Re: ZIS 110

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2010/8/9 14:59:49

Are you suggesting they cut two cars in half and welded the front of the Packard to the back of the Chrysler?

I find this unlikely. The shapes of the bodies would not come near matching for one thing. For another, why waste 2 very expensive imported cars?

It is much more likely they built the body from scratch.

I was surprised to see all those pictures of American luxury cars. The surprise was that they spent all that money, not that they coped American designs.

My guess is that one of the higher ups inspected and rode in the various cars, and said " Make a car with the front of the Packard and the back of the Chrysler. The Chrysler has the best roomiest rear compartment and you-know-who loves Packards".

If you inspect the photos closely you can see that the contour of the body is different between the Russian car and the Chrysler even though the silhouette is practically the same. The shape of the Russian car continues the Packard body side contour to the rear where it blends in with the rear fender.

The 2 body shapes (Packard and Chrysler) harmonize rather well although the result is a very conservative style, but that may be what suited the taste of the senior bureaucrats they were built for.