I wonder what the neighbors thought back in ‘69

-
Ddaddy

Ddaddy

I'm changing the World... one pixel at a time!
Joined
Nov 7, 2015
Messages
23,206
Reaction score
31,831
Location
SW of Philly PA
When this showed up on their street...

85600009-540B-4F4E-BCDB-F13C492308F2.jpeg
 
Photochop would have not been in use then......
 
Last edited:
In this photo...the round gave way to the chiseled block form. also the roof line was radically altered as well as the concave rear window. But in 69 that was already 3 years into the line.
 
pishta said:
In this photo...the round gave way to the chiseled block form. also the roof line was radically altered as well as the concave rear window. But in 69 that was already 3 years into the line.
Click to expand...
True, but the rest of what you stated is what I was after. It was a sea change in automotive styling and I wonder what people really had to say about it back then.
 
I loved the first 67 GT I ever saw ever though it was a yellow 273 4 speed. Soon after I bought my red 67 383 GTS.
 
That photo completely skipped 1960 to 1966. There were a lot of changes, stylingwise, in those years that would have eliminated most any of the shock value. .
 
jos51700 said:
That photo completely skipped 1960 to 1966. There were a lot of changes, stylingwise, in those years that would have eliminated most any of the shock value. .
Click to expand...
I don’t think so, people drove a lot less then and the new cars came into neighborhoods a fair bit of time after they were released. I wonder if they said back then the same kinds of things we hear now...about the new cars and their styling vs. the old style body cars that had lived with for a few decades.
 
They probably thought, "Damn, baby, that's a beautiful car." I would think it would have looked cool and futuristic. Imagine how people thought when the street was full of late 40s and early 50s cars, and the first 55 Chevy 2 Dr HT drove down the street.
 
Take the emblems off a new Kia, Honda, Toyota, Mercedes, etc and you probably wouldnt be able to tell what was what. They all are adapting the same fastback styling. I actually liked the "cartoon car" resurgence of the early 2000's: Cube, Scion toaster, PT cruiser, Mini....actually had some original style. Sorry to see the Caddy CTS-V softening its body lines and moving to the soup line, I liked the diamond cut look.
 
harrisonm said:
They probably thought, "Damn, baby, that's a beautiful car." I would think it would have looked cool and futuristic. Imagine how people thought when the street was full of late 40s and early 50s cars, and the first 55 Chevy 2 Dr HT drove down the street.
Click to expand...
How about seeing the first VW beetle 1950-55?
 
harrisonm said:
They probably thought, "Damn, baby, that's a beautiful car." I would think it would have looked cool and futuristic. Imagine how people thought when the street was full of late 40s and early 50s cars, and the first 55 Chevy 2 Dr HT drove down the street.
Click to expand...
The 55-57 Chevy cars were a mild design progression of the earlier cars. If you look in that image, there is a ‘56 Chevy next to the Dart and earlier cars ahead of it that don't look much different.

It wasn’t until the mid 60s that the new squared off chiseled designs started taking hold. By ‘65, the squared off body was becoming mainstream.
 
Last edited:
pishta said:
How about seeing the first VW beetle 1950-55?
Click to expand...
The Beetle took the rounded car look to the extreme and was very much influenced by the 40s cars in a much smaller package.

It’s kind of interesting that the 20s and early 30s cars were more square and chiseled with long hoods and rounded fenders while the early 40s and 50s cars were much more rounded overall with shorter noses.

Funny how the design swung back to chiseled with longer hoods in the 60s and 70s before rounding off bit a bit before the square body resurgence of the 80s...then the pendulum swung back again.

Now we have rounded bodies with chiseled accents and short noses.
 
Last edited:
harrisonm said:
They probably thought, "Damn, baby, that's a beautiful car." I would think it would have looked cool and futuristic. Imagine how people thought when the street was full of late 40s and early 50s cars, and the first 55 Chevy 2 Dr HT drove down the street.
Click to expand...

That's easy. Think back to '93 when the first drop-fender Ram hit the streets. Everybody noticed.
 
harrisonm said:
They probably thought, "Damn, baby, that's a beautiful car." I would think it would have looked cool and futuristic. Imagine how people thought when the street was full of late 40s and early 50s cars, and the first 55 Chevy 2 Dr HT drove down the street.
Click to expand...
My dad had a ‘55. Then it got hit,and wrecked. Cops pronounced him dead at the scene. Could imagine the look on their faces when he came to.
Replaced it with a 64 rambler american and later with a 66 parisienne.
You know, he never owned a Dodge....
 
jos51700 said:
That's easy. Think back to '93 when the first drop-fender Ram hit the streets. Everybody noticed.
Click to expand...
Sure liked those trucks. I worked in the dodge dealersip,97. I bought a 94 last year,still on the fence about fixing it up.
Dakotas came out that year with the new body style,buddy bought one. 5.2 went pretty good. HARD on gas....
 
Back in '69 my '49 Chevy was pretty much an outdated rare site to see. In '69 My cousin drove a '59 chevy back then, ..It was 10 years old! Old car!!!!!!!! Most used cars back then were only a few years old before they went "somewhere" ????????
 
they would have thought look at that cheap pile of crap that has no soul.. it out performs my old *** 50's car in every way but its new and has no soul so its garbage.. much like modern muscle is looked at today by many.. anybody can go buy a fast car i'd rather build mine.. i'm sure you heard that too.. :)
 
abodyjoe said:
they would have thought look at that cheap pile of crap that has no soul.. it out performs my old *** 50's car in every way but its new and has no soul so its garbage.. much like modern muscle is looked at today by many.. anybody can go buy a fast car i'd rather build mine.. i'm sure you heard that too.. :)
Click to expand...
Yes, I still have a hard time getting past PLASTIC A pillow trim!!!!!!!

Back in '64, local kid had a hotrod 55 chevy, fiberglass front, roll and tuck buckets, hot 327, 4 speed,.... I STILL to this day LUST after that car!!!!!!! LOL Yes all 50' cars had soul!! (even GM!???????????)
 
barbee6043 said:
Yes, I still have a hard time getting past PLASTIC A pillow trim!!!!!!!

Back in '64, local kid had a hotrod 55 chevy, fiberglass front, roll and tuck buckets, hot 327, 4 speed,.... I STILL to this day LUST after that car!!!!!!! LOL Yes all 50' cars had soul!! (even GM!???????????)
Click to expand...
I owned 56 and 57 never a 55. Although 55 was my favorite.
Thought several times about buying one just never did.
 
By the late 60s the Dart did not stand out, it blended in. The '68 Charger stood out, it turned heads. It turned my head, I wanted one in the worst way. In the area where I grew up, the western suburbs of Chicago were a hotbed of hot car activity.

There were lots of new or almost new cars around, as well as mostly 60s cars on the street. Any 60s muscle car you can think of was on the scene, as well as hopped up early 60s cars and some 50s stuff like tri five Chevys and two seater T-birds.

In '68 one of the car magazines did a road test on a '68 Dart GTS 340 car. While they were impressed with the power and performance, they described the styling as bland. Their assessment of the car was if you want to go fast and get away with it, buy a Dart because they blend into the background.

Don't get me wrong, I like Darts, they just didn't stand out back then like the OP is trying to imply. My first new car was a '69 Dart, but only because I couldn't afford a '69 Charger.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top