Christian manz
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Ford and Citröen, at the forefront of design
On the other side of the Atlantic, the English Ford launched in October 1959 its new Anglia, which according to the publicity was "The most sensational car in the world." Produced since 1953 with a body in keeping with the times but with an engine dating back to 1938, it was then in need of a fresh and attractive makeover. The designers made the Z line their main distinguishing feature, marking the first time that the groundbreaking concept entered a popular segment… and indeed in Europe.
This scheme had one more advantage that we have not mentioned so far: the roof protects the moon from the rain. Through the vacuum created by the air depression, it turns out that, with the vehicle running, the water droplets are sucked out, leaving it always clean.
Unfortunately, as a counterpart, this configuration made it impossible to offer an interior storage compartment behind the rear seats, something that was frequently used at that time, especially in England, to leave coats and umbrellas.
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On this occasion, the marketing department took the idea to create a longer-than-normal sales catalog, cut in the appropriate shape. It is the only catalog that has been made with this type of cut -as you can suppose more expensive- and it is currently a highly sought-after collector's item. Finally, the new Ford Anglia, called 105 E, was a commercial success of which 954.426 units were produced in its configuration saloon Z up to 1967.
Fred Hart, Chief Engineer at Ford England, had also been commissioned to develop a new two-door model that would sit between the Prefect / Anglia and the Consul, with a particular focus on rear space. This was an issue that, according to those responsible for the subsidiary, was very neglected by the competition, and for whose solution the height would have to be increased above all, without lengthening the body or reducing a large trunk. The goal was to provide maximum comfort, something for which the Z line came to the hair.
The Consul 315 was then produced, a modern two and four door with double headlights and the already typical Anglia cornice. It was presented as "The car of tomorrow made today", and in their promotional catalogs the cartoonists constantly highlighted the rear three / four silhouette, which they considered the most attractive perspective of the car. This one did not have as much acceptance; It was only manufactured until 1963, when it was replaced by the Corsair, already with a normal window.
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Meanwhile, Citroën officials brought the novel window to an even smaller car, the new Ami 6, launched in October 1961. The president of the French house, Pierre Bercot, had given somewhat contradictory orders to his design team, led in those years by Flaminio Bertoni, according to which a three-volume model should be created using his most parts of 2 CV.
This meant adding a trunk without lengthening the chassis, as well as maintaining a respectable interior space. An almost impossible puzzle to solve. After several attempts, Bertoni managed to solve it with an inverted rear window that gave the new little one its unique character. However, despite all the aesthetic originality of the Ami 6, there is no doubt that the Ford Anglia served as its guide.
In this case, the line was also widely criticized, selling more units of the future Break version, which lengthened the roof to the end of the body. With medium success, the Ami 6 remained in production until 1969, with a total of 483.986 manufactured copies.
Likewise, it is curious to see how the French brand used in the first designs of the GS a mix between the fantastic DS and the Ami 6. You have to see how it would have changed its appearance!
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No continuity
Returning to America, the concept that we analyze in these lines was taken up in the new hardtop variant of the Mercury Monterey, located one notch below that of the Lincolns. Precisely, being both brands owned by Ford, in 1963 it received the rear window split in three from the Continental, at a completely vertical angle and with electric opening from the dashboard. It was on sale until 1964, standing out from the outside for the prominent rear column that covered the glass.
The fashion for the inverted moon or the Z line, also called the Scotch Line, disappeared faster than expected because it had enough detractors that they could not get used to it. But, finally, it is curious to note that it was also implemented in a South African model, the GSM Dart from 1962. GSM, the only brand in the African country, made two-seater sports cars with plastic bodywork and Ford engines and used it, of course, in its hardtop version.
Over the years to come, its prominence declined, with Z solutions that used a less developed window, such as the one on the Chrysler Turboflyte. Designed by Ghia, who had already made the Packard Balboa years before, it was a futuristic prototype with a turbine engine.
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Something else about Teague
It is curious to note that there are not many praise for the inverted moon created by Richard A. Teague, now abandoned. Rather, in the annals of the history of this designer there is more talk about other of his contributions, such as the solutions given, both in the series model and in the show car Request, to the 1955 Packard QUAL.
Richard A. Teague - better known asThick Teague- was born in Los Angeles in 1923. As a child he acted in some of the silent films of that time, until in 1929 he had a terrible car accident that left his mother invalid and he with his jaw and several broken teeth and, worst of all of all, with a total loss of vision in the right eye.
Teague worked at Packard until the brand had to shut down permanently in 1957; The entire design team was then transferred to Chrysler, where Thick he served in the position of chief designer. After Virgil Exner was hired, he moved to the independent design company Schmidt, where he dealt with the development of various utensils not necessarily related to the automobile.
In 1959 Teague was signed by the American Motors Company (AMC), where he became, again, design director from 1961. He would be promoted to vice president of design in 1964, holding this position until his retirement in 1983. He died in 1991 in San Diego, California, at the age of 67.
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