Chrysler Chronos: Concept Retros a Concept

The 1988 Chrysler Chronos concept car was inspired by Virgil Exner's 1953 D'Elegance concept car -- a 35-years-later echo.  (The D'Elegance was built in 1952 and displayed that fall at the Paris auto show, but its American debut was in 1953.)

A minimal Wikipedia entry for the Chronos is here.  Background regarding the Chronos is here, mentioning its stylist and the enthusiasm Chrysler expressed for it when it was new.  Despite that, the Chronos had no impact on future production Chryslers apart from, perhaps, its grille bar design.

The Chronos was large, having a 130.9 inch (3327 mm) wheelbase.  No current or future Chryslers had wheelbases that long.  It was a four-door car, whereas the D'Elelegance was a coupé. Further comparisons with the D'Elegance are in the image captions below.

As for the D'Elegance, it was auctioned at Monterey in 2011 by RM Sotheby's whose web site has this page describing that car and its history.  I posted about its degree of influence on Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia styling here.

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The Chrysler Chronos.

And the Chrysler D'Elegance.  This photo was taken in Italy soon after it was built.

Chronos styling carryovers include the hood taper, the "eyelids" around the headlights, the general shape of the side windows and, of course, the fenders.

Side views of the cars, further illustrating their fender designs and window treatments.  The color images of the D'Elegance are from RM Sotheby's.

Chronos and D'Elegance differ most thematically when viewed from the rear.  The D'Elegance features gunsight tail lights and a spare tire cover where the trunk lid would be (there is none), whereas Chronos has an actual trunk lid with partial boat-tail sculpting and conventional taillights.  The backlight windows and C-pillars differ in detail, but have a similar feeling.  The Chronos photo was taken at the WPC museum, but I don't have its source.

My guess is that this was a publicity photo from around 2005 when the new Chrysler 300C was introduced -- I don't have the exact source.  Note the grille bar treatments.

Chrysler's 2003 Airflite Concept

The 2003 Airflite concept car from Chrysler was not a thinly disguised version of a future production model.  But a number of its styling details did appear on Chrysler products.

Wikipedia's take on the Airflite is here, and here is a link whose text strikes me as being taken directly from a Chrysler press release.

The Airflite was a four-door sedan without a full-height B-pillar.  In America 1955-1976, we called them "four-door hardtops," "pillarless sedans," "hardtop sedans" and perhaps a few other titles.  But they did poorly in roll-over tests and disappeared from production lines nearly 30 years before the Airflite.  So to that degree, the Airflite was car-show jazz.

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General view of the Airflite.  I think the wheels are a little too large -- yet another show car feature.

The front end "smile" theme, including the inverse ribbing effect on the hood was picked up by the Chrysler Crossfire and Chrysler Sebring pictured in some images below.

This side view shows the low, long greenhouse.  It's long because it transitions into a fastback.  It also makes the front end seem stubbier than it is.  The Airflite is actually a five-door or hatchback car: note the roof cut line at the C-pillar.

The hatchback cuts are clearly seen in this rear view.  The opening is wide at fender-top level, but narrow at the rear.  Potential buyers of a production Airflite might consider this a demerit.

The side sculpting also carried over to some degree on the Crossfire and Sebring.  The pointed rear of the window profile can be considered logical design, but it bothers me for a reason that I can't yet explain.  In any case, it isn't functional in terms of the rear door cutline and the roll-down window's aft edge.

The fastback aspect.  The roof treatment works best from this point of view.  Note the crease in the backlight glass, part of a crease extending over the roof down to the rear strike panel.  It's one feature I like.

The Chrysler Crossfire appeared about the same time as the Airflite, so it's a slight stretch to claim that the Airflite "predicted" the Crossfire.  Both cars have essentially the same windshield.  The hood and "face" have similar detailing.

The Crossfire also has fastback styling, but all its details differ from the Airflite's.

The 2007-2010 Chrysler Sebring used several Airflite features.  Like the Crossfire, the it has the Airflite facial theme.  Side sculpting is from the Airflite, as is the general treatment of the greenhouse.  However, the Sebring has a slight notchback, and this does not integrate well with the C-pillar area design.  The sense it provides me is that the car seems more industrial than automotive, something that applies to the Airflite as well.

1992 Ford/Ghia Focus Concept vs. Porsche Speedster

Normally when I compare the design of one car to that of another I deal with specific similarities and differences.  This time, I compare two cars that have no design details that closely match, yet share a common feeling thanks to a few features that are evocative.

The primary subject is the 1992 Ford/Ghia Focus concept car.  Background regarding it can be found here and here.

It is a striking design, basically clean but with odd, "organic" (in a kind of biological sense) details placed here and there.  About all that came of the Focus was its name that has been widely used on various Fords cars starting in 1998.  In other words, it is an example of a pure styling exercise.

And the other car?  It's the Porsche 356 Speedster launched in the mid-1950s (information about the 356 series Porsches here, scroll to"Body styles" for mention of the Speedster).

The following images are paired with the Focus on top, Porsche Speedsters below.

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Both cars are two-place roadsters with low, moderately-wrapped windshields.  Porsche: Bonhams photo.

Hoods are low, flowing down towards the bumper / impact area.  Each has thin, chromed side decoration.  Porsche: For sale photo.

Perhaps the major thematic similarity lies in the broad "shoulders" on each side of the passenger compartment opening related to the large-radius upper parts of the fenders.

The Focus features an interesting sprinkling of tail lights.  And the early Speedsters have some rather little dots too, especially if the reflectors are included.  Porsche: RM Sotheby's photo.

Styling Crime: 1997 Chrysler Phaeton Concept

I'm calling the 1997 Chrysler Phaeton concept car a "Styling Crime."  Not a major crime, because most of the car's design is unobjectionable.  But its front end styling is a serious problem: explicable, but not, in my opinion, justifiable.

Supposedly, it harkens back to the 1952 Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton (three built) and the 1940-41 Chrysler Newport (six built), both being dual-cowl phaetons with secondary windshields protecting back seat passengers.

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1997 Chrysler Phaeton, Chicago Auto Show photo.

The Phaeton appears to have a removable metal top.  The B-pillar area windshield is rolled down here.  From the after end of the front wheel opening to the rear the design is simple, the rising side character line adding interest.  The wheels seem a bit too large.

High rear view showing a basically clean design with a hint of a boat tail.  The secondary windshield is down.  Like some classic-era phaetons, rear seat passengers are provided a speedometer and another instrument.

Side view found on the ConceptCarz web site.  The secondary windshield is raised.  Note the very short front overhang and relatively long (for its time) hood.  The fold along the bottom of the side might be a touch too static.

The 1952 Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton whose fender line was adapted for 1955 Chryslers and DeSotos.  Its long, fairly clean sides represent most of its contribution to the 1997 car.

The Chrysler Newport phaeton that was the pace car for the 1941 Indianapolis 500 race.  Its front end served as inspiration for the 1997 concept car's front.

Publicity photo of the Chrysler Phaeton featuring the frontal design.  Like the 1940 vintage car, it features a tapered hood blending into a fairly small V'd grille.  The front fender tops converge to a pointed ridge that carries through on the fender fronts where the headlight assemblies are located.  The result is three similar plan-view profiles: the grille and the fender fronts.  In theory, nothing intrinsically wrong with this.  Where the design gets unglued is the carry-through of the character ridge along the lower sides, resuming in front of the wheel openings and running across the lower edge of the front end.  Again, carry-through lines can be an important tactic for integrating a design.  But here, an observer will most likely read the frontal ridge as being a misplaced (much too low) bumper.  What the frontal design really needs is a proper bumper, and having that would have required major adjustments to the rest of the frontal ensemble.  One solution would have been a design closer to that used for the Newport.  A final note: The large grille grid pattern anticipates Chrysler grilles of 2005 and later, but would not work well on the Phaeton if the 1940 design had been more closely followed.

1996 Lincoln Sentinel: Non-Running Semi-Retro Concept

Even though it's a "pushmobile" concept car (lacking motor, drivetrain, etc.), Lincoln's 1996 Sentinel is interesting.  Unfortunately, when this post was drafted (early July 2017) there was little information about it on the Internet: examples are here and here.

Some observers regard the Sentinel as having Retro styling -- evoking the classic 1961 Continental.  To a slight degree that is so.  It also echoes a 1988 production model and explores a future grille theme.

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The 1996 Sentinel.

Here is a 2009 Lincoln MKS showing one of several variations of a circa-2010 Lincoln grille theme previewed on the Sentinel.

The Sentinel shown in the car dealership where it spent several years.  It is painted a light gray, but the lighting gives it a warmer color.

The main similarity to the 1961 Continental is the sharp fender line.

Here is a '61 Continental for comparison.

Side view.  As is often the case, concept cars are given wheels that are a little too large.

The Sentinel's passenger compartment greenhouse resembles that of the 1988 Lincoln Continental shown here, and not that of the 1961 Continental.

Side view of a 1961 Continental.  Its main resemblance to the Sentinel from this angle is their simple, uncluttered sides.

High rear view of the Sentinel.

The 1961 Continental's rear design was not adapted for the Sentinel.

Chevrolet's Uncluttered 2003 SS Concept Car

Nowadays concept and production cars seem to be collections of planes and angles intended to somehow make wind tunnel tested body shapes distinctive for the target marque.  I think that is simply a fad -- well, I hope it is a fad.

Back around the year 2000 there was generally a lot less ornamentation and shapes were cleaner.  There also was a minor fad for so-called Retro designs, where features of cars from decades earlier were hinted at.

A somewhat obscure concept car from that era is the Chevrolet SS, first shown at the Detroit auto show early in 2003.  It displays some of the characteristics just noted.  However, its design features didn't appear on future Chevrolet sedans.

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The wheels on the SS are huge, so reducing their diameter slightly would have improved the design.  The front fenders are nicely shaped Retro element recalling sports car fenders from around 1950.

The rear is uncluttered, in part because concept cars don't require bumpers.  I can glimpse a trunk lid cut line that suggests an inconveniently small opening.  These details would have been altered for a production version.

An almost-side view showing the simple, nicely done shaping.  The problem of the too-large wheels is clearly shown here.

Here is a 2003 vintage Chevrolet SSR, an odd production pickup truck.  Beginning in the early 2000s, Chevrolet stylists began playing with a frontal theme based on a single, thick bar that was sometimes chromed, sometimes not.  Chromed versions are seen on the both the SSR and the SS concept.  The shallow V grille opening shape also is seen on both vehicles.

Buick Blackhawk Concept: 1939 Parts Included

Many concept or auto show cars have unique, custom-built bodies.  Others intended to preview features on forthcoming production cars might be based on some production or prototype body components.  But so far as I know, only one show car from a major manufacturer used some production body parts from more than 60 years perviously.

That car was the Buick Blackhawk, announced late 2000, first displayed early in 2001, and linked to Buick's 100th anniversary in 2003.

The Blackhawk used the grille from a 1939 Buick and some parts from later models, though the design other than the grille was essentially new.  I found no single source providing a nearly complete version of the Blackhawk's background, though various aspects are discussed here, here, here, and here.

The Blackhawk's concept theme is that of a "street rod" of the late 1940s, but with 2000-vintage details such as the wheels.  Most of the photos below are either factory shots or are from auction houses publicizing its availability -- I'm not sure of most of the sources.  The street view of a '39 Buick is one I took.

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General view of the Blackhawk.  I think it is nicely shaped, in part because stylists were familiar with 1940s design conventions.  That is, they simply had to refine rather than innovate.  I dislike the 2000-vintage wheels because they strike me as being out of character with the rest of the car.

This view from the rear shows the hot rod inspired dual exhausts.  The tail lights and the brake light + badge on the trunk lid are from 1946-48 production Buicks.

A slightly rear-oriented side view.  Adding street-legal bumpers would have degraded the purity of the design.  RM Sotheby's photo.

The top retracts.  Here it is in its raised position.

Now it's halfway lowered.

And here it is in its down position.

Front view showing the 1939 Buick grille and badge.

A 1939 Buick front end.

Finally, a 1939 Buick Special Convertible Coupe.  Below, I repeat the image of the Blackhawk in the first photo for comparison.