Electel Blogspot

First called the Asymmetrica, Chrysler Corporation's 1960 Plymouth sports car concept was renamed the Plymouth XNR after Virgil Exner , the Corporations's styling vice president.  Some authoritative XNR background by Ken Gross can be linked here . The Asymmetrica label was appropriate, thanks to some body shaping only on the driver's side of the car.  I have no objection to this in principle: it depends on how it is done. For example, above is a 1963 Studebaker Avanti that I photographed in Baltimore many years ago.   Note the raised part of the hood positioned in front of the steering wheel.  This asymmetrical solution works well. And what about the XNR's asymmetry?  Let's take a look at some factory photos. Gallery Seen from behind, the asymmetry is emphasized by the cross-shaped rear bumper.  This was a show car feature not likely to have survived had the XNR ever entered production.  That is, the upper vertical element has little realistic protecti...

The Studebaker Champion featured in the advertisement above debuted for the 1939 model year.   Its Wikipedia entry is here , and mentions that styling was done under the supervision of Raymond Loewy. The Champion was designed with the goal of being a light-weight car in the main American entry-level marketplace.  Here are some statistical comparisons.  Its wheelbase was 110 inches (2794 mm), whereas Chevrolets and Fords had wheelbases of around 112 inches (2845 mm), and Plymouth wheelbases were longer yet by about the same margin. A four-door Champion weighed about 2300 pounds (1035 kg), while Ford, Plymouth and Chevy four-doors weighed in the neighborhood of 2850 pounds (1282 kg).  Champion motors had the least horsepower (78) while the others were Chevrolet (85), Plymouth (82 or 86), and Ford (60 or 80, 80 being the norm).  Ratios of pounds per horsepower are: Champion (29.5), Chevrolet (32.9), Plymouth 86 (33.7). The Willys Overland, in the next smaller size...