Bill Watson wrote:
> Have not received my issue of "Collectilbe Automobiles", so I have not read
> the article yet. But it is well known that the 1964 Imperial styling was
> brought over to Chrysler from Ford. And the car he designed at Ford did,
> indeed, see prodiuction - the 1961 Lincoln Continental.
These are two different cars. One was the '61 Lincoln, the other was a design
exercise that was never produced at Ford-- instead, it became the 1964
Imperial.
It is known that Engel brought over many of the themes and ideas that he
developed at Ford, but what was surprising to me in this article was the degree
to which the '64 Imperial was based on a design that Engel did while he was at
Ford. The interviewer asked if anyone at Ford was upset by Engel taking the
design with him, and apparently no one was. Or, if they were, they didn't do
anything about it.
> If you compare the 1961 Lincoln and the 1964 Imperial you can see the design
> elements carried over - the "fill to the edge of the paper" boxiness, the
> use of trim to outline the fender lines, body sides devoid of trim and the
> "Thunderbird" roofline. A number of auto writers at the time the 1964
> Imperial was introduced commented on how the Imperial looked like the
> Lincoln and were not surprised given that both were done under Elwood Engel.
Yes, I agree with you here.
> The point to remember about Engel's stay at Ford and Chrysler is that at
> Ford, Engel was a stylist. He was constantly coming up with new designs and
> ideas for the projects he was working on. At Chrysler he was the head of
> styling. It was no longer his job to come up new designs, but to supervise
> those under him who did.
I have never worked for a major car manufacturer, but the idea that Engel
didn't come up with new designs while at Chrysler is, I think, erroneous. You
can see Engel's influence in everything Chrysler did for many, many years. And
you can read, in interviews like the one I mentioned, how a person like Engel
can come in and completely change what a design team has done, or give them a
new direction, almost overnight. Although I agree with you, he is a conductor,
he is also a composer as well.
> Other interviews with stylists at Chrysler under Engel do not mention Engel
> desigining anything. Instead Engel is shown as the co-ordinator, making
> suggestions, alterations, and improvements to designs being done by the
> variouos division styling staff.
Who came up with the overall look of the '64-'66 Imperials? And the '67-68,
and the fuselage era Imperials? It wasn't someone under Engel, it was Engel.
Again, I wasn't there, but let's give credit where credit is due. This man had
enormous influence on the cars Chrysler produced during that period. In fact,
because he worked at two companies, I would say he had tremendous influence on
all of the cars produced in the 1960's.
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