LADIES AND GENTLEMEN….. MYSTARCOLLECTORCAR’S OTHER FASTBACK FAVORITES

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The fastback phenomenon has always been associated with the muscle car movement of the late 1960s.

 

Imagine Steve McQueen behind the wheel of a 1968 Mustang notchback instead of his legendary fastback Mustang during his famous car chase scene in ‘Bullitt’.

 

 

The image of a non-fastback Mustang chasing a 1968 Dodge Charger fastback would be a non-starter with most older car guys who have seen the movie. A notchback ‘68 Mustang in stock form would fall well short of the macho image conveyed by Frank Bullitt in the movie.

 

 

The original Mustang was not even available in fastback models because Ford’s initial target buyer was a young female on a budget in 1964. The fastback versions were introduced in time for the 1965 model year and widened the gender appeal of the Mustang.

 

 

By 1968, the Mustang was offered in brute force versions that included fastbacks driven by fictional macho movie detectives like Bullitt.

 

 

The strong link between fastbacks and fast cars was emphasized by all domestic auto manufacturers during the back nine of the Sixties, but there were earlier versions that were just as cool as the Bullitt Mustang in the humble opinion of us here at MyStarCollectorCar.

 

 

For example, General Motors made a big impression with its fastback models right after World War Two with its 1947 Chevy fastback models. The fastback models actually made a debut during the war-shortened 1942 production year in the United States, but the scarcity of these war-era cars made the post-war 1946+ Aero Sedan models a more famous example.

 

 

The pre-war cars shared all of their heritage with the early World War Two models because it took time to re-tool the style for most of the decade (1940s) as it pertained to Chevy models.

 

 

The big change for every player in the Big Three automotive style direction occurred when the 1949 models debuted in North American showrooms and introduced the brand new style of the early Fifties.

 

 

This era also marks the time frame that produced the fastback versions of the early 1950s Chevy models and MyStarCollectorCar likes this earlier sweptback roof design.

 

 

The fastback Chevy models from the early 1950s combined a then-new body style with a stylish roofline. The cars may still have been powered by the humble six cylinder-but the cars looked faster than their Chevy predecessors because they were wrapped in a newer, sleeker outer skin.

 

 

Put this era of Chevy on MyStarCollectorCar’s list of favorite fastbacks from another automotive time.

 

MyStarCollectorCar would also like to add the 1960 Plymouth Fury two-door hardtop to our favorite fastback list because of its very cool rear roof design. The C-pillar on the ’60 Fury was a radical departure from the thinner 1959 Plymouth rear window post when it came to the fastback style.

 

 

In short, the 1960 Fury had a complete re-design with a larger C-pillar that curved back into the body at the bottom with a creative metal flair.

 

 

The rear window on the 1960 Fury was also larger than the ’59 model. The extra rear window glass in the car was an early blueprint for the ‘60 Fury’s fastback style that would become all the rage in Detroit by the end of the Sixties.

 

 

The two cars chosen by MyStarCollectorCar represent off-the-charts cool fastbacks in our opinion. They set the table for the future fastback models-and both of them did it with style.

 

BY: Jim Sutherland

 

Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section. 

 

 

 

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