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Get A First Look At Rare Sports Car Designs Highlighted By Strother Macminn At The Petersen

• by Petersen Museum
• June 1, 2023

Join the discussion:
'Fast/Forward: Strother MacMinn's Sports Cars of the Future' will introduce the design principles of MacMinn and explore his influence on car culture





WHAT:


The 'Fast/Forward: Strother MacMinn's Sports Cars of the Future' exhibit will be open to the public at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Saturday, June 3, 2023. The exhibition will showcase a unique assortment of classic sports cars from the mid-century period, highlighting their innovative designs from the 1950s, as acknowledged by Strother MacMinn in his 1959 book 'Sports Cars of the Future.'





Visitors of the exhibition will have the opportunity to closely examine select sports cars considered the epitome of design by MacMinn during the 1950s. Highlighted vehicles on display include the 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica by Ghia, the 1955 Chrysler Falcon by Ghia, the 1955 GMC LaSalle II Roadster, the 1955 Chrysler Ghia Gilda, the 1954 Alfa Romeo BAT 7 and a newly restored 'Le Mans Special' coupe, one of the vehicles personally designed by MacMinn in collaboration with Road & Track magazine. As most of these cars were never mass-produced, they are exceedingly rare.




ABOUT STROTHER MACMINN:
MacMinn studied under renowned designer Franklin Hershey, worked for GM's German design division, and played a key role in establishing Toyota's first design studio in Southern California. Although many of MacMinn's personal designs were never realized, his prolific teaching career at the esteemed ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California helped shape the automotive industry.

 

Absolutely. They have not been able to figure out who they are and if they need to stay around, except for the Navigator. They bring out vehicles then let them creep into oblivion as they do not do any refresh. They change complete design themes because someone new is appointed in one of the leadership positions; to be repeated with another theme with the next new person. It is also apparent that in the C suite committees in Dearborn they can't decide if they are supporting or about to cancel the brand.

Clueless and without commitment. Does anyone at Ford even care?

 

I'm sure someone cares, but are they going to address the issue? Probably not.
It would appear they don't know what to do.

 

May I refer you to Post #1 in this thread.....

My thanks for what has become many years of 'design thinking' !

 

Wow, 10 yrs on! Seems like yesterday.
My Senior class had an assignment to design Lincoln’s. They were lost back then as well. Lincoln that is.

 

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hard to believe that was from the 1950's.

 

New book out with the work of over 100 designers. Cool sketches from a bygone era. 456 pages and a bit pricey @ $150. But very cool regardless. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Amusing Pininfarina 'poor design' list!
https://jalopnik.com/these-are-the-worst-cars-penned-by-pininfarina-1850244201/slides/13

 

The Mondial isn't "universally loathed", what the hell are they talking about?

All the best,
Andrew.

 

That's why I prefaced it with 'amusing'
I didn't agree with all the choices either.

 

They maybe got 1/2 correct. IMHO.

 

I disagree with the article title. Everybody has a bad day now and then and some of the submissions seemed to be an attempt to "frame" Pinifarina. IMHO, only 2 cars on that list were complete justified dogs.

Want to see some really bad design sh**? These are the folks who should be shammed.

These are my picks (from a click-bait article) for the most amazing examples of the "worst" cars ever:

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I've always maintained that some day there will be tribunals for crimes against the automobile. Duck & cover time! Image Unavailable, Please Login

While I had nothing to do with the Aztek, I think there are far worse designs than that, but that's another discussion for another day.

 

I know this topic was presented several weeks ago with the passing of Harry Bradley, but a recent interview/Podcast came up on YouTube where Harry was interviewed about his career as a GM designer and the originator of Mattel Hot Wheels along with the custom cars he was responsible. It's lengthy at 1 hr + but I found it fascinating and a great history lesson of the legendary Hot Wheels cars.


His portion starts at @ the 15 min mark.

 

For instance..... Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

There is an never ending unlimited supply of ‘crimes against the automobile’
At least these Frankensteins never saw the light of day!
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Weirdly, I've known half a dozen people in the UK who had FIAT Multiplas, and they've all loved them - including a 308 GT4 owner on FChat. Something about the ugly duck aesthetics and very utilitarian design really spoke to them. They genuinely really loved that car, so I guess you could say it's got a bit of a niche following.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Perhaps we should have a caption contest with some of those dud designs from way back you are posting?

Here's mine: "What if a Thunderbird had sex with a Rambler?"

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Your left, my right? Right?

Don't know whether the engineers or the designers should get credit for these tail light directional signals! What were they thinking?

63e44d9c9c7507e9f54a4b8b21eac913.mp4
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If I were to guess, the designers are responsible, but of course I wasn't there, so cannot say for certainty.

 

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Rocket launchers?

 

When I see the bullet bird and the JFK Continental I keep thinking how these 2 cars came out of a troubled development [See Dean's Garage story] but became some of the greatest Ford Design work. A fluke in the world of Ford as it marked the end of George Walker's time and was to transition to Bordinat's leadership.

To what extent was it that Bordinat's design sense was incapable of sustaining such achievements? I cannot believe that Ford lacked the design talent in the studios but between him and the corporate management it was exceedingly rare when they had an actual great design.

 

Jalopnik talks about bad current design trends. can't say I disagree with many of them.

https://jalopnik.com/worst-current-automotive-design-trends-readers-choice-1850368507

 

I was there for @ 1.5 -2 yrs late '60's-early '70's. They had an abundance of design talent. However, don't forget Mr. Iacocca was there pretty much running things along with HF II. That should tell you something. Mr. Bordinat and company acquiesced to the 'suggestions/whims' of corporate leadership. Tough to tell a guy like Iacocca or HF II no. Survival was contingent on making the 'bosses' happy. Not unlike Government, Corporations and Higher Education.

'You want to survive?' 'If not, I'll get someone that will do my bidding.' The strength of the Design leader is paramount to what comes out for production. No different than anything/anywhere else.