Here’s An Interesting Convergence I Want To Show You: Cold Start

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Do you know the website/literary magazine McSweeney’s? They’ve been around since early early internet days, and they’ve always had good stuff. They used to do this thing (it looks like it stopped in 2011?) called Convergences where people find two things that somehow form this tenuous connection and then they’d feature it for the world to see and nod their heads sagely at. Once, way way back in 2006, they picked one of mine! I bring this up because I felt that same sense of mild yet persistent recognition when I saw this old Opel station wagon brochure, and now I’m showing you! The cycle continues!

By the way, if you don’t want to click that link, here was the convergence I found: I saw this picture of some of the cast of the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance and it reminded me of that famous picture of Lee Harvey Oswald getting shot:

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You see it, right? The pictures are of course not the same and there was zero intent by the Bagger Vance-ers to remind anyone of the killing of the guy who killed President Kennedy, but here we are.

Anyway, this very specific sort of hey-that-feels-kind-of-like-that sensation is how I feel about the Opel Car A Van’s (see, Chrysler wasn’t the first to come up with the Caravan for a combined car/van name) rear quarter/taillight styling and the Volvo P1800’s rear quarter/taillight styling.

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For such different looking cars, it’s funny how close that bit is.

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The shape of the fin with that chrome strip, the way the taillight pod has that tapering bulge on the side, the twin-round lenses of the taillights – it’s all the same.

And, okay, the P1800’s taillight lens combines the two lamps into one unit, but the prototypes didn’t:

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The Opel is from 1960, and the Volvo P1800 didn’t go into production until 1961, but I don’t think Volvo was looking at German station wagons for design inspiration for their new sports car.

I think it’s just a funny convergence.

32 thoughts on “Here’s An Interesting Convergence I Want To Show You: Cold Start

  1. The 1953 Packard Caribbean predates them both, though they went heavier on the chrome. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was on the mood board in the Opel studio.

  2. Frua did a lot of design work in that era – so it’s not surprising that the detail with the taillamps of the P1800 was done similarly to the 1958 Lloyd Alexander 600 TS Frua.

    But remember too that Frua was a subsidiary of Ghia for a time – So have a glance at the 1955 Jaguar XK140 Ghia

    Also recall that Chrysler had a lot of custom work done by Ghia in that era – So if the chrome spear on top of the fin is important to you, just move forward to 1964-66 Imperials.

  3. I have to say I’m really a fan of that all-metal load bay in the wagon. Carpeted interiors are probably more practical for most uses, but I love the simplicity and ruggedness of it.

  4. Don’t be so quick to dismiss that Oswald link as a coincidence.

    Remember that Matt Damon is a Masshole, just as Kennedy was. We can assume he is now in the Hollywood Illuminati, and that his position in the photo indicates that he (as a stand-in for the coastal elite) killed JFK.

    Do your research.

  5. Wow, I’ve never thought of that!

    But on the other hand, it was quite common for the time, at least over here in Europe, here’s the Vauxhall Victor of the same time

    (I’m sure the cheap asses at Vauxhall (GM) also had one with chrome on the top of the fin, called something completely diffrent, and aimed at a whole other market segment… but this one is close enough for the point making)

  6. I applaud this observation.
    I’d like to add one of my own. The 1st gen Saturn SW2 and Geo Storm hatchback look like they share taillights:
    Saturn SW2
    Geo Storm

    But they don’t! The Storm is squat and wide with some funky vents. The Saturn’s is taller and narrow. But, goddamnit, why do they look so similar?? Was it the same designer?? This has been floating around in my brain for decades. DECADES.

    1. Jeep Comanche taillights really look like they’re the same as Dodge Dakota taillights but aren’t. Annoying too, considering Comanche lights are extremely rare and expensive.

  7. Was 6 yrs old when JFK was killed. Saw the killing of Oswald live on TV. It all was a really shitty way to learn about how stuff goes in America. There is no Santa Claus anymore…

    But at least 60 years later, things are better, and we don’t have to deal with “alternative facts”, lies, and conspiracy theories anymore. WTF?

    Thankfully the Warren Commission cleared it all up, and the truth came out. Right?
    YMMV, but sometimes our country really sucks.

  8. Differences among human brains are a wonder. Musical talent, for instance. Where does that come from? (I don’t have it.) I have always been aware that I live through my eyes, but not like you, Jason. Your occipital lobes must be huge. Which fits; they’re at the rear of the brain, positioned like taillights??

  9. Somehow I knew you were a McSweeney’s reader without knowing. Dave Eggers is one of my largest literary influences(still writting), and it does show in your writting that he is an influence.

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