Hundred Million Dollar Look

The Hundred Million Dollar Look was a design concept from the American automaker Chrysler in 1955 and 1956. It was created under the direction of Virgil Exner .

1950 Chrysler New York Town and Country, before the Hundred Million Dollar Look

... and after that (Windsor Newport, 1955)

history

In 1934, Chrysler introduced the Airflow . This broke with the design that had been common up until then in automobile construction. Chrysler engineer Carl Breer was interested in aerodynamics and so he developed the shape of a car in the wind tunnel , which became the first American mass-produced vehicle in streamline design. The Airflow, however, developed into a commercial failure.

After the Airflow disaster, Chrysler developed a conservative design language in the 1940s. Models like the Windsor were tall and very conservative in design.

In 1949, designer Virgil Exner moved from Studebaker to Chrysler . In 1954, the models from the 1955 model year were advertised as the "Hundred Million Dollar Look" in a large-scale campaign. Chrysler had invested $ 100 million to give its product line a new look. Chrysler abandoned the high-sided design in favor of a lower waistline, longer wheelbase, and larger window areas. The Hundred Million Dollar Look was retained in 1955 and 1956 and eventually replaced by the Forward Look .

criticism

The design scientist Paolo Tumminelli assigns the Hundred Million Dollar Look to the New Line . The beltline of the vehicle was emphasized for the first time, but for technical reasons the outdated round headlights were not abandoned.