70s American car design drawings

[garethj]

I know almost nothing about American cars other than they always looked cooler on TV in the '70s than the stuff we got on British TV shows.

 

For your amusement, delectation and possible download to screensaver directory, I give you this page, and to tempt you in, a few pictures from it.

 

 

I know it's not an ADO16 with arches made of pudding, but if you want to be cooler than Barratt and don't have sunglasses with holes drilled down the sides, you'd better get one of these.

[londonm]

Superb, speaking as a commercial artist I think the last one in particular is excellent. That would have been created in magic markers, lighter fuel, and chalk for highlights. Graphic designers and illustrators no longer have these skills, and just google image search pics and slap a bit of type over the top in Adobe Indesign. Not creativity in my books.

[Junkman]

Did someone say 70s American car design drawings?


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rocket88]

'71 Buick Riveira boat tail, finest of the lot, although the interiors were a serious let down

[Barry Cade]

[Station]

Why lighter fluid?

 

Mayte the 90's00's American car designers should've used it, followed up with a lighter, haha.

[Junkman]

Why lighter fluid?

 

Mayte the 90's00's American car designers should've used it, followed up with a lighter, haha.

 

Truer words were never written.

[Junkman]

[londonm]

Why lighter fluid?

 

Mayte the 90's00's American car designers should've used it, followed up with a lighter, haha.

You use the lighter fuel to spread marker ink, in the same way you use water with watercolour paint. Dries in seconds though, so quicker for commercial art.

[Split_Pin]

Those are amazeballs. I'd love to have one hanging in my living room! I reckon even my wife wild approve!

[Junkman]

 

I wish that "70s" would vanish from the thread title. They were amazing throughout the decades.

[Junkman]

These for example are from 1963:

 

 

[Junkman]

All the below are from an exhibition currently in Houston.
Old design renderings are considered fine art. There is now a permanent exhibition of British designs in the Coventry transport museum, should any Shiter actually care.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing is very obvious though.

Nothing really has to look as daft as the newfangled shit does nowadays.

[mouseflakes]

Those are glorious! Thanks.

[garethj]

One thing is very obvious though.

Nothing really has to look as daft as the newfangled shit does nowadays.

The newfangled shit is designed around crash regulations for occupants and pedestrians. Whilst pointy chrome looks da biz on the front of a car, the man from NCAP would be allocating negative stars for the cars above.

[fordperv]

Euro safety fascism killed style, phact!

 

 

Those drawings are indeed beautiful

[Junkman]

NCAP would be allocating negative stars for the cars above.

 

Yep, things like that happen when you start obeying your oppressors instead of lynching them, which, according to the Nuremberg Treaty of 1946, is in fact your civil duty.

Also, you cannot possibly even try to convince me that meeting crash regulations has to look like this:

 

 

while at the same time this is perfectly legal:

 

 

So no offense, but yeah right.

 

Anyway, ignoring the "70s" in the thread title:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DaveAspley]

All of the above are AWESOME!!!

[Junkman]

What amazes me most is how hard those guys fought for each and every single customer.

[tooSavvy]

I agree that the 'punch a hole in ya chest/no seatbelt' steering wheels and 'why not strap two pitchforks to the edge of the front wing' school of auto design is ..... 'in da past'.....

 

I will argue to anyone that claiming 'regs meanz $hite styling' is missing an important point (.. not a pitchfork one!)

 

..someone with an original idea for a 'style', whilst stacking up all the No..No..No's in the regs, can produce something attractive and DIFFERENT.

 

 

Totally agree with 'let the computer do it all' style void.

 

I heard on the radio, a while ago, a point similar (regs spoil things) when someone described a new bridge structure as 'not a lawyers bridge' - the architect has managed to produce something elegant and impressive (and safe enough) without making it 'lawyer safe' style - Berlin Flak Tower solid.

 

TS 

[willswitchengage]

How many 'likes' did you just get in the top RH corner of your screen?

[tooSavvy]

... one fewer than you just did...??

 

TS

[RoadworkUK]

Looking at this makes my heart ache.

 

It makes me want to go back to Coventry and do my degree all over again, except go at it with the benefit of hindsight from what's happened design-wise over the last ten years. And be better, of course.

 

Even IF I had made it as a designer, I would have been wanting to design cars for the '70s and '80s. Whenever I doodle something at work it tends to expose my Syd Mead / Bladerunner fetish.

 

Considering that none of what the renderings just shown were by anybody more exotic than GM, it's amazing how they all share one thing in common that's missing from the majority of today's proposals; I think the word is mystique.

[rainagain]

I always think it’s a bit sad looking at these amazing designs as there were from a time when it seemed as a species we were on the up and there was nothing we could not do, the future seemed so bright and fantastic discoveries were just around the corner. Now car design seems to be based around how many shiny bits of cheap tech can we put inside to persuade people to lease them for X a month while they work away in their job like a good working bee, lusting after the new iProduct that they really really need to make their life complete.

 

Just to repeat though they are amazing!

[mercrocker]

Basically what's happened is that the world is now fucked.   Its broken.   The assembly lines in China are the only things that matter - they didn't need to take over the world, all they had to do was make the world depend upon it.    How many people can possibly look at something like a Nissan Puke or a Voxhole Mocker and say "one day....."  The dream has gone, motoring is just an extension of sofaworld now.   Its not likely to attract the kind of people who drew cars like they did in the 1940s-1980s.....

[dave21478]

Looking at this makes my heart ache.

 

It makes me want to go back to Coventry and do my degree all over again, except go at it with the benefit of hindsight from what's happened design-wise over the last ten years. And be better, of course.

 

Even IF I had made it as a designer, I would have been wanting to design cars for the '70s and '80s. Whenever I doodle something at work it tends to expose my Syd Mead / Bladerunner fetish.

 

Considering that none of what the renderings just shown were by anybody more exotic than GM, it's amazing how they all share one thing in common that's missing from the majority of today's proposals; I think the word is mystique.

 

Yep.

 

I also studied design at Uni...well.... I say I studied it, I spent too much time vomiting cheap vodka down nightclub toilets and fucked it all up, bombing out half way through re-sitting year two. In a fit of anger I then burnt my folio of work and chucked out several hundred quids worth of art supplies and model making tools.

 

Another great life-decision, Dave. 

[danthecapriman]

Basically what's happened is that the world is now fucked.   Its broken.   The assembly lines in China are the only things that matter - they didn't need to take over the world, all they had to do was make the world depend upon it.    How many people can possibly look at something like a Nissan Puke or a Voxhole Mocker and say "one day....."  The dream has gone, motoring is just an extension of sofaworld now.   Its not likely to attract the kind of people who drew cars like they did in the 1940s-1980s.....

Pretty much sums things up!

 

The best thing to do now is to keep as many old cars etc going as long as possible and enjoy them, because it won't be like it was ever again.

Everything now has to be function over form at a cost. Whatever happened to just making something look good or stylish just because the designer wanted to.

[oman5]

The thing is, Those wonderful drawings came from an era when Detroit was king of the kill and they could afford costly restyles with every single model year to entice people into buying the latest model. they don't need to do it now as most car buying public think anything older than 3 years is shit anyway and they're happy to be tied into permanent finance/leasing delals forever with a new car every 3 years. And finance/leasing is where the money is made.

[tooSavvy]

Aye.... Fidel did detroit a huge favour, proving you can tune a buick to run on volga carb !!!

 

TS

[oman5]

Speaking of Cuba, when it does resume relations with the U.S.A there are going to be some folk mighty disappointed to discover that the treasure trove of 50s classics are all total wrecks with lada running gear, held together by the paint!

 

Sounds ideal. Anyone fancy a buying trip to cuba?