The Dreams that Make the Fords (Feb, 1951)
Filed under: Automotive — @ 2:09 am
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1951
| Buy on Ebay
Source: Popular Science ( More articles from this issue )
Issue: Feb, 1951
| Buy on Ebay
|
The Dreams that Make the Fords
THE automobiles you see pictured here will never be built. They are dream cars from the Advanced Styling Studio of the Ford Motor Co. The studio’s artists drew them as a free exercise in imagination.
A dozen artists and four clay modelers dream up cars like this day in and day out. They have one of the world’s pleasantest chores. Their only assignment is to produce new styling ideas. And they do—some 300
never-never dreamboat designs every year. While these cars will never reach a production line, an idea for a fender curve, radiator grille, or top may be borrowed for a production car in 1955 or 1960.
These cars look great for any time period. I have been seeing concept cars for 40 years that have never made it to market. Too bad they didn’t try producing one and seeing how it would sell.
Comment by Myles — September 19, 2008 @ 11:57 am
The big side-view car is my favorite; something about the proportions say “small car” to me. If they built it as a full four-seater 2-door hardtop with the British Ford Consul 1.5L four, it would’ve blown the Nash Metropolitan out of the water. But please, with exposed front wheels!
(Speaking of the Met, contemporary articles bemoaned its’ hidden front wheels and the restricted wheel cut they imposed. It seems that convincing a doubtful public of the advantages of small cars is that much harder when you unilaterally throw one of those advantages away…)
Comment by nlpnt — September 19, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
Too bad Ford doesn’t revisit some of their own past designs, maybe they could make something other than boring rental cars and get out of the sales cellar.
And I’m not anti-Ford, I’ve got 4 of them, just aggravated at their lack of imagination.
Comment by Neil Russell — September 19, 2008 @ 7:15 pm
So that is where they got their idea for the Edsel?
Comment by Tracy B. — September 25, 2008 @ 3:35 pm