Recently "unearthed" sketch from 1971 shows a Dodge Demon Luxury Coupé and a Mercury Comet GT Sportwagon. The Demon is almost scarily predictive of the later '70s luxury fad, with its thick vinyl roof and opera windows. With the exception of the rear fender skirts, it's almost an exact match for the '76-'80 Dodge Aspen with its optional roof treatment. My Comet GT Sportwagon proved to be a dead-end. FoMoCo never produced a wagon of their compacts, sport or otherwise, but the concept of a sporty wagon WOULD become viable in later years by many manufacturers. My roofline was almost the same as the later Toyota Corolla SR5. It was also similar to the then-current Volvo 1800ES, which might be where I got the idea from.
Late '70s Aspen with its optional padded vinyl roof and opera windows, at least five years after my drawing above. (Google Images)
Late '70s Corolla SR-5 sportwagon. I wouldn't mind one of these today in mint condition. (Google Images)
Classic Volvo 1800ES sportwagon. I would love to have one of these also, lol.
UPDATE: Very loyal reader, PhantomX, reminded me that if I had used the Maverick front clip, my drawing would have looked quite a bit like the Pinto wagon that came out in '72. It might not have had the 'sportwagon' moniker, but it was a 2 door wagon with bucket seats and a 4 speed manual transmission standard...
Casey, you really missed your calling. You should have been a designer for the Big 3! Had you been working for them the last 25-30 years I can only imagine the cool designs we would have had. I'm certain the 70's cars would have been a whole lot better!
ReplyDeleteDITTO PX.I CAN'T TALK CAR STUFF BUT I KNOW WHAT I LIKE.
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GOODNIGHT
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
I think the 1800ES was the first Volvo I remember seeing as a child. I found out later that Volvo means "Rolling" in Swedish, I guess that was my first cultural lesson as a child.
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