Forward Look

"Forward Look" was the advertising campaign for the 1955 through 1961 Chrysler products designed by Virgil Exner.

When Exner joined Chrysler, the car's body was fashioned by engineers instead of designers—leading to what many thought were old-fashioned, boxy designs on Chryslers of the 1940s and early 50s. Exner fought to change this structuring, and got control over the design process, including the clay prototypes and the die models used to create production tooling.

Exner saw the P-38-inspired "tailfins" on the 1948 Cadillac. Exner took this design detail, also being experimented with by some Italian manufacturers, and made it his own, enlarging the fins and making them a more prominent feature. Exner believed in the aerodynamic benefits of the fins, and even used wind tunnel testing at the University of Michigan—but he also liked their visual effects on the car.

They were showcased on the first cars designed under his full supervision for sale: the 1955 Chrysler 300 series, and the Imperial. The 1957 Imperial also featured compound curved glass, the first to be used in a production car.

Exner's 1957 Chrysler 300C had a lasting impact on car stying in Detroit. These fin designs also premiered his "Forward Look". In the late 1940s, Chrysler was behind the times in terms of styling with what were considered tall, boxy cars. Exner lowered the roofline and made the cars sleeker, smoother, and more aggressive. With a long hood and short deck, the wedgelike designs of the 300 series and revised 1957 models suddenly brought Chrysler to the forefront of design, with Ford and General Motors quickly working to catch up.

A catchphrase of period ChryCo advertising was, "Suddenly, it's 1960!"

Fins soon lost popularity. By the late 1950s Cadillac and Chrysler had escalated the size of fins until some thought they were stylistically questionable, and they became a symbol of American excess in the early 60s. 1961 is considered the last of the "Forward Look" designs.