The other day I was looking through a back copy of Collectible Automobile magazine and came upon an article about the 1957 Chrysler cars. In his story author Jeffrey E. Godshall recalled "...a bold new line of cars whose soaring fins and low roofs made everything else on the road look like yesterday's news." They were styled under the direction of Virgil Exner, who had drawn a line on paper that was 55 inches high, then told his designers that they should "build an automobile under that line or else kiss sales goodbye." The cars that resulted, literally all-new from road to roof and noteable for their soaring rear fender fins, were eight inches lower than Chrysler's 1954 models and five inches lower than the yet-to-be-announced 1955s. The company's marketing people dubbed it "The Forward Look" which, in the optimistic 50s, must have had considerable appeal.

But what struck me as I read the article was how "long-and-low," once the mantra of Detroit, has gone completely out of fashion. And for good reason, too, because when an automobile's profile is lowered to give it a racy appearance the length must be increased in order to provide adequate legroom for passengers, especially in the rear. So you inevitably get a car with a greater footprint (the wheelbases of those 1957 models ranged from 118 to126 inches) that takes more space on the road, is heavier, and requires more materials to manufacture. Which is why we now have "tall cars" with short wheelbases that actually provide greater interior space than the forward-looking autos of yesteryear. It can be argued that they're not as attractive but functionalism has its own kind of beauty.

How did the public, normally reluctant to to accept change, allow itself to be lured away from familiar low-to-the-road silhouettes? In my opinion credit should go to the minivans and sport-utility vehicles that were all the rage until recently. With them came boxy, non-aerodynamic shapes that emphasised carrying capacity rather than dynamic styling and thus put height back into fashion. Fortunately the SUV has had its day as a fad and even the minivan is no longer popular, for those vehicles did nothing to reduce footprint, weight, or fuel consumption. The tall cars now on the market (so-called crossovers) are proving that comfort and convenience can be had in a smaller, lighter vehicle. Still, as exaggerated as it was, Chrysler's stunning new look at least offered glamour and excitement to a world where green was a colour, not a philosophy.