3 Part I: A Brief Review of Wedge Cars Introduction The 1960’s was a significant period of change in the United States and other Western nations, with new trends in music and art, reflecting ideas within a larger cultural shift. In the decade, design changes challenged convention and this was certainly the case in the automotive arena. Applying historical perspective, “wedge” cars coalesced in the late 1960’s and is viewed as movement in automotive design. Definitions of wedge cars range from simple to complex. Definitional common themes are a car characterized by a full body treatment, completely triangulating the front of the car to the rear. Additional features often include a low profile, pointed shape with heightened angularity, broad frontal area and conversely lower emphasis on curvature. Other cars, prior to this design movement, have had wedge elements and some elements of angularity. The wedge car movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s focused on the purity of wedge car design. Impressionism, the 19th century art movement, was characterized by certain techniques of brush strokes, light, visual angle and subject matter. Artists prior to the impressionist period had used all these elements, but history has defined the impressionist period. In automotive history, wedge elements have appeared since the early days of the automobile. The analogy with the Impressionist period in art, underscores that wedge design elements absolutely existed prior to the 1960’s, but wedge elements alone does not mandate inclusion in a review of the wedge car design movement. We are limiting the scope of this review to cars within the primary period of the wedge car movement: the 1960’s and 1970’s. Cars from the design houses of Bertone, Ghia, Ital and Pininfarina are typically cited by journalists and/or automotive historians as the source of historical markers for the origins of wedge cars. Many writers reference the 1967 Lamborghini Marzal (see previous page) as a design anchor for the wedge car movement. Our work here will challenge that thinking and argue that: • wedge car designs had earlier examples that fully represent the wedge car design evolution than the Mazal • these early examples must be included in any historical review • we believe it is helpful to try to identify one or more design anchors for the wedge car movement • candidates will be presented in our conclusion
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