Copy Cat?

[captndan]

Hemings has a picture of a beautiful 1930 DeSoto coupe. It looks amaziningly like my 30 Model A coupe. Minor outside differences.

[5window]

Hard to believe they would have shared plans. Also unlikely Desoto got access to a '30 Ford and so quickly adapted what they had to what they the made. Possibly, they had a'29 and guessed what differences would be made in '30-but even then the process of tooling up and making molds for the presses would have taken time. Probably just a case of eerie
parallel evolution.

[mot]

Briggs made both model A cars,coupes,fordoors,cabriolets etc
and they also made cars for Plymouth,De soto ,Dodge etc at the same time
side by side you can see some parts that while not interchageable ,are very similar,especially with the cabriolets
tom

[mot]

heres a comparison of a 32 plymouth cabriolet and a 31 ford cabriolet
all the top mechanism looked almost exactly the same,but none of it is interchangeable
the first and third photos are a Briggs made 32 plymouth cabriolet
the second and fourth photos are Briggs made slant window ford cabriolet
it was interesting to go back and forth comparing the cars
tom

[bunnyc]

Here's a link to the Hemming's Desoto for those interested.
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/...k/1809992.html

[CarlG]

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Look at today's cars. You have to look twice to find out exactly what "brand" car it is just from the physical looks.

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by CarlG

Look at today's cars. You have to look twice to find out exactly what "brand" car it is just from the physical looks.

agreed, its just the car trend that one guy is daring/stupid enough to change it and is either successful or disastrous. If its a disaster the others stay far away from ideas like that, if its sucessful they try to copy cat it.

notice in the last 5 years car interiors have gotten 50X better/more exitoc materials/more interesting than they were 10 years ago? jump in a 2001 anything and its boring city of random curves and light grey plastic...jump back 20-30 years ago and we had colors! could you imagine seeing an all red interior with chrome/aluminum accents on a car nowadays? now we get black, dark grey, light grey, or tan from any of the car manufactures.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

If Desoto had such a Desoto, he could have explored the WHOLE WORLD!
Bill W.

[Larry Jenkins]

Someone snuck into Ford's Design Department in late 27..

[Mike V. Florida]

Most cars of the 30's look similar in a similar price ranges. There is a whole lot different between this car and a ford.

[pooch]

The 30 ford, if you think it so similar, copied the desoto.

The critical styling and mechanicals of the chrysler range was eons ahead of ford at the time.

The body lines of the 1930 improved model A was on the 1928 plymouth by 2 years , which closely resembles the dodge/ desoto /chrysler range of their pre 30 cars.

The model A is a beautiful styling package overall , but was obsolete by 5 years at its introduction in 1927.

The chrysler range had many innovations, like pressure oiling, hydraulic brakes, floating engine mounts, slimline radiator shell, but suffered wooden wheels and a wood framed body which did not last the test of time, and overall, was not anywhere near as pretty as a model A.

With being pretty and good steel being used, the A was always going to win.

[DougVieyra]

Pooch has the right direction. However, it was not an exclusive hallmark to Chrysler Corp. cars. The American market followed closely behind the European designs of the time. The Ford Motor Company, because of Henry's tenacious hold on his beloved Model T, kept Ford from following along with what all the other American car designers were doing in the late 1920's.

Ford's Model A design for 1930 was playing 'catch up' with all the other American marques of the time - Ford was 5 years behind in automobile design. The 1930 Ford Model A was Henry's recognition that his son Edsel (an excellent Automotive Designer) was right, and the Model A needed a 'face lift' to catch up to the rest of American automotive design.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

In High School, I bored & sleeved 1 cylinder, on a "32 Plymouth 5 window coupe & got it running. It' had the FLOATING POWER engine mounting system & was SO SMOOTH to drive & it was still a 4 cylinder.
Bill W.

[Marshall V. Daut]

Talk about "copycat"!!! The '26-27 Model T Fords looked suspiciously like the early-mid 1920's Chevrolets! Many years ago, the national MTFCA magazine "The Vintage Ford" ran a multi-page article about those mid-1920's Chevrolets and it was startling to see how much the later Model T's (1926-27, and to some degree, the 1928 Fords) "mirrored" them, in styling at least. By this time, Ford was woefully behind in technology and styling. The '26-27 Fords kept the same basic engineering that the earlier T's had, but the bodies were updated (?) and colors were offered on most body styles beginning in 1926 (They became available on all Model T body styles during 1927). But it was clear that the Ford Design Department had "lifted" the mid-1920's Chevrolet styles and adapted them to the new Model T's. Tsk, tsk, tsk!
By the way, there was a tremendous outcry among the MTCA membership following the publication of that Chevrolet article: NO MORE C-WORD ARTICLES IN OUR MODEL T FORD MAGAZINE!!! Rather a myopic viewpoint, considering the article put the last two years of the Model T into automotive history perspective as being "copycats". Yup - Ford was playing catch-up even BEFORE the Model A came out.
There was also an interesting article in an early 1960's "The Restorer" written by one of the two editors (Jim Ryner or Art Miller) called "The Model A Ford - Why All the Hullabaloo"?, or something similar. In it, the new Model A was quasi-debunked as being not so much revolutionary, as it was evolutionary. Several points in the article made it uncomfortably plain that Ford had "appropriated" some of his competitors' designs and features when he created the Model A, and not just from Chevy, either! It was an odd article and a debatable viewpoint to print in a magazine that was supported by a loyal Model A readership. In fact, I was rather p*ssed for years afterwards until I learned more about the Model A AND Ford's competitors during that era, especially GM. Sadly, the article was spot on.
'Still love the '26-27 and 1928-31 Fords anyway!
Marshall

[captndan]

I don't care about all this history stuff. My 30 FORD is prettier than your DeSoto!