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Curbside Classics Archives
Design Archive
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![We’ve covered the development of the “out there” 1959 Cadillac and other GM cars a number of time, and this SIA article reprint really tells it well. GM designers were […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Cadillac-1959-brougham-14.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Want a “Truly Beautiful” 1959 Cadillac? Then the Brougham Might Be Just Your Thing – Suddenly It’s 1961!")
Want a “Truly Beautiful” 1959 Cadillac? Then the Brougham Might Be Just Your Thing – Suddenly It’s 1961!
Posted on September 26, 2017 | 95 CommentsWe’ve covered the development of the “out there” 1959 Cadillac and other GM cars a number of time, and this SIA article reprint really tells it well. GM designers were […] -
![(first posted 5/19/2013) There’s almost no such thing as a 100% original automotive design; stylists are perpetually recycling ideas, deliberately or unconsciously. But finding the connections takes a good eye, […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Alfa-Romeo-Giulia-super-1972-vert.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Alfa Romeo Giulia Design Inspiration Discovered (And Vice Versa)")
Alfa Romeo Giulia Design Inspiration Discovered (And Vice Versa)
Posted on June 20, 2017 | 30 Comments(first posted 5/19/2013) There’s almost no such thing as a 100% original automotive design; stylists are perpetually recycling ideas, deliberately or unconsciously. But finding the connections takes a good eye, […] -
![(first posted 4/23/2013. Updated and expanded 3/26/2017) It’s an issue that has bugged me for way to many decades: why did the 1959 Lark and 1960 Valiant have such similar […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Studebaker-Lark-1960-fr1jg-crop-horz.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design History: Why The 1959 Studebaker Lark Front End Looked So Much Like The 1960 Valiant Front End")
Design History: Why The 1959 Studebaker Lark Front End Looked So Much Like The 1960 Valiant Front End
Posted on March 26, 2017 | 58 Comments(first posted 4/23/2013. Updated and expanded 3/26/2017) It’s an issue that has bugged me for way to many decades: why did the 1959 Lark and 1960 Valiant have such similar […] -
![(first posted 10/6/2012) What inspired Plymouth to offer the Mod Top option on the 1969 Plymouths? Quite possibly it was the paint jobs created in 1966 by Chicago […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/1966-Chrysler-10-111.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Pop Print/Mod Top Genesis?")
Pop Print/Mod Top Genesis?
Posted on February 5, 2017 | 27 Comments(first posted 10/6/2012) What inspired Plymouth to offer the Mod Top option on the 1969 Plymouths? Quite possibly it was the paint jobs created in 1966 by Chicago […] -
![(first posted 10/8/2012) The 1971 Pontiac had a fairly ambitious front end, but like most production cars, was a watered-down version of what was contemplated in the design studios. Here’s […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Pontiac-1971-design-rendering-glenh.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design Concepts: The 1971 Pontiac’s Nose Before It Got Tamed Down")
Design Concepts: The 1971 Pontiac’s Nose Before It Got Tamed Down
Posted on February 3, 2017 | 30 Comments(first posted 10/8/2012) The 1971 Pontiac had a fairly ambitious front end, but like most production cars, was a watered-down version of what was contemplated in the design studios. Here’s […] -
![Nash image by oldparkedcars.com (first posted 5/26/2012) Bill Stout’s rear-engined aerodynamic Scarab “mini-vans” were brilliant, and way ahead of the times(and too expensive) for the mid-thirties. But Nash decided all […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Nash-Airflyte-Statesman-crop-700-vert.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Automotive History Outtake: The 1935 Stout Scarab Reappears Fifteen Years Later As The 1949 Nash Airflyte")
Automotive History Outtake: The 1935 Stout Scarab Reappears Fifteen Years Later As The 1949 Nash Airflyte
Posted on August 15, 2016 | 25 CommentsNash image by oldparkedcars.com (first posted 5/26/2012) Bill Stout’s rear-engined aerodynamic Scarab “mini-vans” were brilliant, and way ahead of the times(and too expensive) for the mid-thirties. But Nash decided all […] -
![(first posted 10/21/2012) The story has been told many times: After Chuck Jordan had caught sight of a new 1957 Chrysler, Bill Mitchell and the rest of the GM design team […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Cadillac-1959-clay.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Is This The Abandoned 1959 Cadillac Before The “Palace Coup”?")
Is This The Abandoned 1959 Cadillac Before The “Palace Coup”?
Posted on June 29, 2016 | 29 Comments(first posted 10/21/2012) The story has been told many times: After Chuck Jordan had caught sight of a new 1957 Chrysler, Bill Mitchell and the rest of the GM design team […] -
![(first posted 10/23/2012) Since we’re keeping the 1959-1960 GM theme going with today’s ’60 Buick CC, let’s take in this design concept that made it pretty far into the serious […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Buick-1959-concept.png?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "If Two Fins Are Good, Three Must Be Better Yet: How The 1959 Buick Might Well Have Looked")
If Two Fins Are Good, Three Must Be Better Yet: How The 1959 Buick Might Well Have Looked
Posted on June 16, 2016 | 56 Comments(first posted 10/23/2012) Since we’re keeping the 1959-1960 GM theme going with today’s ’60 Buick CC, let’s take in this design concept that made it pretty far into the serious […] -
![A couple of weeks ago, Jim Brophy visited the lemon lot at Yokota Airbase and provided a good overview of the kinds of cars that are often purchased by American […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_0919.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Japanese Classic: Subaru B4 “Blitzen”")
Japanese Classic: Subaru B4 “Blitzen”
Posted on June 6, 2016 | 26 CommentsA couple of weeks ago, Jim Brophy visited the lemon lot at Yokota Airbase and provided a good overview of the kinds of cars that are often purchased by American […] -
![(first posted 5/31/2011) Am I dreaming, or was this car really built? It’s hard to believe, given what a radical front end this was, and still is. The all new […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Stude-51-b.png?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design Analysis: 1951 Studebaker – Way Out, In Front")
Design Analysis: 1951 Studebaker – Way Out, In Front
Posted on March 15, 2016 | 60 Comments(first posted 5/31/2011) Am I dreaming, or was this car really built? It’s hard to believe, given what a radical front end this was, and still is. The all new […] -
Design Capsule: Jensen Interceptor – Design Hand Me Down, Two Times
Posted on March 11, 2016 | 37 Comments(first posted 9/5/2011) The Jensen Interceptor is a handsome brute, undoubtedly. But its design is hardly original, as this little match up with two older cars shows all to well. -
![LET IT be known that developing cars is largely a retrospective activity. Only when the competition moves on do we realise the short-comings of our own product and areas for […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Tata_Nano_im_Verkehrszentrum_des_Deutschen_Museums.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Drive Different – Imagining The Apple Car")
Drive Different – Imagining The Apple Car
Posted on March 7, 2016 | 58 CommentsLET IT be known that developing cars is largely a retrospective activity. Only when the competition moves on do we realise the short-comings of our own product and areas for […] -
![LET ME describe an evolutionary loop I have been pondering, beginning with the Mercedes-Benz 190E. With sheer surfaces and geometric architecture derived from the C111 concepts, the 190E appeared […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2008aug01-489277511dad8.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "Design: What Goes Around Comes Around -Audi Revives The Baby Benz")
Design: What Goes Around Comes Around -Audi Revives The Baby Benz
Posted on February 5, 2016 | 30 CommentsLET ME describe an evolutionary loop I have been pondering, beginning with the Mercedes-Benz 190E. With sheer surfaces and geometric architecture derived from the C111 concepts, the 190E appeared […] -
![MADE IN JAPAN. It’s hard to believe that these three words were once pronounced with a snicker. They were an indictment of an entire economy, a comic’s punchline. For […]](https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/TRADE-MARK-post-1.jpg?resize=115%2C115&ssl=1 "What If? Tin Toys for Big Boys")
What If? Tin Toys for Big Boys
Posted on January 17, 2016 | 44 CommentsMADE IN JAPAN. It’s hard to believe that these three words were once pronounced with a snicker. They were an indictment of an entire economy, a comic’s punchline. For […] -
![(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 […]
