Curbside Classic Archives
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American Brands: GM 
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Design Archive
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COAL #14: More Volvo Imprinting – A Trip to Transpo 72
Posted on January 28, 2024 | 18 CommentsWhich car replaced the trusty Comet? I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you in suspense for another week. You see, the Caliente convertible’s last trip from Art Center back to […] -
Design Analysis: 1974 AMC Matador Coupe and X – Please Go All the Way
Posted on December 11, 2023 | 53 CommentsIt was July, 1972 when the Raspberries released their hit song about a girl asking her guy to, well… you know. -
Automotive & Design History: Mercedes-Benz W110/111/112 Fintails – Béla Barényi And The Elusive Pluckenheckflosse
Posted on December 2, 2023 | 102 Comments(first posted 12/2/2017) Italy, Summer 1981. My father is hustling his brother’s black Mercedes-Benz 220 S heckflosse along the autostrada at speed. Inside the car it’s three children […] -
William “Bill” L. Mitchell, GM’s Second VP of Styling – An Automobile Quarterly Profile by Strother MacMinn
Posted on November 22, 2023 | 45 Comments(first posted 11/22/2017) A short while ago, in a recent CC post the thought was raised that we are now living in a time of boring […] -
Concept Outtake: How the 1961 Cadillac Skegs Were Originally Conceived, And The Whipsawing of GM Design By Chrysler and Ford
Posted on October 11, 2023 | 78 Comments(first posted 10/11/2017) Although it’s a bit fussy, I’ve always had a soft spot for the 1961 Cadillac and its “skegs”. But until I stumbled into this […] -
Automotive History: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream – Cars Without Grilles
Posted on June 8, 2023 | 167 Comments(first posted 6/8/2017) We humans see faces in all sorts of things, we’re wired that way. We especially see faces in the fronts of our cars. Two […] -
Vintage Commentary: Influences – Chuck Jordan On The Art Of Cribbing
Posted on March 16, 2023 | 18 Comments‘Influences,’ ‘References,’ ‘Inspiration;’ all professional terms for what we at CC commonly refer to as cribbing. As time puts distance from a product’s release, a designer will occasionally admit what’s […] -
Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant”, Part 2
Posted on February 28, 2023 | 15 Comments(first posted 3/1/2017) Yesterday’s Part 1 of this two part series focused on the period of time before the “palace revolt” that led to a rethinking of the Earl-led concepts […] -
The Mod Top: Introducing The Car You Wear
Posted on February 4, 2023 | 84 Comments(first posted 10/5/2012) By 1969, flower power went mainstream…right up the Detroit River, even. Hoping to cash in on the latest fad, Chrysler unveiled one of the era’s more colorful […] -
Artificial Intelligence Classics: “Improvements” on some of my previous rides
Posted on December 7, 2022 | 15 CommentsThere is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) generated art is a big thing right now. It can produce some amazing and creative images as well as some very weird […] -
Curbside Catechism: 1957 Aurora—Sins of the Father
Posted on November 27, 2022 | 83 Comments(first posted 11/27/2016) It is fitting that our feature car was designed by a Roman Catholic priest; ‘catholic’ (small c), means ‘universal’, and to the best of my knowledge no […] -
Design Analysis: Did The Lincoln Mark VI Have The Biggest Overhang Ratio Ever?
Posted on October 26, 2022 | 128 Comments(first posted 6/22/2013) Like Jim Cavanaugh — or even more so, if that’s possible — I found the 1980 Mark VI to be rather pathetic: a rolling monument to bad […] -
Design Biography: Philippe Charbonneaux – Vive la Différence!
Posted on October 15, 2022 | 44 Comments(first posted 10/15/2016) Few French designers have left their mark on as many cars, trucks and other products as Philippe Charbonneaux. His only real rival would be Raymond […] -
Automotive History Capsule: Virgil Exner’s 1960 XNR – Plymouth’s Corvette Fighter Almost Made It Into Production
Posted on April 28, 2022 | 43 Comments(first posted 7/30/2012) Virgil Exner came very close to getting his 1960 XNR roadster into production, although probably in a slightly toned down form from the pretty wild prototype. Based […] -
CC Design: Chrysler Studies Ergonomics in 1962, and Now Just Look!
Posted on April 3, 2022 | 128 CommentsErgonomics, also called human factors, is the science of design and arrangement to maximise the efficiency, ease, and safety of people’s interaction with things. It was a
![COAL #14: More Volvo Imprinting – A Trip to Transpo 72 Which car replaced the trusty Comet? I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you in suspense for another week. You see, the Caliente convertible’s last trip from Art Center back to […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/VESC-2.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)

![Automotive & Design History: Mercedes-Benz W110/111/112 Fintails – Béla Barényi And The Elusive Pluckenheckflosse (first posted 12/2/2017) Italy, Summer 1981. My father is hustling his brother’s black Mercedes-Benz 220 S heckflosse along the autostrada at speed. Inside the car it’s three children […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/orangecrash.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![William “Bill” L. Mitchell, GM’s Second VP of Styling – An Automobile Quarterly Profile by Strother MacMinn (first posted 11/22/2017) A short while ago, in a recent CC post the thought was raised that we are now living in a time of boring […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/RDKS-150044-FERR2-004-HR.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Concept Outtake: How the 1961 Cadillac Skegs Were Originally Conceived, And The Whipsawing of GM Design By Chrysler and Ford (first posted 10/11/2017) Although it’s a bit fussy, I’ve always had a soft spot for the 1961 Cadillac and its “skegs”. But until I stumbled into this […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Cadillac-1961-concept.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Automotive History: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream – Cars Without Grilles (first posted 6/8/2017) We humans see faces in all sorts of things, we’re wired that way. We especially see faces in the fronts of our cars. Two […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/squareback73.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage Commentary: Influences – Chuck Jordan On The Art Of Cribbing ‘Influences,’ ‘References,’ ‘Inspiration;’ all professional terms for what we at CC commonly refer to as cribbing. As time puts distance from a product’s release, a designer will occasionally admit what’s […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/influences-1a.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Vintage SIA Design History: “GM’s Far Out ’59s – When Imagination Ran Rampant”, Part 2 (first posted 3/1/2017) Yesterday’s Part 1 of this two part series focused on the period of time before the “palace revolt” that led to a rethinking of the Earl-led concepts […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/SIA-GMsFarOut59s_01_1500.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![The Mod Top: Introducing The Car You Wear (first posted 10/5/2012) By 1969, flower power went mainstream…right up the Detroit River, even. Hoping to cash in on the latest fad, Chrysler unveiled one of the era’s more colorful […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/plymouth-barracuda_mod-top_ad-1_69.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Artificial Intelligence Classics: “Improvements” on some of my previous rides There is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) generated art is a big thing right now. It can produce some amazing and creative images as well as some very weird […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Mercedes-220D-5.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Curbside Catechism: 1957 Aurora—Sins of the Father (first posted 11/27/2016) It is fitting that our feature car was designed by a Roman Catholic priest; ‘catholic’ (small c), means ‘universal’, and to the best of my knowledge no […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1957-aurora-safety-car-4-1024x576.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Design Analysis: Did The Lincoln Mark VI Have The Biggest Overhang Ratio Ever? (first posted 6/22/2013) Like Jim Cavanaugh — or even more so, if that’s possible — I found the 1980 Mark VI to be rather pathetic: a rolling monument to bad […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Lincoln-Mark-6-Ad03.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Design Biography: Philippe Charbonneaux – Vive la Différence! (first posted 10/15/2016) Few French designers have left their mark on as many cars, trucks and other products as Philippe Charbonneaux. His only real rival would be Raymond […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Charbonneaux.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)
![Automotive History Capsule: Virgil Exner’s 1960 XNR – Plymouth’s Corvette Fighter Almost Made It Into Production (first posted 7/30/2012) Virgil Exner came very close to getting his 1960 XNR roadster into production, although probably in a slightly toned down form from the pretty wild prototype. Based […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/plymouth_XNR-1960-.jpg?resize=115%2C115&quality=75&ssl=1)



