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Curbside Classics Archives
Design Archive
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![(first posted 7/27/2012) A GM Motorama concept car from 1957? No, that’s a prancing horse, not the mark of excellence on the hood. It’s not exactly a 1959 Dodge […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Ferrari-400-superamerica-1959-fr.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1959 Ferrari Superamerica 400 – Super American Style By Pininfarina")
1959 Ferrari Superamerica 400 – Super American Style By Pininfarina
Posted on July 5, 2015 | 36 Comments(first posted 7/27/2012) A GM Motorama concept car from 1957? No, that’s a prancing horse, not the mark of excellence on the hood. It’s not exactly a 1959 Dodge […] -
![While Googling for some info in the W120 Mercedes (180/190) unique platform-frame chassis, I encountered these photos of a curious prototype, designated W122, and featuring a rather suspiciously familiar looking […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/1024_775749_1418312_3568_2368_2008DIG1489.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design History: Packard’s Request, Almost Fulfilled By Mercedes-Benz")
Design History: Packard’s Request, Almost Fulfilled By Mercedes-Benz
Posted on May 31, 2015 | 32 CommentsWhile Googling for some info in the W120 Mercedes (180/190) unique platform-frame chassis, I encountered these photos of a curious prototype, designated W122, and featuring a rather suspiciously familiar looking […] -
![IT WAS a sombre moment when the last R129 SL rolled off the line in 2002: it marked precisely the moment a Mercedes-Benz became a Merc. Indefatigable G-Wagen aside, the SL was the […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MERCEDESBENZSL-R129-948_10.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Future Classic: W212 Mercedes-Benz E-Class -Save The Rhino")
Future Classic: W212 Mercedes-Benz E-Class -Save The Rhino
Posted on April 28, 2015 | 36 CommentsIT WAS a sombre moment when the last R129 SL rolled off the line in 2002: it marked precisely the moment a Mercedes-Benz became a Merc. Indefatigable G-Wagen aside, the SL was the […] -
![THAT’S MORE like it. No more spikey wedges aimed at nouveau riche. Lamborghini is tapping into the Matt Monro-filled alpine hedonism of the Muira with the rather splendid Asterion. You would […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Lamborghini-Asterion_LPI910-4_Concept_2014_1280x960_wallpaper_06.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Future Classic: 2014 Lamborghini Asterion LPI910-4 Concept – A Star Is Born")
Future Classic: 2014 Lamborghini Asterion LPI910-4 Concept – A Star Is Born
Posted on February 20, 2015 | 22 CommentsTHAT’S MORE like it. No more spikey wedges aimed at nouveau riche. Lamborghini is tapping into the Matt Monro-filled alpine hedonism of the Muira with the rather splendid Asterion. You would […] -
![R.I.P vans with seats; long live… just what is the new Espace exactly? It started off so simply: the design of the first generation in 1984 made us understand that there was more […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Renault-Espace_2015_1280x960_wallpaper_03.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Future Classic: Renault Espace – The French Up Their Game")
Future Classic: Renault Espace – The French Up Their Game
Posted on February 18, 2015 | 30 CommentsR.I.P vans with seats; long live… just what is the new Espace exactly? It started off so simply: the design of the first generation in 1984 made us understand that there was more […] -
![I just stumbled into this by accident, but as soon as I saw it all I could see was the 1966 Toronado. I found it at osi20mts.com, about the origins […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Exner-fiat-ghia-1500-clay_small.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Did This 1962 Exner Model Inspire The 1966 Toronado?")
Did This 1962 Exner Model Inspire The 1966 Toronado?
Posted on February 13, 2015 | 34 CommentsI just stumbled into this by accident, but as soon as I saw it all I could see was the 1966 Toronado. I found it at osi20mts.com, about the origins […] -
![Bill Mitchell’s specter hangs like a well-tailored vapor over my Great 28; after all, his guidance and leadership inspired two of the first four cars on the list. Of course, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/031.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Great 28, Car #4–1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, The Almost A Riviera")
The Great 28, Car #4–1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, The Almost A Riviera
Posted on February 10, 2015 | 105 CommentsBill Mitchell’s specter hangs like a well-tailored vapor over my Great 28; after all, his guidance and leadership inspired two of the first four cars on the list. Of course, […] -
![Car number two on my “Great 28” lags infinitesimally behind my favored Continental, and in some ways outpaces it, largely because of its relative attainability. Alas, my window of opportunity […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/8-7-11-004.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "The Great 28, Car #2–1963-65 Buick Riviera: The Buick I Can’t Buy")
The Great 28, Car #2–1963-65 Buick Riviera: The Buick I Can’t Buy
Posted on January 26, 2015 | 83 CommentsCar number two on my “Great 28” lags infinitesimally behind my favored Continental, and in some ways outpaces it, largely because of its relative attainability. Alas, my window of opportunity […] -
![And all these years I’ve been calling the Mark’s neo-classical grille a “faux-Rolls-Royce” grille. Turns out that Henry Ford’s 1901-1902 “999” racer had one several years before there ever was […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Ford-1901-999-vert.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Lincoln Mark IV Design Inspiration Discovered – Ford 999")
Lincoln Mark IV Design Inspiration Discovered – Ford 999
Posted on January 6, 2015 | 29 CommentsAnd all these years I’ve been calling the Mark’s neo-classical grille a “faux-Rolls-Royce” grille. Turns out that Henry Ford’s 1901-1902 “999” racer had one several years before there ever was […] -
![When Virgil Exner and the Highland Park Studios had to finish off the 1950’s, the final Forward Look interpretations for the decade got a heavy dose of new make up. […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/DesotoLer-e1410320058156.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "CC Design Question: 1959 Forward Face Off – Who Wore Their Make-Up Better?")
CC Design Question: 1959 Forward Face Off – Who Wore Their Make-Up Better?
Posted on September 10, 2014 | 46 CommentsWhen Virgil Exner and the Highland Park Studios had to finish off the 1950’s, the final Forward Look interpretations for the decade got a heavy dose of new make up. […] -
![CEO George Romney’s decision to focus AMC strictly on Ramblers was mainly about smaller more practical alternatives to the Big Three. But even then, Rambler did some pioneering, though sometimes […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Rambler-56-CC.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Classic History Capsule: 1956 Rambler Cross Country – The First Hardtop Station Wagon – A Radical New Concept Indeed With All That “Wood”!")
Classic History Capsule: 1956 Rambler Cross Country – The First Hardtop Station Wagon – A Radical New Concept Indeed With All That “Wood”!
Posted on August 11, 2014 | 46 CommentsCEO George Romney’s decision to focus AMC strictly on Ramblers was mainly about smaller more practical alternatives to the Big Three. But even then, Rambler did some pioneering, though sometimes […] -
![In addition to some other shots from Cuba posted at the Cohort, this one by ptfour caught my (and his) because of the obvious similarities between the Rambler and Mercedes. […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Mercedes-W111-and-Rambler.png?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Cohort Sighting: Did Mercedes Copy the 1958 Rambler For Their W111 “Grosser Flossen”?")
Cohort Sighting: Did Mercedes Copy the 1958 Rambler For Their W111 “Grosser Flossen”?
Posted on January 28, 2014 | 40 CommentsIn addition to some other shots from Cuba posted at the Cohort, this one by ptfour caught my (and his) because of the obvious similarities between the Rambler and Mercedes. […] -
![After yesterday’s 1957 Chrysler 300 clay buck post, I cracked open my book on Virgil Exner (“Visioneer”), and was reminded that that buck was not some far-out design that never […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Chrysler-300-1957-prototype-001-900.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Concept Classic: The 1957 Chrysler 300 Almost Did End Up Looking Like That Wild Styling Clay")
Concept Classic: The 1957 Chrysler 300 Almost Did End Up Looking Like That Wild Styling Clay
Posted on April 10, 2013 | 17 CommentsAfter yesterday’s 1957 Chrysler 300 clay buck post, I cracked open my book on Virgil Exner (“Visioneer”), and was reminded that that buck was not some far-out design that never […] -
![After reading Jim Grey’s Curbside Classic on the 1968 Plymouth Valiant over the weekend, I continued thinking about the frontal styling on the car. I never liked this style of […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/66Plymouth68Valiant.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Curbside Question: Automotive Recycling?")
Curbside Question: Automotive Recycling?
Posted on March 1, 2013 | 24 CommentsAfter reading Jim Grey’s Curbside Classic on the 1968 Plymouth Valiant over the weekend, I continued thinking about the frontal styling on the car. I never liked this style of […] -
![Obviously, Bill Mitchell wasn’t going to leave the Corvair alone for long. Beginning with this 1961 Sebring Spyder, there was a steady stream of Corvair-based concept cars. The Sebring Spyder […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Corvair-Super-Spyder-Concept-Car-Top-Rr-Qtr.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "1961 Corvair Sebring Spyder And 1962 Super Spyder – The First Of Many Corvair Design Studies")
1961 Corvair Sebring Spyder And 1962 Super Spyder – The First Of Many Corvair Design Studies
Posted on August 24, 2012 | 23 CommentsObviously, Bill Mitchell wasn’t going to leave the Corvair alone for long. Beginning with this 1961 Sebring Spyder, there was a steady stream of Corvair-based concept cars. The Sebring Spyder […]
