Re: Ex-Packard Designers
Posted by Packard5687 On 2014/8/3 16:14:23
hee hee... I didn't necessarily mean that as a pat on Brownlee's back - rather it is just an observation. I have no idea who was the first to come up with the overall shape of that roofline, so I'm not suggesting that it was Brownlee. 
Be all of that as it may, the Brownlee roofline is obviously intended to drop lower than the planned Patrician roofline. Nevertheless, the overall shape of the two is remarkably similar.
To my eye, the Brownlee designs look more GM than they look Packard. Of the planned '57 Packards, the Patrician is my least favorite principally because of that roofline. On the other hand, I think the Four Hundred four door hardtop would have been sensational.
What was in the back of my mind - but I didn't write it in my comment - that I find it remarkable how design similarities happen across the spectrum of automotive design at any given time. The "dogleg" and the compound convex windshield was a hot thing in the mid-'50s. I wonder how much "looking over the shoulder" goes on among designers.
I am also aware that some design elements are driven by engineering for the very reasons you point out.
You and I are almost neighbors! I live in Dixon...
Be all of that as it may, the Brownlee roofline is obviously intended to drop lower than the planned Patrician roofline. Nevertheless, the overall shape of the two is remarkably similar.
To my eye, the Brownlee designs look more GM than they look Packard. Of the planned '57 Packards, the Patrician is my least favorite principally because of that roofline. On the other hand, I think the Four Hundred four door hardtop would have been sensational.
What was in the back of my mind - but I didn't write it in my comment - that I find it remarkable how design similarities happen across the spectrum of automotive design at any given time. The "dogleg" and the compound convex windshield was a hot thing in the mid-'50s. I wonder how much "looking over the shoulder" goes on among designers.
I am also aware that some design elements are driven by engineering for the very reasons you point out.
You and I are almost neighbors! I live in Dixon...
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