adorshki
Reverential Member
The Pacers (to bring things back around) were not boring looking. Maybe a little clownish, but not boring and not ugly either IMHO.
Yes.
And design credit goes to Dick Teague who was also responsible for the beautiful AMX and Javelin and the AMX GT concept shown above.
"Back in the day" the best of Detroit's designers got recognition they deserved and their unigue personal styling cues were as recognizable as a famous artist like Picasso or Dali or a musician like Hendrix or Montgomery.
(I'm going somewhere with this)
Harley Earl gave us GM's game changing '51 Buick LeSabre concept car.
He also started the tailfins wars when he authorized the '48 Cadillac design of which in my personal opinion the '49 was the peak:
That was the car in which Jack Kerouac embarked upon the cross-country trek that yielded "On The Road"
Earl also gave us the original '53 Corvette, but was forced into mandatory retirement in '58.
His successor Bill Mitchell had "sleeker" design sensibilties and mentored a young gun by the name of Larry Shinoda who evolved the '58 Corvette SS into the '63 Stingray:
Mitchell actually drove that around on the streets, BTW.
Talk about free advertising with teasers.
Shinoda eventually went to Ford and gave them the Boss Mustang:
Meanwhile over at AMC the afore-mentioned Dick Teague was developing the AMX:
And Chrysler's golden boy was Virgil Exner, who ushered in a headlight/grill look whose cues were still valid 50 years later on the "retro re-issue" Chrysler 300's:
Exner also gave us the notorious "bullet-nosed" Studebakers:
OK, like most artists and musicians, they ain't all home runs, either.
'55 Biscayne Concept, Harley Earl approved:
(I actually dig it, though)
Exner also gave us the Valiant which definitely worked better as a coupe, but was still a little too outre for the times:
And Teague was also responsible for the mid '70's AMC Matador, memorable for its appearance in a Bond flick and for which, since I've hit my image limit in a post, will have to link:
https://cdn.hswstatic.com/gif/1974-1978-amc-matador-5.jpg
The Matador was obviously what the Pacer wanted to be when it grew up.
And the Pacer by the way was one of the first cars ever to be designed from the ground up according to the "Form Should Follow Function" philosophy.
OK, so, I said I was going somewhere with this.
Some of the most memorable car designs were love 'em or hate 'm according to personal taste but they were definitely "once seen never forgotten".
There's similar precedent in the guitar world:
Lloyd Loar's Gibsons
Leo Fender's Broadcaster/Telecaster/Stratocaster designs
Les Paul.
Paul Bigsby.
Nat Daniel (Danelectro)
Semie Mosely (Mosrite)
Who were the unsung heroes at Guild who had the guts to design the '80's revamped "S" and "X" series?
And I think the management deserves equal kudos for having the guts to make 'em, ship 'em and let the chips fall where they may (so to speak).
Maybe Hans'll tell us in volume 2 of the Guild Guitar Book?
Or have I seen it and just forgotten over the years?
All the comments about the playability of these guitars only increases my appreciation for their different drummer designs.
Whatever they are they ain't boring and forgettable and cleaving to the traditional 2-circles-and-a-neck design whose ongoing popularity maybe confirms just how conservative guitar players actually are as a group.
Harley Earl said it well:
"The most gracefully styled automobile in the world would not sell well year after year if it were not soundly engineered.
On the other hand a well-engineered automobile would have trouble on the competive market if it were distastefully designed"
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