Autos of Never-were

Sarge · Apr 16, 2010

I think the Holden Efijy or Buick Blackhawk would come pretty colse for me.

2005 Holden Efijy Concept

2000 Buick Blackhawk Concept

Mr. 'H' · Apr 16, 2010

dhermann1 said:
It would look an awful lot like this. A 1941 Buick Century, straight 8.

I love this!!! :eusa_clap

Viola · Apr 16, 2010

I think I would go with a Buick-ish thing.

A Buick Roadmaster, about, oh, '48-ish, with the big grinning grill and of course the chrome side spears. And fins, for no good reason, I think, even though that's not very '40s.

Gotta keep the portholes, too. This is not about understatement.

Phineas Lamour · Apr 16, 2010

Sarge said:
I think the Holden Efijy or Buick Blackhawk would come pretty colse for me.

Both of those are awesome! Mine dream car would probably have the grill of an Edsel.

I have a 2004 PT Cruiser but I am not a fan of the HHR.

Flivver · Apr 16, 2010

The 2000 Buick Blackhawk Concept comes pretty close to my ideal. I thought GM did an amazing job of preserving the essence of the original '39 Buick but with a modern flair. Something Ford Design V.P. J Mays refers to as "retro-futurism".

But I'd like to see the Blackhawk in a variety of bodystyles, not just a 2-door Coupe. I think a woody station wagon would look just great!

And I agree with Lizzie on the simplicity aspect. Modern vehicles have gone off the deep end with gimmickery for the sake of gimmickery. As part of my job, I get to drive dozens of new cars every year. I can't believe how complex and un-intuitive the entertainment systems, climate control systems and navigation systems have become. They're not only difficult to use, they also force the driver's eyes off the road...a real safety hazzard. Give me an old fashioned, two-knob, five-pushbutton radio any day! Oh. and forget the navigation system...PLEASE! A good old map from the local Texaco station will work just fine.

But I *am* sold on modern, fuel-injected, microprocessor-controlled engines. With an inexpensive scan tool they're easy to service, very reliable and the precise control allows them to develop high levels of power and torque while minimizing fuel consumption and emissions.

dhermann1 · Apr 16, 2010

re: the 2000 Blackhawk

I think the Blackhawk is a really cool car EXCEPT, the car they based it on, the famous Y Job, sported the actual original iconic toothy Buick Grill. In 2000 they chose instead to recycle the 1939 creepy mustache grill. It's because of this grill that I can't look at a 1939 Buick without wincing.

Feraud · Apr 16, 2010

You may soon see some of these fantasy autos on the streets of NYC. A proposal to phase out the carriage trade includes comments about replacing carriages with eco-friendly vintage inspired autos.

Viola · Apr 17, 2010

Add me to agreeing the only thing wrong with the concept Blackhawk is the grille.

That Holden is pretty amazing, though.

David Conwill · Apr 20, 2010

Viola said:
Add me to agreeing the only thing wrong with the concept Blackhawk is the grille.

That Holden is pretty amazing, though.

I’ll be the dissenter and say that virtually everything is wrong with the Blackhawk concept. It’s essentially a scratchbuilt ‘39 Buick coupe done in the 1990s street rod style. It’s about as wrong as a ‘98 Caprice with bias ply whitewalls and a Buick straight eight installed.

I don’t object to the car seriously, because no real ‘39 Buicks were harmed (at least I don’t recall that), but I think about the fabrication talent that could have gone into something aesthetically equal to the original Y-job, and it seems a waste.

Of course, the Y-job doesn’t help to sell new Buicks, which is presumably what the Blackhawk was meant to do.

I find the Efijy not perfect, but considerably nicer than the Blackhawk.

-Dave

Flivver · Apr 23, 2010

I think the front end of the Holden Efijy Concept does a good job of evoking '40s cars in general and the original Holden in particular, but to my eye, the rear end is way too elongated.

But, that being said, I'd take one in a nano-second!

One of the AU model car manufacturers made a 1:18 scale model of the Efijy, but they're all sold out now and fetch a huge price on e-bay. Sure wish I had obtained one when they were easily available!

David Conwill · Apr 23, 2010

Flivver said:
I think the front end of the Holden Efijy Concept does a good job of evoking '40s cars in general and the original Holden in particular, but to my eye, the rear end is way too elongated!

I would agree with you if the intent was to imitate a stock '40s car, but I think they were trying to evoke a "taildragger" mid-'40s customizing job ala the Harry Westergard '39 Ford or the Mataranga '39 Mercury.

As an aside, isn't it funny that whenever GM or Chrysler do a real throwback concept, they usually model it after a modified pre-war Ford product? Whereas Ford itself seems to do little or none of that.

-Dave

Edward · Apr 23, 2010

Not so struck on the Buick concept above.... for me it falls in the same camp as the PT Cruiser in that it's very much a modern car with a design influence from an earlier period, as opposed to taking a forties (say) car design and sympathetically upgrading it for modern usage. The Holden comes much closer what I'd fancy, though I think again I'd be wanting a substantially shorter model for cornering, parking, etc...

Diamondback said:
Actually, Edward, that's the really neat part about a variable-displacement V8 with modern controls--you can reduce it to a V6 or a 4-banger, but still have the additional power available should unforeseen circumstances require it; with a 4-cyl you're stuck with whatever you can wring out of it.

To each their own, though.

There is that, though I think even with those limitations here in the UK you'd still be clobbered for insurance with a big block like that. Insurance is a very pricey thing over here (long before you get to fuel), one of the reasons I don't run a car.

Viola · Apr 24, 2010

David Conwill said:
As an aside, isn't it funny that whenever GM or Chrysler do a real throwback concept, they usually model it after a modified pre-war Ford product? Whereas Ford itself seems to do little or none of that.

Well I vintagely hold a grudge against Ford so that works for me, the good bits of the look and none of ol' Henry's ghost.

David Conwill · Apr 25, 2010

Viola said:
Well I vintagely hold a grudge against Ford so that works for me, the good bits of the look and none of ol' Henry's ghost.

What I've read indicates that Ford deserves little of the vilification that has come his way since his death. He was merely a product of his times, no better, and no worse, he just happened to have a higher profile.

I'm sure if we examined Alfred Sloan, Billy Durant, Walter P. Chrysler, or the Dodge Brothers as closely as folk-hero Henry, we'd find them to be every bit as unsavory. It's just that journalists and historians for the past 50 years have made a point of skewering every beloved character that comes along, because that's what's academically proper and sells publications.

-Dave

Flivver · Apr 26, 2010

David Conwill said:
I would agree with you if the intent was to imitate a stock '40s car, but I think they were trying to evoke a "taildragger" mid-'40s customizing job ala the Harry Westergard '39 Ford or the Mataranga '39 Mercury.

As an aside, isn't it funny that whenever GM or Chrysler do a real throwback concept, they usually model it after a modified pre-war Ford product? Whereas Ford itself seems to do little or none of that.

-Dave

I hadn't thought about those custom cars, but I think you're absolutely right.

I also wondered why the PT Cruiser was more of a '37 Ford than anything Chrysler ever built. But Fords of the era remain extremely popular and, Tom Gale, who headed Chrysler Design at that time, is a hot-rodder.

Regarding GM concepts that look like old Fords, the tail end of the Efijy is the only one I can think of. The Buick Blackhawk ('39 Buick), Chevy HHR ('50 Suburban), Chevy SS-R (47-53 Chevy Pickup), Nomad Concept ('54 Motorama Corvette Nomad), and Bel Air Concept ('55-'57 Bel Airs) all appear to my eye to be based purely on GM designs. Have I missed some?

David Conwill · Apr 26, 2010

Flivver said:
Regarding GM concepts that look like old Fords, the tail end of the Efijy is the only one I can think of. The Buick Blackhawk ('39 Buick), Chevy HHR ('50 Suburban), Chevy SS-R (47-53 Chevy Pickup), Nomad Concept ('54 Motorama Corvette Nomad), and Bel Air Concept ('55-'57 Bel Airs) all appear to my eye to be based purely on GM designs. Have I missed some?

You know, you're absolutely right. I overstated my case. The only other I could think of was the E85 coupe that GM did a couple years ago, and that was based on a '34 Chevy.

Still, it bugged me when Chrysler built that '27 Ford roadster with a Chrysler-style track nose. MoPar has a rich heritage of its own that it could draw from. The Airflow may not be something they want to reference, though perceptions of it have softened with time, but have you ever looked at a '31 Plymouth next to a '31 Ford? Chrysler had it going on in the 1930s.

-Dave

Sarge · Apr 26, 2010

Another interesting one from GM was the 2003 Commemorative Edition C5 '53 Corvette roadster.

David Conwill · Apr 26, 2010

Yeesh, I’d forgotten about those. I thought that was an aftermarket kit, not an official GM thing. The mishmash of body lines is arguably worse than the ‘49 Ford/’90s T-bird hybrid kits that they still offer.

A few years back one of the major auto magazines featured a silver ‘54 Corvette with a 327 V8 and modern Corvette independent suspension. Now that was cool. Toss in an LSx engine and we’d have an anniversary car worth talking about. 2013, perhaps?

-Dave

davestlouis · Apr 28, 2010

Gimme a 60s Lark, Falcon or Dodge Dart with an inline six and no power windows/locks/sunroof, etc, and I'd be thrilled. As far as a car that never was, how about a late 60s Lincoln Mark III, but set up as a 4 door, like the T-Bird of that era, with suicide doors. The cars are structurally similar, and it would be a relatively easy thing to do. I seem to recall that someone had ONE built in the early 70s, but I can' seem to find a pic of it.

Puzzicato · Apr 28, 2010

I'd like a British racing green MGA 1600, with power steering and a CD player!

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