Orphan of the Day, 03-16, 1961 Plymouth Belvedere

[8E45E]

Craig

[Jim B PEI]

Lovely! And a 1954 Kaiser Special (a.k.a. 'Early Special', the un-supercharged left-over 53 cars with the new front and rear clips, but with the MUCH nicer 1953 interiors intact) in the background

[BobPalma]

One can only imagine the horror on a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer's face in mid-summer 1960, when he first laid an eyeball on the 1961 Plymouth...only to be followed by the 1962. 'Talk about a double whammy! BP

[8E45E]

Lovely! And a 1954 Kaiser Special (a.k.a. 'Early Special', the un-supercharged left-over 53 cars with the new front and rear clips, but with the MUCH nicer 1953 interiors intact) in the background

I referenced that particular one here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ght=copperdust

Craig

[showbizkid]

One can only imagine the horror on a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer's face in mid-summer 1960, when he first laid an eyeball on the 1961 Plymouth...only to be followed by the 1962. 'Talk about a double whammy! BP

Indeed, Bob! Although I can appreciate it for what it is, I look at that car from a design standpoint and think that it's no wonder Virgil Exner was pretty much never heard from again...

[65cruiser]

It's almost as if they produced the first 1961 then said "OMG, we forgot taillights!"

[Bullet]

I had a 62 Belvedere with a slant 6 and the push button trans. Wonderful car. Alot smaller than the 61 for sure. I drove this in the USAF vs the Studebaker in the ND winters.

Mark

[studegary]

My father bought a 1961 Plymouth Bevedere in 1961 to replace his 1953 Mercury Monterey (V8, Std. Trans.). The 1961 Plymouth was a black two door sedan with 318 V8 and standard transmission. He kept it until after he bought a new 1964 Plymouth Fury two door hardtop (318, AT [His first AT.]).

I almost bought a new 1961 Plymouth hardtop with V8 and AT. I finally backed out when I realized that I couldn't bring myself to trade in my 1957 Studebaker President Classic on it.

[Bob Andrews]

One can only imagine the horror on a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer's face in mid-summer 1960, when he first laid an eyeball on the 1961 Plymouth...only to be followed by the 1962. 'Talk about a double whammy! BP

This is my favorite era of cars, but I've always wondered about the styling of cars like this. As much as I love them NOW, I can't imagine how these were ever well-received in their day.

Manufacturers have whole departments for studying trends and consumer tastes; and whole groups of designers to develop bodies based on what their research says. Presumably, they're bright, educated people with, or at least led by people with, proven track records. Ther's millions of dollars and an entire corporation, plus however many dealers, riding on each new model. So you would think that, while not a perfect science, for the most part new models would be winners. Were cars like this ever anywhere close to being in style?? Logic says they would have to have been to have been approved and built, but my eyes say otherwise...

I'm just glad they did make cars like they did from, say, 1957-1963. I never tire of looking at them; to me they're truly rolling artwork. I just can't imagine how any of them were sold even in the numbers they were

[tennessee_anomaly]

One can only imagine the horror on a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer's face in mid-summer 1960, when he first laid an eyeball on the 1961 Plymouth...only to be followed by the 1962. 'Talk about a double whammy! BP

I guess it's easy to say that Exner may have stumbled some after the "Forward Look" models of 1955-59. But, he had what I thought might have been a pretty slick looking design in the works for the 1962 Plymouth models. However, that got thrown out the window when Chrysler executives got wind of General Motors possibly downsizing across the board.

[IMG][/IMG]

[8E45E]

But, he had what I thought might have been a pretty slick looking design in the works for the 1962 Plymouth models. However, that got thrown out the window when Chrysler executives got wind of General Motors possibly downsizing across the board.

Ah, yes..the stillborn Chrysler S-series 1962 lineup of full-size cars. They ALL would have had curved side glass, and the same true 'full size' as GM and Ford. The only 'bad' design element going by the clay studies would be the Exner-trademark front wedges that ended on the middle of the front doors.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1960s-chrysler-concept-cars1.htm

Craig

[JimsLeadCommander]

Look at the top picture again. Anyone notice the similarity in the design of the headlight treatment with the tail light and trim treatment from the 1958 Chevrolet line? Yeah, the '61 big Plymouths weren't very attractive cars; the grill appeared 'kicked-in' at the bottom and the 'stuck-on' tail lights looked like an afterthought; and the odd bulges and body lines did nothing for sales. Compare this car with a '61 Chevy Bel-Air 4 door from the same photo angle or even the 'other low priced three' car the '61 Ford Fairlane...either one win my vote for better design.

[Andy R.]

C'mon guys...it looks pretty decent in the area behind the mirrors, above the door handles and in front of the trunk lid.

Every time I saw Ward Cleaver pull into the driveway, I could only think of one thing as that rear quarter came into view - RAY-O-VAC!

[raprice]

To be honest, when I first saw the '61 Plymouths, I wondered, "what were they thinking?"
Rog

[Sdude]

One can only imagine the horror on a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer's face in mid-summer 1960, when he first laid an eyeball on the 1961 Plymouth...only to be followed by the 1962. 'Talk about a double whammy! BP

Rumor has it that Walt Disney was using drugs when he created the movie Fantasia. Maybe Virgil Exner heard that rumor and thought it would help him design cars....

Just speculating.