Photos from the Cohort by Slant Six.
Here’s a 1960 Plymouth rocketship doing its second appearance at CC. Back in late January this stranded spaceship appeared at the Cohort, shot from the distance, covered in a light layer of snow (link HERE). Just one shot appeared at that time, with Cohort contributor Hyperpack promising to add more images when time and weather allowed it.
Making good on that promise, the car appeared at the Cohort again, now up close and looking quite clean. However as the open hood suggests, not quite ready for takeoff.
Yes, this spaceship sits on stands and seems to be getting some maintenance work. But if I remember correctly from the comments of Hyperpack, the car does run. So it just seems to be getting some routine work.
As I told in my previous installment, the odd detailing and curious double fascia of these Plymouths takes some getting used to, but I’ve warmed up to those quirks in recent times. Plus those large fins are something else, and look quite astounding from this angle.
The whole jet-age fad was quite passé by the time these came out to the market, but luckily, that’s something I need not worry about 60+ years later. Hopefully, if the car reappears at the Cohort, it will be at a different location, finally proving that this spaceship can still fly places.
Related CC reading:
Cohort Sighting: 1960 Plymouth Fury – Googie This
CC Capsule: 1960 Plymouth Deluxe 2-Door Wagon – Deluxe Accommodations
Cohort Pic(k) Of The Day: 1960 Plymouth DeLuxe Suburban Wagon – Good Bones, Big Fins And Wild Dash
Huh, I guess I’d forgotten how ugly these things were!
As yes, but so gloriously ugly.
True!
The “4dor sdn” was the “mega ugly”, version of the big “60 Plymouth. Amazing there is this much left of this beast. Lord, they were rust buckets!
And the hardtop coupe worst of all, since the low sleek roofline makes the fins look bigger than they even are. A post sedan, 4-door hardtop or wagon, or even a convertible, makes them look a little more balanced.
I read where the Chrysler engineers referred to the fins as stabilizers. Makes sense that in 9 years they came out with the winged Dodge Charger Daytona.
and the “cuz car”; “Plymouth Superbird”.
It was like Chrysler was a victim of the game “fake-out” – Cadillac did the huge fins for 1959 and then when Plymouth tried it for 1960, the entire automotive marketplace yelled “FAKE-OUT” and laughed at them.
I have stared at these cars for years, wondering how I might have taken that reasonably attractive middle part of the body and added front and rear ends that were actually attractive. I love that 2 door hardtop roof. But as-built, I can join DougD in wallowing in the glorious ugliness. If you are going to do an ugly car, go big or go home.
….and then somehow, the ‘61’s were even uglier, even with the fins removed. At least the plucked chicken weird ‘62’s were fresh and trim, although not where the market was.
Virgil Exner reminds me of a major leaguer who had one or two great years, earning heaps of praise and glory, then never coming close again. He hit a home run with the forward look, but the rest of his portfolio does nothing for me.
I recall from some research I did on the 1961 Dodge Dart that much of the work on the 1961 models was done while Exner was recovering from a heart attack, and with Bill Schmidt (formerly of Packard and Lincoln-Mercury design) trying to step in and run things. Unfortunately, things turned into a mess with “Exner guys” in conflict with “Schmidt guys” and there was no real vision or theme coming from that broken styling department.
I want to like the 61 Plymouth, but there was so much over-trimming of higher models on top of a bizarre front end and a kind of soft, flabby overall shape, that I struggle with it. But would love to own one just because it is so bizarre!
Some one at a car show years ago mentioned that he felt the “61 rendition” drove much nicer then did the “60”.
He was showing a “60 convert”. Was blue/white , tutone as I recall.
Top was down, forget what color it was.
Sort of like my feelings about the ‘59 Cadillac. So bizarre, outlandish, over the top – but I can’t stop looking at it.
Regarding the ‘61, it’s like after the design was finished one of the designers noticed “we forgot the taillights”, then tacked the on to the fenders.
Not sure what the term “fake out” means here. I notice those who speak American/English use the word “out” differently to English speakers (as in the country of origin of the language) for instance swap out, we would simply say swap. It is the one word that throws me the most.
And also to some eyes, the 1960 Plymouth fins looked a lot like the 1957 and some joked by saying “Suddenly it’s 1957”. The introduction of the Dart at Dodge who was more attractive didn’t helped things either.
as time goes on I like these more and more. Especially as you get into the 61’s which combines this roofline with the Ghia like tail. Yep the styling is alarming, but I’ve moved off of ugly. Cool car
I too think “Go big or go home” .
So many wild MoPars back then .
-Nate
I don’t think these are particularly bad, for me the Plymouth falls somewhere between the GMs (prettiest)and Fords(ugliest) for 1960, and I like it a whole lot better than the busy Dodge and it’s truncated fins. The worst quality about the 60 Plymouth to me is it’s slab sides, it’s actually a kind of clean design really but the lack of much of anything to break it up like the trim seen on 57-59s makes it look a bit puffy. The hardtop roofline is gorgeous.
61s on the other hand, blech. No argument from me there
The difference between the finned ’60 model and the fin-less ’61 is such a dramatic change. Most other marques had a gradual transition, lowering them until they were blended into the quarter panels. Chevy did something similar, after the ’60 smoothed out the horizontal bat wings, ’62 went to trim angular lines. Ford held onto their fins for one more year. I think the ’61 wore them quite well. But that Plymouth!
With that odd, central ‘almost-fin’.
Seemingly from one extreme to another.
I will add my sarcasm to this mix. Yes, the 1960 Plymouth requires acquiring a taste for it. Then, we have the Governor of New York State who was born at the right time such that now in her later years, she honors the 1959 Dodge, a sibling of this Plymouth. Governor Hochul’s eyebrows are never in the same place, although close, and honor her time of birth.
Attached again
another try
If you’re trying to attach an image, try reducing the file size. If the picture is less than 1,200 pixels wide, it’ll usually attach here.
There’s a pretty fetching ‘60 Plymouth Fury in two-tone blue & white on the ColdwarMotors YouTube site. Scott, the owner, rescued it from a field in Alberta, Canada and did a fantastic job on the restoration. It’s been finished for a year or two, but the restoration was quite a long process.
Yes I have seen the car run around town at at a car cruise or 2. If I see it at my neighibor’s work or at the local lodge I will get more pictures of it “out in the wild”
All the best, CC readers!
I notice the featured ’60 Plymouth displays the Pennsylvania license plate that was first issued in 1958, when the state went to stickers for the following years instead of new plates, up to 1964, with the even-year stickers in green and white.
My mother’s plate back in the day from that time was A94-993, and here’s the whole collection in miniature from 1953-62, plus 1965-66.
It’s like they got the ’59 and ’60 designs reversed. With the smaller fins the ’59 looks the more modern of the two.
Apart from those towering-looking fins, there’s that ‘curious’ (being diplomatic) surfacing on the front fenders, with the headlight ‘eyebrow’ flowing downward into the wheelarch flare. I’d have run that straight back into the fender/doortop chrome, rather than introducing an odd diagonal slash. Different, definitely. More modern? No.
But I do like them better than I did.
I could have lived the rest of my life without seeing these ugly ’60 and ’61 Plymouths again. I’m so glad I got to owned a 1958 Plymouth Fury after seeing these ‘fish out of water’. Having to work on them at the DeSoto Plymouth dealer was discouraging. I should have signed up for the Marine Corps sooner, but made it by 1 November. Then the much nicer 1961 models were out, but it was too late to turn back. 3 years later when I came back, things sure looked a lot brighter. It still amazes me that the corporation would actually build and sell this space ship whale. While stationed at MCRD San Diego, some Sergeant showed up with an almost new ’61. RUST was already penetrating the paint in the headlamp eyebrow portion of the front fenders.
Sorry, that much nicer Plymouth should read the 1962. I know, many people didn’t like them either, but they were a much improved car over the 60 & 61 models and the first year of the Aluminum Torqueflite trans and the more modern suspension that lasted through the 60s and most of the 70s. These days a 1962 Sport Fury is a really good looking car compared to the previous years.
I love them! 1960 and 1961. I would proudly own one without hesitation. In my opinion there are far uglier designs that came from GM and Ford over the years.
I agree whole heartedly with Jay. I like em’ and would love to own a Fury of either year. 60 or 61.Even 62 for that matter., Design elements were certainly not GM or FORD bread and butter themes but certainly provided viable alternatives to them. Un fortunately most of the public from that era didn’t agree with me as sales numbers reveal.
I like the 60. 61, and 62 plymouths. Personally I think they provide a nice alternative to GM and Ford mundaneness of the era. Chrysler needed to dare to be different and had less capital to invest. Having grown up in the 50s and 60s I remember all of them all. Unfortunately, John Q. Public did not share my opinion.