Elwood Engel was Chrysler Corporation's design chief from 1961 until 1974. Engel first joined General Motors as a student under Harley Earl's watchful eye at GM's school of design. In 1939 he met classmates Joe Oros and George W. Walker at the school. During World War II, Engel served four years in the U.S. Army as a mapmaker, in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation. He and Oros remained in touch throughout the war, and after the war when Oros took a position in Walker's design firm, he recommended that Engel be hired as well. Although Walker's firm had Nash as an account, Engel worked on designs for farm equipment, women's shoes and household appliances. However, when Walker obtained a contract with Ford Motor Company in 1947 (and dumped Nash), Engel and Oros when to work fulltime designing automobiles. Engel and Oros were such close friends that Oros was best man when Engel was wedded to Marguerite Imboden. While Oros worked under Walker on Ford car and truck designs, Engel concentrated on Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. When Walker became Ford's vice president for design in 1955, he made Engel and Oros his lieutenants. The trio was responsible for most of the ever-increasing sizes of Ford's late 1950s models, and their ornate chrome adornments. Engel and Oros came up with competing designs for the 1958 Thunderbird. Oros's four-seater design was ultimately chosen. Engel's team was instructed by Ford President Robert S. McNamara to add two more doors and two more seats to their roadster design - and that became the basis for the 1961 Lincoln Continental. McNamara had considered terminating the Lincoln brand, along with the Edsel, after the 1960 model year. The Continental, however, convinced him to keep the line going, and it became such a success it was credited with saving the brand. In 1961, Walker retired from Ford at age 65. When Eugene Bordinat, not Engel, was chosen as his replacement, the well-connected Walker helped orchestrate Engel's move to Chrysler in November 1961. At Chrysler, Engel replaced chief stylist Virgil Exner, who had designed the successful "Forward Look" models of the latter 1950s. Exner was responsible for the era of large tail fins; Engel was credited with replacing fins with a slab-sided look, reminiscent of his Lincoln Continental design. In truth, the fins were pretty much gone from Chrysler's styling studios before he arrived. Engel generally delegated the majority of work to his design teams; he then would fine-tune the clay models with his touches. Co-workers said he had an uncanny eye for the "commercial viability" of designs. Engel oversaw the design and development of the Turbine cars (of which 50 were manufactured and road tested in 1963). The two-door model was said to strongly resemble his original two-door design for the 1958 Thunderbird, which had evolved into the '61 Continental. Although the Turbine never saw full production, Engel's design philosophy was perhaps best exemplified in the hulking 1965 Plymouth Fury. Although most of Chrysler's legendary "Muscle Cars" were credited to specific designers, Engel oversaw, worked on, and approved all of them - and they remain his legacy at Chrysler design. Engel retired in 1973, but stayed on at Chrysler as a consultant until 1974. Engel died of cancer on June 24, 1986. The Chrysler Corporation was a United States-based automobile manufacturer that existed independently from 1925–1998. ... This article is about the company. ... Harley J. Earl (November 22, 1893–April 10, 1969) was an automotive stylist and engineer and industrial designer. ... Joe Oros was an automobile designer for Ford Motor Company. ... George W. Walker (b. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... // Places Places named Nash include: in the United Kingdom Nash, Buckinghamshire Nash, Herefordshire Nash, London Borough of Bromley Nash, Newport Nash, Shropshire Nash Lee, Buckinghamshire Nash Mills, Hertfordshire, England in the United States Nash, Oklahoma Nash, Texas Nash County, North Carolina People Notable men and women with the surname Nash... Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the worlds third largest automaker based on vehicle sales in 2005. ... Lincoln is an American luxury automobile brand, operated under the Ford Motor Company. ... Mercury is an automobile marque of the Ford Motor Company founded in 1939 to market near-luxury cars slotted between entry-level Ford and luxury Lincoln models, similar to General Motors Buick (and former Oldsmobile) brand and DaimlerChryslers Chrysler brand. ... Robert McNamara in 1964 Robert Strange McNamara (born June 9, 1916), American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1961 to 1968. ... Lincoln Continental is a model name that has been used several times by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company for a line of luxury cars. ... The Edsel was a make of automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company during the 1958, 1959, and 1960 model years. ... Virgil Ex Exner (September 24, 1909–December 22, 1973) was an automobile designer for numerous American companies, notably Chrysler and Studebaker. ... A Siemens steam turbine with the case opened. ... The Plymouth Fury was an automobile model and series made by the Plymouth Division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1956 to 1989. ...