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By the mid 60's, Detroit had started to tone down the interiors, and in some cases obviously cheapen them with more plastic, less chrome, less ornate fabrics and trim. Still this is a great example of something more restrained, done right
1964 Buick Riveria, note the real wood trim
By the latter part of the 1960s, though, automakers, for the first time, were encountering significant Federal legislation in the design of car interiors. Driver and passenger safety suddenly became paramount, with less emphasis placed on looks and styling. Out went sharp metal edges, small hard *****, bladed-door handles, rigid steering columns, hard metal dashboards, and other hazardous designs, in favor of padded surfaces and materials/designs safer in a crash.
^ You can still see the obvious cost cutting in Detroit products from the early 60's to the late 60's, lets look at Cadillac since you posted some pics of 1970's Cadillac interiors.
1960 Cadillac Fleetwood interior
1969 Cadillac Eldorado interior
In the 1969 car, the wood trim is fake plastic wood, and most of the "chrome" brightwork on the dash is that plastic chrome that wears off with use, unlike the real deal chrome and polished metal on that 1960 dash board. I love the crushed velour and pillow topped seats in the 1970's/80's Detroit cars, but the quality of the plastic bits and fake wood trim left a lot to be desired compared to a 1970's Benz or what American cars had in them 10-15 years earlier. The 70's cars were over the top gaudy, which is fun, but part of that gaudy/tacky fun factor is they aren't very well built but so ostentatious at the same time. I mean come on Ford, you put the same steering wheel in a farmer's truck as your top of the line Lincoln.
My late father (who strongly disliked Fords, BTW, and believed in 60s-vintage Chrysler drivetrains) was so attracted to the 1965 Thunderbird's interior that he broke down and bought a used one in 1968 (I drove it a number of times).....light blue, just like this one. He thought it was one of the most stunning interiors he had ever seen. The steering column swung away to the right, you as you got in and out, for clearance. The speedometer was a horizontally-expanding red-orange bar that filled up the window from left to right as you went faster.
Not that I've ever seen. I'd like to see a picture of that.
Actually (at least from what I can tell) they did use the same basic pattern......if you discount the wood parts on the LS rim and a couple of extra buttons between the spokes.
man those old interiors are hideous. but some were comfy at least
not sure what my favorite car interiors are, but to me, almost none of them age well... some really old bentleys and rolls royces are impressive, probably because they had almost no plastic to disintegrate and fade over time.
1960 rolls:
while not a big fan of the 'bolted on' screen... this a8 is pretty awesome overall...
man those old interiors are hideous. but some were comfy at least
not sure what my favorite car interiors are, but to me, almost none of them age well... some really old bentleys and rolls royces are impressive, probably because they had almost no plastic to disintegrate and fade over time.
1960 rolls:
while not a big fan of the 'bolted on' screen... this a8 is pretty awesome overall...
I actually am not a fan of the current Rolls interiors. I'm sure the quality is there, but the whole feel of them tends to be more boatish or perhaps truckish vs carish, the instrument clusters are very small. Lots of flat areas. Not a fan:
Rolls always made nice furniture. I never was that impressed by the cars themselves from the mid-late 60's until the Germans finally gave us the Phantom about 10-15 years ago. The 80's and 90's were Bentley's decade IMO. I know that both Rolls and Bentleys were the same car from that era, but the Bentleys looked better and had awesome turbocharged "6 and 3/4 Litre" V8 engines under the hood.
While I myself am a big fan of automotive wood and wood-tone paneling..........that just might be a bit much and overdoing it. I've seen less wood than that in furniture stores LOL.
Interiors change, and so does people's perception. What I though were once awe inspiring interiors just 10 years ago today seem very dated and boring. Interiors that are 20+ years old are about as appealing as a bunch of old furniture.
12-27-16, 08:13 PM
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