Nice Design, Shame about the car...

We've all had one of these at some time. Sharp sporty cars for their time, that for whatever reasons, bad engineering, poor management, or just bad luck in the stars didn't turn out to be what we thought they would be. Attractive cars that were plentiful and common to see just a few years ago, and now have virtually vanished from our roadways. Automobiles that were once modern and stylish to us then, but wouldn't necessarily want to be driving today.

The Dodge Intrepid

The Intrepid started out as a genuine gee whiz prototype built on a Lamborghini chassis. In the late 80's Chrysler designer, Kevin Verduyn, begin work on the Najao, as a replacement for the aging K-car based Dynasty. Initially the concept wasn't seen as feasible. The design had many elements of the "cab forward" design that would be the hallmark of the LH platform (Intrepid, Chrysler Concorde, & Eagle Vision). Extending of the windshield/A-pillars out & over the drive front wheels and the stretching of the rear (providing more interior room) was evident, but the feasibility and mechanics were not working out, smaller engine compartment size issues (required for the cab forward design)were proving to be engineering headaches.

Along comes the fortunate bankruptcy of Lamborghini for Chrysler, who bought up the famous Italian supercar maker. With that the Najao design was revived and with a stretched chassis of a Jalpa, the Portofino, a Lamborghini running prototype developed by Chryslers Pacifica studios, became the spark of life to the Intrepid.

Chrysler's Lamborghini Portofino was the Intrepids inspiration.
Built on a stretched Jalapa chassis.

The Portofino was a stunning show car, and a great platform for working out the engineering issues of the cab forward design. From there Tom Gale, Chrysler vice president of Product Design, and John Herlitz, Chrysler's director of Exterior Passenger Car Design, ran the design right to the production studios.


Intrepid styling buck Intrepid ESX show car

The Intrepid was a smart looking car, borrowing many cues from the prototype (but not the flip up doors) and all the integral bits of the cab forward philosophy. Initially the LH cab forward platform cars sold very well, the design being a genuine step forward from the tired K-car based designs of the past.

ESX concept

Unfortunately, quality and build issues, excessive sludge build up and other engine problems with the standard 2.7 V6, requiring costly repairs, and in some cases engine replacement, killed most of the momentum the cars had with buyers. Even with a fresh, quite skillful and attractive restyle in 1998 the cars never attained the sales forecast Mopar wanted. Today its a sketchy used buy, and already starting to disappear from the roadways due to disrepair. The car was discontinued to make way for the hugely popular new LH rear drive cars like the 300C.


The Isuzu Impulse

What could have been the 2nd generation Scirocco for VW became the Isuzu Impulse (Piazza outside the US). The legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro and his design company Italdesign had penned the original Golf and Scirocco and was expected to be contracted for the follow up. After a exhaustive design study, VW went with their own in-house design with Karmann, and Isuzu was more than thrilled to have the fifth Giugiaro "Copernican revolution", the Asso di Fiori (Ace of Clubs prototype) as their own. Elements of car design we now take for granted, flush glass, complete absence of drip/rain gutters and door/shut lines extending to and into the roofline (in the style of limousine doors) were all introduced on a sporty, crisply designed 2+2 coupe in Geneva 1979.

Giugiaro's Asso di Fiori (Ace of Clubs) Piazza show car

Crowds gathered around the display stand in awe, Giugiaro's common themes of tight crisp lines melding with rounded end shapes were very prominent and very popular. Rumors were abound that this was going to be the next 2+2 introductory Lotus. The car and design certainly looked the part.

Mouths dropped when it was revealed that this was going to be a common production car for little known Isuzu. Jaws dropped further when it was known that the car was designed to meet the specifications of the Gemini 1800 (Japanese version of the Chevy Chevette chassis). Thoughts of such a great looking breakthrough design running on what was essentially a mild rehash of the failed Vega platform left many in the industry scratching their heads.

Despite the chassis, the Impulse initially sold well, assuredly due to its stunning good looks and design. Most of the industry magazines gave it great marks, and the Impulse won awards for the its design, but only so-so praise for the anemic 4 cyl. The handling of course left much to be desired working from Chevette underpinnings. By the time the ruse was reveled, that the Impulse was a very attractive paperweight without the power or footing to get out of its own way, sales for its enthusiast target market virtually disappeared. By the time Isuzu realized the problem and returned with a decent car, a turbo version with chassis tuning by Lotus, it was too late to save it.
It’s a shame to see the few cars of these on the road beaten up and abused; it was once a show stopping, award winning design.

The Pontiac Fiero

Pontiac Fiero SE & GT V6

GM’s second only 2 seat production car, and its only mid engine one has a history dating back to the 50’s with the Motorama show car two-seat Bonneville Special, the Club de Mer, heavily based on the new Corvette.

1956 Pontiac Club de Mer

By the mid 60’s Pontiac’s chief John Z. DeLorean (father of the GTO) campaigned heavily for a Pontiac two seat sports car, the Banshee. The Banshee, was a two seat hardtop, resembling much of the soon to be 68 Stingray in both shape and style. Though the design was very attractive, GM execs, understandably, killed the idea for fear of it competing with the Corvette. A second show only car, a mild rendition of the Banshee, appropriately named the Fiero, with a daring open targa style top proved popular but was never planned to make the public roadways.


1964 Pontiac Banshee & 1969 Pontiac Fiero
Come the late 1970’s, Pontiac, still committed to make a two seat sports car, set up plans to present GM with a proposal. A prototype, the “P”-car, was rushed to the Advanced Three design studio. Under designers heads Ron Hill w/John Cafaro, the car was designed to use plastic body panels above and below the center body line. This strong body line, giving a strong forward leaning wedge shape, became the major design theme running the length of the vehicle, rising slowly towards the rear end. Along with purposely large wheel openings, retracting headlights (but no front grille) the mid engine design was a strong and exciting prospect.

A running prototype was built and the final exterior design was moved to John Schinella in Pontiac studios where more specific Pontiac design identity cues, split bumper pads in the traditional Pontiac theme was added and the theme body line was made a rub strip running the entire length of the car.

The P-cars wedge-shaped, mid-engine design was a hit with GM executives, but at the time of rising gas prices, inflation and fuel shortages, the 14th floor at GM could only be convinced to commit to budget for a 2-seat “commuter car”, not a full on sports car. A large part of the Fieros future fate and problems were sealed from that change of focus.

A change to commuters car from sports car meant that to make budget and design specifications the Fiero turned into a GM shelf parts car. To save costs, development for engineering was farmed out to Entech , and to meet a greatly reduced budget and streamline the tooling process, parts were raided from GM parts bin, the front suspension modified from a Chevette, the noisy and rough Iron Duke motor and a rear engine setup modified from a front drive X car platform was used.

The debut was praised by the industry, and sold well, but the legacy of the shelf parts used, along with initial teething problems for a new model (engine fires, cooling and electrical problems) soon changed sales figures. The Fiero was great to look at, but was underpowered and disappointed those expecting a sportier ride to go along with its fresh looks. Slowly GM corrected problems, adding a stronger more powerful V-6 , reworking the rear suspension for proper sports car handling and in 1986 restyling it with a much more coherent and flowing “flying buttress” fastback design. But as it always seems for the General, and revisiting the fate of the Corvair, by the time they got the Fiero “right” GM killed it, just before the Fiero really got its chance to spread its wings and fly. Fieros are seen less and less on the road today and will probably become tomorrows collector’s items.
-gumbypiz.

Lipstick On a Pig: The Chevy Vega

The Chevy Vega.

The Vega conjurers up memories of noisy motors, warped blocks, high oil consumption, engine fires, early rust/rust prone panel, poor build quality, production plant sabotage & strikes, the list goes on…Who of us didn’t either own or know someone that owned one back then, they were all over the place. Even my Dad bought a LEMON yellow ’74 that year . Nowadays it’s more common to see a Bentley or Ferrari on the road than a Vega.

A quick Google search will find the car in many Top or 10 worst car lists, and maybe rightfully so given its inception and background. But it wasn’t because it was a bad looking car.

Code named XP-887, the Vega started as then GM President, Ed Cole’s pet project. The XP-887 or Vega 2300 was to be Chevys next modern small compact car, a fresh slate after the missteps of the Corvair.

The Vega was GM first attempt at a small car after the Corvair

The first ideas for the car was as a rear engine rotary, but the bad taste of a rear engine Corvair still in its mouth and serious issues with rotary development (NSU’s nightmares with the Ro 80 as an example) nixed those ideas.

Ed Cole Father of the Vega

Ed Cole championed a new all aluminum block impregnated with silicone in the cylinders instead of iron cylinder sleeves (as was standard practice). And as both Chief engineer and company president, no one could, or was going to convince him (the father of the small block Chevy V-8) of this inherent flawed engine design. So Cole was going to get his way, no matter what.

This was the beginning of “committee design” at the General, and Cole quickly set up committees for both engineering and styling as well. As John Z. DeLorean (of the infamous DMC/stainless-steel car fame and head of Chevy at the time) described, it was a car that was "14^th floor engineered " (from the GM building), committee engineered by groups of big-wig executives out of touch with the reality of building a durable car. A project with an engine none of GM engineers supported, and a car Chevrolet didn’t want either, it was forced upon them.

As far back as 1969, two years before its introduction, at its introduction to GM executives, it’s said that the front end of the prototype literally fell off. So the Vega already had some bad karma working for it from the start, all manners of GM executives were walking away from it and its future did not look bright.

So, what do you do with the redheaded child that no one wants, but still have to sell to the public?

You put your best lipstick on a pig, that’s what you do, and that’s what GM did.

A lot of pressure was going on the looks of this car, and the design committee for the styling of the new car was made of legendary names in auto design. Bill Mitchell, Chuck Jordan, Irv Rybicki and Dave Holls were all on board. So they had the talent to hold the pig down, so to speak. The first proposals for the car were contemporary enough, clean pressed “suit” lines that were typical of the Mitchell era, but its front/nose and back were bland. Initially the car had been thought of short wheelbase one, as more of a Nova no frills utilitarian-type and got some uninspired styling to go with that theme.

The XP883 & XP887

But the first of problems for John DeLorean to tackle when he came to Chevy was to revitalize and generate some genuine enthusiasm within his division for the project. By motivating Fisher Body to work with Chevy chief designer Hank Haga, they worked a miracle in modifying the fresh face of the new Haga designed 2^nd generation Camaro F body design cues onto the Vega.

The Camaro’s long smooth nose wide Ferrari egg crate grille and slightly protruding fender headlights influenced from the Facel Vega, are very must present in the Vega. Chevy’s traditional rear pod taillights treatment, typical for the Camaro and the Corvette were stylized an added to the slightly contoured rear of the Vega as well.

Strong hints of Ferrari are seen in both the Camaro & Vega

The Vega was a one of GM’s first of the new vent windowless design, and adding to the more sporting style DeLorean was looking for Haga added functional vents, placed on the deck and at the rear quarter posts.

Styling wise, this little car from Chevy was a good looker, magazines and press all gave the cars overall slightly Italian influenced design thumbs up. Now, no one is going to ever call the Vega a stunningly beautiful automobile, but considering the offerings at the time, the clownish Gremlin, the staid, almost homely Maverick styled Pinto, the Vega was the most handsome of the bunch, hands down.

Vega GT's rolling off the Lordstown, OH plant

Particularly the Vega GT (about 30% of all Vegas sold) and the rare Cosworth Vega looked pretty good for their day, keeping in mind that blow out afros, dashikis, tie-die shirts, Tab, and leisure suits were also popular….

Though the overall result of the Vega was a public relations disaster for GM, and legions of customers probably never returning to a Chevy lot, overall, Chevy sold nearly 2.2 million of these cars, not too bad for a 6.5 year span. By the time the writing was on the wall about the cars troubles, Chevy still moved over 460,000 Vegas in 1974! It was a popular choice, and Chevy kept in pace with the updating of the Camaro, the Vega too incorporating much of the new updates of Camaro too throughout its lifespan.

It’s a tribute to John DeLorean's management skills, Bill Mitchell’s design influence, and the styling genius of Mr. Haga, that the Vega made its way as far and as long as it did. One of the few reasons for the continued strong sales of this car until its last two years.

The Vega is a great example of excellent exterior styling propping up poor or lazy engineering and development. It’s not the first time this has been the case, and certainly won’t be the last.

Lipstick on a pig indeed.