Text by Patrick Bell.
Virgil Max Exner, Sr. was born on September 24th, 1909 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He began his work in automotive design in the mid 1930’s at General Motors, worked on Studebaker’s during most of the 40’s, and then joined Chrysler Corporation in 1949. He was responsible for the “Forward Look” that debuted in ’55, with a major restyle in ’57 where he showed his affinity for fins. The latter is where our focus is today.
The “Forward Look” cars looked good, but production quality issues caused problems that were difficult to overcome. The fin phase passed quickly, and the reaction to that along with other issues was slow, and not as well thought out. So the Exner era was soon over. But you can count me as an Exner era fan, as I usually lean towards the quirky, so as a belated birthday wish, let’s take a look at some of his creations.
Our first shot is a ’60 Chrysler Saratoga 2 door hardtop that was registered in Monroe County Michigan. The photographer was taking a photo of his car and likely his family as there were at least two other people inside. Perhaps they were out for a drive on a winter day.
The weather looked much warmer on the day this image was shot. A nice looking ’58 Plymouth Savoy 4 door sedan with the Sportone two tone paint treatment and a V8 was parked in a driveway or perhaps an alley in an older neighborhood adding to the surrounding green tone. This was the second year of the “Suddenly it’s 1960 Flight-Sweep Styling” that was introduced in 1957.
Here is a ’57 Chrysler 300 C that has a sweet story to go along with it. A man living in Seattle, Washington had a friend in Montana who bought this car new. When he wanted to sell it a year later, he called his Seattle friend and they made a deal. The new owner had met this lady just before he bought the car, and this was their first official date near Mount Rainier, the car still wearing its Montana license plate issued in Yellowstone County. They were married in ’59 and later settled in Portland, Oregon, where they raised their family. In a story written in 2009, the couple still had the 300 along with several other classic Mopars. And as far as I can tell they are still amongst the living.
A sharp looking close to new “Swept-Wing” ’57 Dodge Royal Lancer 4 door from Illinois was parked in an upper class neighborhood in the early spring. The Royal was the middle series of three for ’57. The red and white Illinois license plates for ’57 honored the Illinois State University’s centennial year by using their colors. Perhaps the car owner was an alumnus.
And another ’57 Dodge, this one either a Coronet or Royal Lancer 2 door from California. It had a couple of custom touches such as the baby moon hub caps and dual exhaust tips. It looked nice and straight for at least a five year old car. On the other side of the street was a ’62 Plymouth Savoy or Belvedere 4 door sedan, and in the driveway a two tone ’52-’59 Jeep Utility Wagon. Across the street and down to the right was a pickup probably from the forties that I do not recognize.
This ’59 Plymouth Savoy 4 door sedan was parked in the back section of a parking lot for a photo shoot. It was nice and clean and was wearing what could have been a New York license plate. It looked like a warm day with a strong wind going by the blowing laundry in the background.
A new looking “Swept-Wing” ’58 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer 2 door was parked on a residential side street posing for a photograph. It had a license plate that appears to be from California, and was another one in green that blended well with the local scenery.
Chrysler was the “Glamour Car of the Forward Look”, while this ’58 Windsor 4 door hardtop was about to launch a boat. The driver appeared to be looking behind as he backed down the ramp with possibly his family looking on to the right. I can’t read the license plate, nor the boat registration for location, but it looks like a lake that could have been most anyplace there are hills and trees.
To promote the new uni-body design for 1960, Plymouth was marketed as the “Solid Plymouth”. This Fury 2 door hardtop was from South Carolina and was equipped with the optional “Sport Deck” wheel trim on the deck lid and fender skirts. This view also shows the “Stabilizers” (fins) that improved the handling in a crosswind, or so claimed the sales brochure.
There were at least four people in this ’60 Plymouth Savoy 4 door sedan that looked like they were waiting less than patiently for someone or something. It had a ’61 Illinois license plate and the front wheels were turned into the curb to help keep it from rolling down the hill.
Chrysler really pushed at least the illusion of quality in 1960, calling the Imperial “America’s most carefully built car” in its sales brochure. With less than 18,000 produced, I guess that conceivably could have been accomplished. This one was a Custom Four-Door Southampton, which was the least of the three series.
To me, this ’60 Dodge Dart Seneca 4 door sedan represents the beginning of the end of Plymouth. The Dart line was introduced that year as “a complete new line of economy cars in the low-price field”. And the base price was just $20 more than the Plymouth Savoy two images above. It sold well the first year, but at who’s expense? Parked directly behind it was a ’58 Edsel.
Valiant was the compact offering for 1960 from Chrysler Corporation, as it stood on its own and was not officially a part of the Plymouth line until 1961. Since there were no two door models the first year, this V-100 sedan was entry level for the new compact. It was registered in New Jersey, and the lady was out watching the ice skaters.
Our final shot today is a sharp ’61 Plymouth Fury 4 door sedan. It looked good in that color combination, and I think Ward Cleaver made a good choice when he got his. Parked on the other side of it was a ’60 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Quality or not, those are some remarkable looking cars. However, the 60 Savoy’s Fins (or .. stabilizers) look odd the way the line dips down a bit, just before shooting up to the top. Not a huge fan of this particular style. The rest are pretty much beautiful though.
The `58 Chrysler Windsor launching the boat off the ramp appears to be one of the rare “Spring edition” models based on the extra side trim. Chrysler, like all the others were trying to build sales during a tough recession that year, and offered gussied-up models in all divisions (except Imperial). I only recall seeing 1 or 2 of these over the years. I don’t imagine they were very popular.
It is a Windsor Dartline, which, as you noted, was a “spring edition” designed to boost sales during a tough year. For 1958, the Windsor was placed on a shorter wheelbase shared with the DeSoto Firesweep, which placed additional pressure on DeSoto.
Thanks guys, I learned something new today.
My ultimate dream cars are 61 Imperial LeBaron and 61 DeSoto. IMO the GRAND Finale for Exners fabulous overchromed Finned fantasies for Chrysler Corp. I’ve actually created collages of both, hanging on my wall where I can enjoy them. Walter P. MUST be spinning in his grave at what his Empire, or rather what’s LEFT of it has become!
The word “least” does not fit any Imperial of that vintage.
Awesome looking cars, Dad was a Chrysler guy, one uncle Dodges, another had an imperial… Dad had a 60 Windsor just like this one
Assuming you’re referring to the photo with the four people in the car. It’s an optical illusion, which can be confirmed by comparing it to the other 1960 Plymouth photo in the article. The beltline doesn’t dip on these cars, it carries straight through before it soars upward into a fin. I agree, though, what you’re seeing is rather funky, similar to the ‘Darrin Dip’ in the rear doors of second generation Kaisers.
It’s not an optical illusion. The trunk lid stays mostly level, but the body between the fin and the trunk lid really does slope down, as this shot from the rear shows clearly. There’s a lot going on in that area, and it depends on the angle of the shot.
So much over the top 1950’s exuberance ! .
-Nate
The setting for the Chrysler launching a boat looks a lot like the Finger Lakes region in western NY state. The most likely location is a probably long gone small time marina on the eastern shore of Canandaigua Lake with Seneca Lake a close second. There are several settings along both lakes with the folding topology with interwoven ridges and small streams.
I had thought the same (Finger Lakes region) because the land beyond the shoreline rises so steeply, which makes sense given these lakebeds were carved out by glaciers during the last Ice Age.
Wow – that’s a great story about the 1957 300C from Montana. Made my day.
There’s a subtle irony in the ‘stabilizers’. Although they were effectively just a styling gimmick on The Forward Look cars, they reappeared as struts on the Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird, where they were actually effective at super speedway speeds, moreso than the high horizontal spoiler.
late 50s Chryslers were confusing, there were advertisements in magazines for the glamorous US models but we only got Canadian plodges and Deplotos with mixed up badges and flat head 6, plus Australian Chrysler Royals, a school friends parents had a genuine US 61 Fury four door they imported and had converted to RHD,
Then the Valiants arrived very very gradually Aussie production ramped up along with NZ Valiant assembly and the Canadian stuff stopped.
“61 Fury”, looks about brand new.
Great article and pics. Thank you so much.
My Dad was a Dodge dealer in the ’50’s, and I turned 16 and got my driver’s lisence in 1959. I hung out at the dealership a lot and learned lots and lots about the cars of the Exner era. My favorite Dodges from this time are the ’60 Dart, the ’56’s and the ’58’s. Those were a little bit more restrained than some of the other years. I really like the tri-tone paint on the ’56’s. The Highway Hi-Fi record player didn’t really work all that well.
Thanks again for this post.
The ’57 300C story is rather nice – the gentleman in question had great taste, not only in cars, but ladies too!
The bumper made a nice perch!
I’ll take that ’60 Dodge. I really liked them, and you hardly ever see them anymore, even at car shows or cars and coffee events.
That 4-door Seneca may’ve been the low Dart on the totem pole, but dressed up with those wheel covers and the white walls, that car is looking quite sharp.
My parents had one of these as the family car from 1960 to 1966, but Dad’s was more of a baby blue than a light blue metallic like the one in the featured shot.
Going back to look over these photos again – and one odd thing struck me about the black-and-white image of the 1960 Plymouth Savoy with a bunch of impatient-looking people in it.
The Illinois license plate begins with “M” – which stands for “Municipal”. So this was a government-owned car. That would explain the blackwall tires and dog-dish hubcaps, but the photo sure is a mystery to me!
Looking close at that picture, I don’t know who, but I would guess that someone in that car had beans for lunch.
We might be able to rule out the person in the drivers seat
Good catch on that ‘M’, Eric.
Could it have been a driver’s ed car? I see what appears to be a sign frame on the rear of the car. I saw it on my first inspection, but did not put any thought into it.
Great selection!
The last shot of the ’61 Plymouth – we had a blue Fury 4dr sedan next to the Chevy really points up the heaviness of Exner’s greenhouse designs going back to the original Forward Look cars. Yes, they had the two-door hard tops and four-door sedans in ’57-’59 but think what a ’60 or ’61 Chevy sedan would look like next to this Plymouth,