I was in my first year of college when a classmate of mine drove into the parking lot one day with a brand new black 1960 Ford convertible. I was speechless. It was the most desirable car I had ever seen and I still think to this day that I would have handed over body parts to have that car.

I'm getting a "Pleasantville" meets "Twin Peaks" feeling about this scene.

I remember reading an article in a car magazine in the early '90s about PPG, the company that made (makes?) almost all automotive finishes. They said it takes ten years to develop and test a reliable pigment formula. So how do they know what colors will be popular in ten years? They look at lingerie.

So, I dunno, was avocado green a popular color for lingerie in 1950? And do major kitchen appliances lag behind cars by ~5 years?

(Also, I agree. She hasn't jumped the curb.)

I always thought those exposed rivet heads were an intentional design feature, adding to the faux-utilitarian esthetic that harked back to the days when station wagons really had wooden structural elements.

Another comment seemed to imply that the car had jumped the curb, but though it's in heavy shadow you can see that the right front tire is resting on the pavement, not on or over the curb.

Unlike the Ford Expedition with 15 standard cupholders. Oh my, we have come so far since 1960.

God made Rust. The plague and bane of American steel automobiles. But the body shops made a great living priming and painting those lead sleds.

Somehow the exposed fasteners all along the wood trim seem ugly. You can be sure Steve Jobs wasn't involved in this design (maybe not even born yet)!

What is surprising about them, is not that they went out of style, but that they stayed *in* style through 1960.

I do not remember my mother *ever* wearing white gloves. She had joined the WAVES during WWII, and I suppose she was done with uniforms by the time she had me. And after she had me -- well, white gloves were the least of her concerns.

it exceeded passenger car width limits of 80 inches in several states, making it technically illegal. Ford got a one-year reprieve after promising to slim it down for 1961.

I can recall the phrase "longer, lower, wider" used in car ads of the 1960s. A little research shows that the brand positioning was old even then:
- Pictured: the '51 Chevrolet: "You'll like it's longer, lower, wider big-car look!"
- Ads for the '41 Studebaker and '49 Hudson also claimed their cars to be "longer, lower, wider."

The gunsights on the fenders are a nice touch.

Tragically, the amoeba roof was replaced in a later renovation (by Mike Brady, archt. ?)

"I need to duck in and use the ladies room."

I was just about to make a comment regarding Marjorie jumping the curb when dropping off Nan after their afternoon at card club, but thanks for making me think twice.

What's going on at the top of the driver's side windows? It looks like a ragged piece of material along the top of each window.

[Reflections in the chrome molding. - Dave]

Reading this the sage words of Mervyn Griffith-Jones CBE MC in the Lady Chatterley trial come to mind -- "Is this the sort of car you would let your wife - or your servants - drive?"

Jeepers, what a lovely looking car - I'd love to drive around in that.

The house is pretty cool as well.

Seeing Ford in 1960 touting a new model as "longest, lowest, and widest" made my mind jump forward 37 years to when my sister traded in her Ford Explorer for a Ford Expedition, for no reason I could gather other than that it was bigger.

It is so refreshing to see that no one here has chosen to make a chauvinistic "woman driver" comment in regards to this little cupcake's apparent inability to steer a car through a curved driveway, and her subsequent collision course with the shrubbery. So proud to be a member of this sophisticated, cultured Shorpy community.