The Exner-era cars have a bad reputation, but it wasn't Virgil's designs that
caused this it was the corporate big wigs at Chryslers. Virgil Exner was a
meticulous designer. Today people mostly remember the decadent fins of the
late fifties and equate them to Exner. The fin was only one of many design
elements incorporated into these cars. All fins are not created equal,
however. Exner actually tested models of his designs on a wind tunnel to get
the most efficient aerodynamics. This is how he came to the conclusion that
the canted fin was best. Unlike Exner, GM's designers tacked on inefficient
straight up style fins on their cars. The casnted fin proved itself in wind
tunnel test to have the best aerodynamics and ability to cheat the effect of
cross winds. This is why Mopars have canted fins rather than straight up
fins. The design that we know as "Forward Look" was originally slated for the
1960 model year. As I mentioned before the big wigs wanted to push the
production of these designs three years forward for 1957. While they did
steal GM's crown, the rush of these cars into production meant poor quality
control. This is the true reason why these cars rusted prematurely. The fin
era ended as abrubtly as it started. While today nouveau folks think that
winged cars are laughable. In the late 50's they pointed the way to a future
that wouldn't arrive.
Doug
58 Crown coupe (Exner designed)
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