|
|
Expert 5K+
Posts: 7207
  
Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | I find this mighty interesting... Why on earth does the 55 Plymouth Plainsman, reputed to have been designed by EX, look so much like thie Mercury XM-800 supposedly designed over at Ford by John Naijar & Elwood Engel ( consultant ) ? Note the similarities in the front and rear styling, the fender opening shapes, and the bulge around the front fender opening. Too much of a co-incidence to me. Anyone here in the know ?
Edited by imopar380 2010-01-01 2:56 PM
 (09-150.JPG)
 (09-162.JPG)
 (Merc_XM800-front.JPG)
 (Merc_XM800-rear.JPG)
Attachments
----------------
 09-150.JPG (46KB - 160 downloads)
09-162.JPG (55KB - 184 downloads)
Merc_XM800-front.JPG (72KB - 154 downloads)
Merc_XM800-rear.JPG (91KB - 159 downloads)
|
|
| |
|
 
Location: Parts Unknown | While I might think the actual production Plymouth evolved into an even better looking car by 57-58, it is a shame Mercury didn't stick with those deeply cut styling motifs. Man, would that thing be a headturner ont he street !!!! 
|
|
| |
|
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 394
Location: Royal Oak, MI | Looks to me like some of the Mercury's styling cues ended up on the '56-'57 Lincoln. |
|
| |
|
Location: Under the X in Texas | Your observations are very valid. My first thoughts would be in two areas: corporate spying or the continual movement of employment in Detroit. The first area would require that Ford had spies going to Ghia or working with Exner. Probable? You bet. In Detroit this has always been a way of life to try to keep up with what the other guys are doing. There is very extensive corporate espionage between the car companies and the styling and engineering departments are the primariy focuses. Second relates to the first because people are continually getting getting laid off, fired, rehired, hired away from, one company to another in the auto industry and while most of this back in the years that concern us was within the US, even then some of it was worldwide and today much more so. So someone working in Chrysler styling had seen the Plainsman drafts, or someone at Ford styling had seen the XM-800 drafts and two weeks later they are working at the other company. Well hello and what do you know? I for one would concur with anyone that feels that the Plainsman is rather out-of-character to the Exner concepts of the era. My hunch would be that the basic idea started over at Ford Styling. It would be interesting to hear the real back story of the Plainsman if it is to be known. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 663
Location: Oakley, Ill | That never crossed my mine before, but you are right. Another pair to look at is the 55 Packard Patrician and 55 Mercury. It is especially obvious in the Monterey 4 door sedan. |
|
| |
|
Elite Veteran
Posts: 636
| Well sure to us, 55 years on, they look very similar . . . but back then every other issue of "Popular (fill in the blank) Magazine" had various Koncept Kars on the cover, and they had like minded themes: aircraft elements--- glass top--- shrouded wheel openings, deeply angled leading and trailing elements. . . just like the 2 shown here. I don't know that one of them didn't copycat----but in the world these guys lived in, they could have designed each just as you see them, without having spied on each other.
I do like the Merc.
Sparky
Edited by sparky7 2010-01-01 8:20 PM
|
|
| |
|
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 461
Location: Brooklyn NY | Both of those cars are mad kool!! I also see later year Lincoln in the Mercury, especially in the fenders. |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 2679
| MoparBrew - 2010-01-01 8:36 PM
Both of those cars are mad kool!! I also see later year Lincoln in the Mercury, especially in the fenders.
I was also going to say they remind me of a lincoln.... not really an attractive car IMO..... |
|
| |
|
Expert 5K+
Posts: 7207
Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | Thanks for the input, Wayne. I've never been a fan of the Plainsman, The current issue of Collectible Automobile has an article on the Ford Concepts of the 50s, and seeing the Mercury XM-800 in the article was a bit of a shock as I had not seen this car before. I always thought the Plainsman was completely out of touch with what Chrysler was doing in styling at the time, and then seeing this Merc. concept car reinforces the idea the there was probably corporate trading and spying going on. I do see some of the styling touches from the XM-800 made it into production on Mercury and Lincoln. Glad it didn't end up at Chrysler. |
|
| |
|
Expert
Posts: 1819
Location: Vancouver, BC | The Mercury appeared on the show circuit in 1954 and the Plainsman in 1956. Thus there was time to pull styling themes from one for the other.
Also remember Exner was the head of styling from 1951, and thus all cars were "styled" by Exner according to Chrysler marketing. The reality, though, was that Exner had stylists working under him that did the actual styling. He basically directed the progress and approved what was became the final product.
So, who knows. One of the Ford stylists may have moved over to Chrysler and worked on the Plainsman. The Plainsman, along with the 1954 Plymouth Belmont and the Dodge Granada, are the least Exner-like designs of the Ghia era at Chrysler. Not sure who did the Belmont, but it was accepted that it was not an Exner project.
The taillamps on the Plainsman remind me of the 1955-56 Packards.
|
|
| |
Plymouth Plainsman styling questions
