What Was the Best Year for Car Design?
Perhaps it can be seen in the decadent tail fins of a 1957 Chevrolet. Or the streamlined modernity of the 1936-37 Cord. There’s even a case for the over-the-top engineering of the 2019 McLaren Senna, as beauty comes in many forms. So its now time for us to ask you, member of the Hagerty Community, what was the best year for car design?
I have a curveball to throw you, and here’s my rationale for doing so: Cars can be beautiful, functional, and affordable. Sometimes we get really lucky and one car hits the trifecta, becoming a combination of all three.
Yes, my suggestion is initially half-hearted, but becomes stronger the more I marinate on the concept. Cars in the 1990s came in unique sizes, shapes, and colors (i.e. not just black, white, silver, gray, and the occasional red and blue), and their implementation of computer-assisted design and plastics ensured better performance and superior reliability.
The Dodge Neon is one of those sweet spots that covered the aforementioned trifecta. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the Neon was able to appeal to a variety of needs in a fun-to-drive package. The last bit is actually an understatement, as the Neon’s career in SCCA races should not be summed up in just a handful of words.
And the Neon was awfully functional, with plenty of room with its cab-forward design. The $12,000 starting price meant it was great design available to every motorist, but 15 grand got you a Neon that provided performance (ABS brakes, fully independent suspensions) and luxuries (power everything, sport bucket seats with multi-function console, etc.) that vehicles from previous generations would absolutely kill to possess.
With the debut of the Neon and its successful execution of a truly holistic automotive offering, 1995 is the year I’ve chosen for this thought experiment. There are other, perhaps less dark-horse choices (just about any year in the 1960s, for example), though there are plenty of moments across the history of the automobile that could make a good case. With that, what say you, and why?
What Was The Best Year For Car Design?
One could argue that the most significant year was 1961 as it was the year when sanity returned to auto design. GM pulled back from Harley Earl’s psychedelic finned chrome-slathered nightmares of the late 1950s, penned in panic after viewing Exner’s finned 1957 Chrysler lineup in fall 1956, and introduced new styling chief Bill Mitchell’s downsized full-size line-up. His 1961 Bubble Top Pontiacs were beautiful. Similarly, George Walker at Ford regained his sanity after his atrocious 1958 Mercurys, Edsels and Lincolns and produced the stunning 1961 Continental, one of the most beautiful American designs of the 20th Century and Virgil Exner was pushed aside at Chrysler after his flamboyant late 1950s styles soured in the marketplace to be replaced by Elwood Engel (responsible for the 1961 Continental at Ford) ushering in an era of much more tasteful designs at Chrysler in the 1960s. So 1961 is so significant because it set the stage for the golden era of 1960s American auto design.