We saw this ’59 Ford here recently, but Simon White has uploaded another shot of it along with a ’67 Mustang fastback. He titled it “The Ford Brothers”. But nobody would guess they were brothers, or at least just assume they had different fathers.
Cohort Outtake: “The Ford Brothers” – Separated By All Of Eight Years
– Posted on June 7, 2019
This picture illustrates just how fast the 50’s fell out of fashion.
1950’s fashions lasted as long as 1960’s – ten years.
On 12/31/1959, 1950’s fashions became 1960’s fashions.
The ’59 with a ’60 Falcon would be even more dramatic in terms of change per year. The Mustang regained some of the fins and kickup of the ’59, but the Falcon was an entirely different shape. The ’59 and the Falcon had the same Mac Daddy.
Good point.
It would also show how the recession of 1957-58 redefined the auto industry.
Chevy guy that I am…I still like this pic a lot. Well done.
One is NYC Madison Avenue gray flannel suit, and the other is LA beach wear.
One is Sputnik satellite, and the other is Apollo rocket.
One is Rock Hudson, and the other is Clint Eastwood.
One is Hardy Boys, and the other is James Bond.
One is boxers, and the other are briefs.
One is McDonalds, and the other is Taco Bell.
One is Marilyn Monroe, and the other is Rachel Welch.
One is family man, and the other is bachelor man.
One is Frank Sinatra, and the other is Beatles.
One is a Boilermaker, and the other is a Harvey Wallbanger.
One is B/W television, and the other is color television.
One is Dobie Gillis, and the other is The Monkees.
One is a white button-down, and the other is a white turtleneck.
Completely different markets and generations.
Still a Ford, however!
Oh Please!
One is Rock Hudson, and the other is
Clint EastwoodSteve McQueen.That said, Clint IS a Ford man.
They did have different fathers. The 1959 was Robert McNamara’s baby, while the Mustang was Lee Iacocca’s pride-and-joy.
Funny thing is 8 years ago from now styling trends are barely distinguishable. Mayhaps there’s truth to the counterpoint that old cars as similar to each other for a given model year, but this is hard evidence of my countercounterpoint that old cars spanning a few years most certainly did not.
That said, best looking Ford product ever and worst looking Ford product ever right here!
The Mustang looks relevant to this day, but the ’59 Ford just looks hideous in comparison and so outdated. Not that I don’t like it, I rode in one of these to Nova Scotia and back, earning its place in my all time favourite cars list.
If I saw them both together, I would easily spend more time admiring the 59, it is surely from a bygone era, fraught with old design concepts, but the engineering that went in to making all those curves and angles is certainly to be admired.
From this angle, it’s clear that Ford really lost the styling plot in the late 1950s. First the 1957 Chrysler offerings and then the 1959 GM lineup explored new styling themes and really set the outer limits for what was to come in the 1960s in terms of size, shape, and proportion: longer, lower, wider. Ford made hay and corralled those afraid to go along for that exciting but ultimately dead-end spaceship ride. Despite Ford’s conservatism, by 1967, all the 1959 models from the Big Three looked equally out of date.
By 1967, Ford was clearly in the stylistic lead again, with the first-gen Mustang creating the pony car template from which the 1967 Camaro cribbed liberally and the perpetually third-ranked Barracuda failed to copy, ending up in a distant third place in the sales rankings.
Go back another ten years to 1949…and this “no-fenders” look was a big change from the 1948 Ford:
That’s actually a ’51, but the differences were only minor.
…and here is a quickie photoedited job on the featured photo.
Much visually clearer than the moody, broody original.
Both could be had with the legendary Ford FE engine. 😉
As a young lad in 1967, I was still in love with those fabulous jet tube taillights. Wonderful shot, Simon!
Amen! How anyone could call the ’59 bad looking is blasphemy.
Also agree. Those trims around the taillights looked incredible when the brakes went on – rays of red reflecting off the chrome.
In the early years the rate of change from year to year was exponential. Cars progressed so rapidly functionally, from the 1910s forward to the ’50’s that older cars became virtually valueless within a few years. That’s one reason so many were scrapped. Things had slowed down a bit around the Millennium. Functionally my ’96 Mustang is a modern car; fuel injected motor overdrive trans, ABS and air bags. All the expected luxury features are there; A/C cruise power windows etc. The wedgelike styling is still pretty current, at least in profile. Even fuel economy is pretty good. But it lacks things like built in navigation and info screens with Bluetooth connectivity, a back up camera and adaptive cruise control. Not to mention side airbags. I guess that makes it pretty outdated.
“…built in navigation and info screens with Bluetooth connectivity, a back up camera and adaptive cruise control. Not to mention side airbags.” All that stuff that I neither need nor want, save for the backup camera & MAYBE the side airbags. When EVs become mainstream in the coming decades, they’ll make ANY car now technologically outdated in comparison–NO engines or transmissions to worry about failing! We’re at the start of the next revolution for automotive progress.
There’s a ten year difference between me and my two older brothers. A Ford F-150 p/u was the car of choice by the oldest, an early Mercury Cougar belonged to the middle one, and I grew up on VW Beetles.
Elvis for the first, The Rolling Stones for the second, and Elton John was blaring on the AM radio of the VW.
Did I tell you of the time I scratched the 45 RPM of “Return To Sender”.
No wonder we never got along!!
We eldest children all recognize the truth in this picture – the younger siblings get spoiled with fancier clothes and more attention than we ever got. They got to spend all of their time having fun on the beach or at the track while we had to handle all of the boring chores. 🙂