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Jan 24, 2020 · 24 January 2020. The story goes that back in 1953, one of Chrysler’s newest hires, designer Virgil Exner, said, “Let’s try giving the quarter panel this treatment.”. And he waved his hand through the air in an up-swinging arc. With that, Chrysler’s so-called Forward Look was born.
Virgil Max "Ex" Exner Sr. (September 24, 1909 – December 22, 1973) was an automobile designer for several American automobile companies, most notably Chrysler and Studebaker. Exner is widely known for the "Forward Look" he created for the 1955–1963 Chrysler products and his fondness of tailfins on cars for both aesthetics and aerodynamics .
Feb 19, 2021 · February 19, 2021 Steve Data Dive 5. A fairly common narrative in U.S. automotive history is how Virgil Exner saved Chrysler in the mid-50s. Some historians tell a dramatic tale of how he pulled the automaker out of a tailspin caused by a lineup of overly utilitarian cars.
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Jan 29, 2013 · Virgil Exner, Sr., circa 1952, with the original clay model of the Chrysler Special. (Photo courtesy Virgil Exner, Jr.) Development of the Chrysler, Imperial, and DeSoto designs was reasonably straightforward: Full-size clays were presented to division managers in late November and immediately approved.
Revolutionized automotive design in 1955 with the “Forward Look” line of automobiles at Chrysler, where he later served as Vice President of styling Virgil Exner gave a new shape to motion with innovative designs that made many American cars of the 1950s true “dream machines.”
Exner’s first production cars for Chrysler, the 1955 "Forward Look" line, were the Imperial and the first Chrysler 300. The lower roofline and dramatic tail fins were carried through to the 1957 models and their wedge like design earned Exner and his associates the Gold Medal Award from the Industrial Designers’ Institute.
Oct 21, 2007 · Exner would go on to become the first styling chief of the Chrysler Corporation. His work there, including the Forward Look models of the 1950s, would change the course of automotive design.
