel efficiency, 5mph bumpers and emissions that almost killed the auto industry in designs and making anything “ cool “ bow it’s come full circle with modern appliances have a “ retro look “ Lots of modern cars are taking styling cues from years past . And as has been said , Chrysler airflow , Edsel , and a bunch more that don’t come to mind that where failures when first launched . most people like what they know and don’t want to venture into the unknown . and automakers are in it for the money so will stick to what sells and what the population wants to buy . Of course with a few outliers . I look at my 40 merc and besides the grill , every other 4 door offered by the big 3 looked almost identical from the grill back .
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