Design

1978 · 56289 — Los Angeles CA & Detroit MI: Chrysler Corp. ca. 1978-1980. 4to. 103 colour and black & white photographs sized 8 x 10 in. w/ nearly all featuring inventory numbers on versos many w/ concept artist’s identifying marks at lower fore-edge of images all w/ 3-hole punch at upper fore-edge. Black vinyl 3-ring binder manuscript label on spine w/ 1 sheet of manuscript tucked-into front cover entitled “Image Studies†rounded corners slight shelfwear light toning to leaf of manuscript NF exemplar. A fascinating Chrysler Corp. Design Group photo archive documenting the development of the full scale mock-ups and designs for the 1978 & 1979 Chrysler 300 Chrysler Cordoba as well as the rebadged Dodge Charger early concepts for the Dodge Minivan 5 years before introduction and the under appreciated Dodge Omni rally car. Many of the Chrysler concept car designs included here are signed by such artists as Svensen Kreiling and the famed Stewart Reed. The album opens with concept car designs for the 1979 Chrysler Cordoba 300 offering views of a concept car mock-up not only featuring a split between two different designs but also different wheels as well as views of the designs littering the walls and ceilings of the Chrysler Corp. Design Group studios. It also shows the nascent red & blue pinstriping on silver when the eventual production model featured that on a white background. Also shown are the development photos for the rebadged Dodge Challengers and Dodge Chargers basically reusing the Mitsubishi Galant Lambda as a base. Many of these Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth Mopar concept cars are shown with a variety of artists’ renderings for Targa tops sleek modern lines and colours which unfortunately for Chrysler never made it into general production because if they had Chrysler may not have needed the 1979 bailout by the US Government. Of particular interest are the artists renderings of a 1978 Dodge Omni as a rally car and two very early concept designs for the Dodge/Chrysler minivan project led by Stewart Reed. The unsung Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon developed by Chrysler’s European Division were Chrysler’s first front-wheel compact car beating the K-Car to market by over three years and with its’ handling and popularity even received the attention of Carroll Shelby who worked to convert them into true performance race cars. The Minivan would remake the American auto market from the time of its eventual production introduction in 1984 revive the fortunes of Chrysler and spawn many competitors such as the Chevrolet Astro Ford Aerostar Toyota Previa and many others. Reed worked in Chrysler’s design group from 1971 to 1980 as part of the initial Minivan design team then Toyota’s Calty Design Research Inc. in Newport Beach CA and after 1994 operated his own design studio in Plymouth MI creating such concept vehicles as the 1998 Gear Box SUV and the 2001 Cunningham C7 Car. See: David Zatz The Chrysler Cordoba And 300: “Personal Luxury†Allpar Feb. 9 2017; Pete Dunton 1978-1990 Dodge Omni -- the Little Car that Rescued Chrysler Old Car Memories Nov. 24 2018; William Stopford The Most Obscure Special Editions and Forgotten Limited-Run Models: Mopar Edition Part III -- A Trip to Aspen Curbside Classic Nov. 13 2015. Chrysler Corp., unknown