1968 AMC Javelin

The mid-to-late 1960s saw the rise of the American "pony car," an allusion to the highly successful Ford Mustang introduced in April 1964.  It was followed by the Plymouth Barracuda, Chevrolet Camaro and this post's feature sporty automobile, American Motors' Javelin.  Its Wikipedia entry notes that there were two "generations," over the 1967-1974 production span.  The first was sold model years 1968-70, the second, actually a major facelift and not a true generational change, was marketed 1971-74.

Early Javelins were better looking than the facelifted ones.  They also were more attractive than the first Barracudas and all contemporary Mustangs.  I even think Javelins had an edge on Camaros due to the latter's Chevy II-dictated proportions.  I briefly discussed first-generation Camaros here.

Gallery

Vinyl covered tops were popular in the USA from the mid-1960s through the 1970s and even beyond, so many Javelins had them.

This is one of two images in this set showing a Javelin sans-Vinyl.  It is a fine-looking car aside from the slightly too-small wheels.

Side view.

AMC styling director Richard Teague spent most of his career working for car makers with limited budgets.  Beside ability and good taste, might that  discipline have helped him direct the creation of a number of good designs?  The Javelin front end is nicely handled, aided by the fact that government regulations regarding bumper protection were a few years in the future.

Another looking-down view.

This rear view shows how the roof is sail-panel blended into rear fender tops, creating a slightly sunken back window and trunk lid.  Paradoxically, I get the impression that this lessens visual bulk at bit.  The rest of the aft ensemble is very clean, again aided by less-crashworthy bumpers.

American Motors' French-Based Eagle Premier

The car itself was normal, but the organizational circumstances surrounding it were not.  It's the Eagle Premier (model years 1988-1992) developed by American Motors using technology from its part-owner Renault.  But around the time it was introduced, American Motors was acquired by Chrysler, which was mostly seeking American Motors' Jeep line.  Eagle Premiers were marketed by Chrysler for several years, some as Dodges, but the car was unsuccessful in terms of sales.

That and more is dealt with in this Wikipedia entry that mentions the styling was by Giugiaro.

Eagle Premier styling is not distinctive, being one of many clean, "three box" efforts by the Italian master in the 1970s and 80s that look pretty much the same at first glance.  Perhaps the main difference from other ItalDesign creations was that it was larger due to its being for the American market.

Gallery

Renault 21

Renault 25
These Renaults furnished mechanical and other parts for the Eagle, but not complete bodies.

1989 Eagle Premier
A brochure spread when it was a Chrysler product.

1989 Eagle Premier
A glimpse of the rear styling.

1990 Dodge Monaco
The Eagle Premier in Dodge clothing; note the badge-engineered grille.  "Monaco" was a model name long-used by Dodge and probably slapped on the car to legitimize it as a Dodge.

America's 1970s Opera Window Fad

I'm inclined to blame management rather than styling staff for the fad featured in this post.  That's because the feature in question was essentially a non-functional (aside from generating sales) frivolity.  It was what was called "opera windows," perhaps a reference to features of certain horse-drawn carriages.

For mid-1970s American cars, opera windows were small windows placed on C-pillars so that distinguished back-seat passengers on their way to cultural events presumably could discretely peek out at the unwashed masses along the way.  Actually, I doubt that was ever the intent; the real intent was to add a bit of retro-sophistication to certain car models.

One thing I find a little puzzling is that they appeared in classical form on 1973 Lincolns while in the same model year some General Motors cars introduced somethings fairly similar in spirit.  Those were small rear-quarter windows that could be interpreted as large opera windows.  I suspect the reason for this same-year introduction by two different firms had to do with the usual auto industry grapevine along with reports from stylists hired from competing companies.

By the late 1970s every American car maker was selling some models with some sort of opera window feature.  And opera windows rapidly disappeared on 1980s models.

Below is a gallery showing some of those opera windows.

Gallery

1973 Lincoln Continental Mk. IV - Barrett-Jackson auction photo
An early instance on Ford's luxury brand.  The small oval window can be seen on the C-pillar.

1978 Lincoln Town Car - auction photo
Five years later there is one on a Lincoln four-door sedan.  Most cars featuring opera windows or something similar were two-door models.

1974 Mercury Cougar XR-7 - sales photo
Here is a squared-off opera window.

1977 Ford Thunderbird Coupe
An unusual variation is the small window on this Thunderbird's B-pillar.

1977 Ford Granada Sports Coupe
And then there are the louvered slit windows on this small Ford.

1973 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The same year as the Lincoln in the top photo General Motors placed small quarter windows on this body used by several of its brands.

1978 Buick Riviera Coupe
Five years later we find a smallish quarter window surrounded by vinyl.

1975 Chrysler Cordoba
Chrysler did the same thing for its Cordoba.

1977 Chrysler New Yorker
An interesting variation on this New Yorker.  Note the unusual shape of the roof vinyl covering and the large C-pillar zone.

1975 Dodge Charger - auction photo
This Dodge has slotted opera windows.  Stylists seemed to be working overtime to come up with distinctive variations on the concept, as these images indicate.

1977 Plymouth Gran Fury Brougham
Chrysler's entry-level brand got a scaled-down version of opera window and vinyl shape as compared to the New Yorker shown earlier.

1978 AMC Concord D/L
Even American Motors, the smallest car maker, felt the need to join the opera window rush.