Vellum Venom Vignette: The Next Iconic American Sedan?
The (mainstream) staying power of GM’s B-body is pretty much history. Panther Love shall live for the next decade or so, not much longer. I was in this state of mind when auto writer extraordinaire Alex Nunez posted a picture to my Facebook wall, suggesting that the Chevrolet Caprice’s proportioning is somehow a worthy successor to these Iconic American Sedans. My response? Relative to the Chevy Impala, sure. But proportioning is more than having rear-wheel drive and a lot of real estate. If you proportion it wrong, you create a Fool’s errand. You create the Chevy Caprice.
While we say Panther Love, we really mean Cab Backward design for an Iconic American Sedan. Can you dig it?
Cab backward is the complete opposite of what we see today. The passenger compartment doesn’t interfere with the natural placement of the engine, axles and front/rear overhang. While the original Chrysler LH cars were a fantastic case study in Cab Forward awesomeness, the concept’s absolutely ruined today. Not that every car should look like a Rolls Royce Phantom…
But perhaps the Iconic American Sedan should! Just look at the Town Car’s massive hood and short A-pillar, compared to the Caprice’s vast wasteland of dashboard and visibility-hampering A-pillar. And look at how tiny the nose is compared to the green house: like a body builder who reached their caves’ growth limitations. It’s disproportionately small. Iconic American Sedan? Not a chance.
That said, you won’t see me giving the last Town Car a free pass, its proportions are still on the wrong side of the Cab Forward spectrum.
If you were there for the beginning of Panther Love, you’ll remember this photo. The 1988 Town Car had far better visibility from a lower belt line, the space between the dashboard and front wheel is unabashedly delicious, and the fascias make it clear: this isn’t an import wannabe. Again, Iconic American Sedan. Not the only one, it’s one of many.
Not just many, a cornucopia of Automotive Americana. Sadly, the Iconic American Sedan has been under attack for decades. Perhaps one day an empowered design team will have the right platform, the right motivation, etc and make a proper sedan for us Yank Tank Fans. Unfortunately, I won’t hold my breath.
More by Sajeev Mehta
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The Next Iconic American Sedan has nothing to do with Town Cars versus convoluting together a case for some fleet-only Chevy. They still haven't made it yet. Maybe the ATS? Will they ever do it? Panther love will live on at least past the life of the XTS. Why is the Camaro platform in its waning years already? Can the Americans absolutely not make an E-Class? Just given up? Sure seems like it. Would a REAL Cadillac be bad for GM? Who decided this half-asspirational plastic pricing ceiling for GM? Pathetic
I had hoped that GM's replacement for both the Cadillac STS and DTS would have been a great new American design, but, my first thought upon looking at the rear half of the new XTS was that it was not far from being a modern Buick/Olds "Aeroback" of the 1970s. The proportions are just...odd.