Design: The 1962 Pizazz

The laws of natural selection as applied to U.S. automobile design make a fascinating Darwinian study: tailfins sprout timidly at first, grow into huge aerodynamic wonders and then recede; teeth and radiator ornaments come and go, sometimes leaving only vestigial traces; eyes, front and rear, grow from two to four, then slip back again to two; some rare species, such as the flat-backed, silver-mouth Edsel, vanish altogether. Thus, in the '50's, when cars became monstrous, chromium-plated caricatures, buyers reacted against this somewhat unnatural selection and rushed for the European small cars,...

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