Virgil Exner introduced the Forward Look at Chrysler, which was copied even before the designs hit the road.
19 Facts About Virgil Exner
1.
2.
Virgil Exner went to Buchanan High School in Buchanan, Michigan then studied art at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana but, in 1928, dropped out after two years due to lack of funds.
3.
Virgil Exner then took a job as a helper at an art studio specializing in advertising.
4.
Virgil Exner adopted and raised his niece, Marie Virgil Exner, born in 1947, who had become an orphan as a young child.
5.
Virgil Exner is actually listed as the sole inventor on the design patent.
6.
Rivalry and bad feeling between the two resulted in Virgil Exner having to leave Studebaker, whose engineering chief Roy Cole provided personal introductions for him to Ford and Chrysler.
7.
In 1949, Virgil Exner started working in Chrysler's Advanced Styling Group, where he partnered with Cliff Voss and Maury Baldwin.
8.
When Virgil Exner joined Chrysler, the company's vehicles were being fashioned by engineers instead of designers, and so were considered outmoded, unstylish designs.
9.
Virgil Exner lowered the roofline and made the cars sleeker, smoother, and more aggressive looking.
10.
In 1956, during the design of the 1961 models, Virgil Exner suffered a heart attack.
11.
Virgil Exner resumed work in 1957, working on the designs for the 1962 cars.
12.
On July 25,1957, Virgil Exner was elected the first vice president of styling at Chrysler.
13.
Virgil Exner was allowed to retain a position as a consultant so he could retire with a pension at age 55.
14.
Virgil Exner was replaced by Elwood Engel, who had been lured from Ford.
15.
The 1961 models are considered the last of the "Forward Look" designs; Virgil Exner later referred to the finless 1962 downsized Plymouth and Dodge models as "plucked chickens".
16.
Virgil Exner believed Chrysler executives had "picked" away at the cars to make them lower in cost.
17.
Segre and Virgil Exner had become close professionally and personally, eventually traveling Europe together.
18.
Virgil Exner continued consulting for many car companies from his office in Birmingham, Michigan.
19.
Virgil Exner teamed up with his son, Virgil Exner Jr.