Prototype, maquette et exercice de style - concept car & style

La folie des ailerons!
Heureusement, on a évité la Buick avec l'arrête dorsale!!! Pour le coup, la Cad' 59 aurait perdu sa première place sur le podium de l'extravagance!

Tu as complètement raison, mais ce qui est drôle c'est que ce délire de la dérive d'avion ou de fusée que l'on trouve "en toute logique" sur des dream car aux formes aéronautiques ou spatiales jusque là, ce retrouve sur un prototype aux formes de berlines!!!
On peut noter que certains kustom de show de la fin fifties et début sixties s'ajoute cette dérive sur le coffre (sous des formes variables) et que les maquettes Customizing kit de chez Amt de l'année 1959 propose en pièce optionnelle custom cette fameuse dérive à mettre sur le coffre.

Del Coates
Proposal for new Studebaker truck, artwork dated 3-21-57
Del Coates comments to American Dreaming:

"Studebaker's postwar pickup was attractive but its cab was narrow, seating only two comfortably. Trucks introduced by the Detroit Three during the 1950s sat three across. Studebaker couldn't afford to develop a brand new truck. I determined that a cab based on the '53 sedan (still being used, of course) would fit neatly on the existing pickup chassis. Furthermore, I proposed adopting a cab forward layout, which designers were hot to do, with a fiberglass nose. As the artwork shows, it could also have drop-down ramps in the sides to facilitate loading and unloading things like refrigerators.

It wasn't adopted, of course, for good reasons. Weight distribution would have been horrendous unless it was carrying a substantial load. And the cab-forward package would have been very unsafe. The idea of using the sedan cab was eventually adopted, but in the conventional location behind a Lark nose with a more truck-like grille"
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Donald Reid, Ford concept artwork dated 1955

Similar to several advanced concepts produced by Ford in the mid 50’s. Donald Reid’s airbrush rendering features a single centered driver’s seat with a bench back seat. The extreme fins and the rocket pointed Dagmar’s up front make for a very powerful looking vehicle.

Concepts by John Samsen; Ford Thunderbird, dated 1954. Chrysler Desoto, 1957. Plymouth Duster, dated 1974.

American Dreaming has been speaking with Mr. Samsen for several months regarding his amazing career and he is truly one of the best artists of the golden age of automotive design. Mr. Samsen has recently published a book “ A Journey to Metanoia”. We are happy to count him among our friends during our own journey to produce our documentary and thank Mr. Samsen for all his contributions to automotive design.

Rulo N. Conrad, was one of the primary designers of the award-winning 1956 Lincoln. Conrad had been a manager in the Lincoln-Mercury studio and was named to replace John Reinhart as head of Lincoln's preproduction studio around 1957. Conrad's job was to complete the next-generation Lincoln that had been started by Reinhart. Rulo Conrad did not like Reinhart’s proposal and tried to convince management to change design directions, but was unsuccessful. The big leap in design from the 1956/57 to 1958 models was too jarring for the public’s taste and total sales dropped from over 41,000 in 1957 to under 18,000 in 1958. The 1958-60 models were deemed failures by management, never surpassing 25,000 units. The resulting market research by Gene Bordinat and Don DeLaRossa concluded that Lincoln lacked design continuity during the 1949-1958 model years. Bordinat and DeLaRossa surmised the Cadillac’s of that era with a slower evolution of design was more in keeping with public perception and identity of a luxury car brand.

The designers in Rulo Conrad's Pre-Production Lincoln Studio included John Orfe, Merle Adams, Bob Chieda, Howard Payne, and Joe West.

Bill Brownlie
Chrysler 300 pencil on Vellum Tracing paper 12” x 18”
Dated 2-10-57


300 emblem was to be on transparent round disk embedded in side fender. Note the shadow on the rear deck.

Both drawings by Joe Booker Simmons, early 1960s.

Blue pencil and marker sketch is of a Dodge Charger concept, signed with a monogram of superimposed initials JBS in upper right hand corner. An interesting placement of air intakes running along the inside edge of fenders. Second drawing is signed with full signature. I am aware of another sketch signed with the monogram in a private collection in Ann Arbor, MI.

Charles Balogh, early 50s Lincoln design proposal. In the background is the Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum.

Early sketches of the Imperial D'Elegance by Bill Brownlie on tracing paper. When placed on top one another they show the outline was precisely traced. They are intriguing permutations of a designs evolution. The blue drawing most closely resembles the D’Elegance and brandish the Imperial emblem. Bill Brownlie and Cliff Voss headed up the 1958 Imperial D’Elegance project two years after their Norseman concept, and both cars share some ideas, The similarities are most apparent in the cantilevered roof, long downward sloping rear deck & the front fender profile with its sharp “S” shape. In a search for a new direction for future products, the Imperial D’Elegance, a pillarless fastback was conceived. It is widely known that Virgil Exner was not happy with the finished product.

the Plymouth is by George Krispinsky, who will be featured in our upcoming documentary "American Dreaming", the other image is attributed to Richard Arbib. Both artists are demonstrating our confidence (back in the 1950s) in a future with unlimited possibilities -- space, technology, luxury, beauty in our lives.

Ben Kroll
Packard "Solar Sprinter" concept art
Ca. 1955

A graduate in 1935 of Wayne State University in art education, Ben Kroll began his design career during WWII as a designer/draftsman at Ford’s Willow Run bomber plant (home of Rosie the Riveter).

With war’s end Ben Kroll was assigned to Gil Spear’s Advanced Studio at Ford and did design and layout work on most of Gil Spear’s 3/8 scale concept cars. In early 1955, Kroll along with 4 other designers (including George Krispinsky, who we recently interviewed for our “American Dreaming” documentary) left to work with Bill Schmidt, who had joined Studebaker-Packard as VP and Head of the Packard Design Department.
Ben Kroll’s “Solar Sprinter” concept art shares several ideas that were being developed while Kroll was in Ford’s Advanced Studio, particularly the Plexiglas roof of the XL-500 concept car.

George Krispinsky holding a photo of the USS Innovari II taxi van he designed while Head of Automotive Design at William M. Schmidt Associates. "American Dreaming" will film George on Monday, Sept. 15th. Our interview will focus on his time at Packard, (particularly the Predictor) AMC and his William M. Schmidt Associates years. Pictured are two drawings Mr. Krispinksy did for William M. Schmidt Associates.

Roy Brown chief Edsel designer, he also designed the Ford Cortina.

Just another day in the Buick design studio.

Chevrolet designers - 1948

The picture follows is from "Ford at Fifty" published in 1953. Found on page 78 is the photo with the painted plaster models. I know of one other model in a private collection in Michigan. Making 5 total known. Any more out there? The two men are Walker A. Williams, V.P. for Sales and Advertising, and kneeling is Earle S. MacPherson, V.P. for Engineering.

A mid 1950’s design of Russinoff’s with bubble top and rocket-like gun-sight taillights.