The headlights do look a bit too much slanted...or..is it my eyes and memory ?
As Ben alluded to, it was Exner's choices of diagonally canted headlights and sky-high fins, all mixed with a bit of kooky Venus styling that made for some rather dated looking cars by 1961 standards. By 1961 -'62, the American "fin-look" was dead (Cadillac held on until 1966).
It was the culmination of these wholly '50's design cues (on 1960's cars) that was deemed controversial and risky. The risk, however, did not pay off for Exner. The once, much praised, auto designer was forced out and Chrysler quickly re-tooled across the board to a more mainstream, updated look.
The headlights do look a bit too much slanted...or..is it my eyes and memory ?
Maybe just a tiny bit too slanted, but it's only a fraction.
The angle the model is shot from also gives the impression the headlamp "stack" is canted forward too much but other pics of the model show the stack as pretty much vertical in side view, which is correct.
I have it and love it, too. They were also supposed to come out with this two-tone blue one but I haven't seen it available yet:
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And you're not likely to. As far as we can tell, the Neo brand is no more. It was owned by Model Car World in Germany and featured prominently on their website, then they apparently gave up on the brand (production problems in China? Production costs? Falling sales? Too many complaints from collectors about quality control? Who knows).
The angle the model is shot from also gives the impression the headlamp "stack" is canted forward too much
Correct Graeme, and the 1:1 image you showed appears like the photographer was sitting on the ground when he took the pic, so I mimicked his pic with this new pic that I took. (I actually had to sit on the ground to take the pic 🤣 )
Can you give this new pic an angle test like the last one?
The angling of the front lights looks pretty well spot-on. (In case anyone is wondering, my second yellow diagonal is a direct horizontal "flip" of the first, so the angles are identical).
So, was Virgil Exner involved with the design of the '61-'62 Imperials ?Â
These are my favorite MOPARS from those years.
Also, I think the '61 Chryslers are beautiful. And let's not forget that Lincoln had canted headlights too.
Basically, Exner was involved with those Imperials but was "overruled"  with the look of the '62s. The board wanted to cut costs and give their lineup a more modern (no fins) look. Exner's famous comment about his, now "fin-less" (Foward Look) cars, was that they all look like "plucked chickens!" Â
The 1958 Lincolns started the diagonally canted headlight look, Chrysler copied it but so did several European makes, including Rolls Royce.
It's been said that Virgil Exner's favorite "Foward Look"Â design were the 1957 Imperials.Â
So, was Virgil Exner involved with the design of the '61-'62 Imperials ?Â
These are my favorite MOPARS from those years.
Also, I think the '61 Chryslers are beautiful. And let's not forget that Lincoln had canted headlights too.
Basically, Exner was involved with those Imperials but was "overruled"  with the look of the '62s. The board wanted to cut costs and give their lineup a more modern (no fins) look. Exner's famous comment about his, now "fin-less" (Foward Look) cars, was that they all look like "plucked chickens!" Â
The 1958 Lincolns started the diagonally canted headlight look, Chrysler copied it but so did several European makes, including Rolls Royce.
It's been said that Virgil Exner's favorite "Foward Look"Â design were the 1957 Imperials.Â
Thanks, Chris, for more info. I need to do more research on Exner.
