I really like them all, although I wish the original, full-size '62 Dodge S-Series had been done, as Exner's design was actually meant for that original wheelbase.
I don't know what an S-series is but I had a '62 full size Dodge, the Custom 880 4 dr sd, what a boat.
I really like them all, although I wish the original, full-size '62 Dodge S-Series had been done, as Exner's design was actually meant for that original wheelbase.
I don't know what an S-series is but I had a '62 full size Dodge, the Custom 880 4 dr sd, what a boat.
The S-Series were Exner's early design themes for Chrysler, Imperial, Dodge, DeSoto and Plymouth cars. None had really been finalized yet, so they probably wouldn't have been quite as they looked in the full-size clays that were being shown to management. They tend to date from 1959 or so and were meant to be developed and eventually finalized for release as probably the 1962 line.
The S-Series DeSoto's were dropped when that marque was ended, the S-Series Imperial's never were done and the 1964 re-style was actually from new design chief Elwood Engel. The S-Series Chrysler's were delayed and eventually modified versions were done for '63 and '64.
As for the Plymouth's and Dodge's, the design's were hurriedly downsized onto a 116 inch WB, based on a faulty reading of the market. The S-Series Dodge was originally meant to be on a 119 in. WB so, with other downsizing and economizing last-minute changes, the overall styling and design was severely compromised. Exner did not like the downsizing at all, and neither did the public. The smaller Plymouths and Dodges initially had only smaller engines, too, but this changed later in the model year.
The Custom 880's from 1962 were rather frantically and hurriedly put together from dealer's demands and pleas for a real full-Dodge they could offer for later in the 1962 model year. It was successful in doing that and returned for 1964, even though the "regular" Dodge's were quickly tweaked and put on a longer wheelbase for 1963.
