Ford Zodiac MKII

Eddie Felson: "Human moves, kid. You study the watch... while I study you!"

I think this particular car was born right at the beginning of the 1960's. The Beatles weren't even known at the Cavern Club, Winston Churchill was still going on about the war, and the Civil Rights movement was still to take political centre stage in the United States. The UK had taken a bath on the Suez Crisis and the US was still to suffer it's soul searching over involvement in 'a war, in a tiny place that no-one had ever heard of....'

The cars emanating from across the Atlantic had the fins. They had the chrome. The sumptiousness of the designs signified an era when families were becoming more affluent. 'The War' was long forgotten, and the first of the 'Babyboomer' generation were starting to want their wheels. Whilst in the UK we didn't pander to American excesses in vehicular external design, there was still room for cars like the Zephyr/Zodiac to carry visual adornments. It was only for a very, very short period in European car design that cars like this existed. Before long, a more sober look took over and if you wanted anything remotely exotic, you had to buy Italian. And you had to spend a lot.