Posts from ‘Frank Peiler’
1957 Ford Ranchero and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
Back in 1956, Ford was preparing for the introduction of their all-new 1957 models, and what an introduction it would be! Not just one line of cars, but two. The large cars were the Fairlane and Fairlane 500, which were built on a 118-inch wheelbase They were available as four-door hardtops and sedans, two-door hardtops and sedans, and a 500 two-door convertible. Later in the model year came the Skyliner retractable-hardtop convertible.
1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith by Vignale (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
I recently came across a couple photos of a 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith with a one-off body built by the Italian coachbuilder Vignale. This car was special ordered by a New Jersey man named Joseph J. Maschuch, and it was finished in the spring of 1955.
1963 Buick Riviera (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
Buick’s 1963 Riviera is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever produced by any auto manufacturer. This svelte personal-luxury hardtop coupe artfully blended American and British style, and it changed the Buick brand’s somewhat stodgy image almost overnight. General Motors styling chief William L. Mitchell freely admitted to borrowing some of the ’63 Riviera’s key design elements. Its razor-edge roof styling, for instance, was inspired by certain 1950s English custom bodywork.
1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 race car (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
It was early 1952 when Mercedes-Benz was in the midst of developing the 300SL sports car. The skeletal frame, drivetrain and suspension were beautifully engineered masterpieces. However, the original form-follows-function body looked like a half-used bar of soap with a cap stuck on top. Let’s say that in this post-WWII era of rebuilding, there wasn’t much of a design department at Mercedes-Benz that the company could turn to.
My Favorite Grilles: Fifties Edition
Is your favorite grille on Frank’s list?
Collectible Automobile publisher Frank Peiler has been working around automotive publications since the early Seventies, but his love of cars goes back much further than that.
10 Coolest Dashboards of the 50s
1955 Packard
by Frank Peiler
In the early days of the automobile, dashboards were just that: wooden planks onto which gauges and switches were mounted.
By the early Thirties, wood dashboards were replaced by steel, and designers began to take an interest in the collection of dials and knobs located there.
1953 Crosley by General Motors
By Frank Peiler
Time for another exercise in counterfactual automotive history. This time we ask the question: What would have happened if other carmakers had lent their designers to Crosley Motors to help style an all-new 1953 Crosley lineup?
By Frank Peiler
The full-size pickup truck market could hardly be hotter these days. Roughly 2.5 million such vehicles were retailed in the United States in 2017, making big pickups the largest single vehicle segment.
Collectible Automobile publisher Frank Peiler picks his five favorite taillights of the early Fifties. Check out his list:
By Frank Peiler
In the early Fifties, auto designers didn’t always seem to put much thought into the back ends of the cars they were creating. The rear of the car often felt like an afterthought–just a place for a trunk and a couple of brake lights, and not much in the way of style.
1960 Chevrolet Corvair “what if” concept
By Frank Peiler
Studebaker introduced its Lark series of compact cars for 1959. Though fresh looking, the Lark wasn’t really as new as it seemed to be. Since Studebaker was strapped for cash, the company’s strategy with the Lark lineup was to update its six-year-old basic body structure with newly styled–and significantly shorter–front and rear sheetmetal.
