1962 Plymouth Sport Fury Convertible. 1962 was the last of the Virgil Exner design era at Chrysler. Fueled by false rumors that Chevy planned to "downsize" its full size lineup, Chrysler Management forced Exner to modify his new designs to accommodate a smaller wheelbase for the new Plymouth and Dodge lines. The results were disastrous and sales plummeted. Exner was fired as Chrysler's Head of Styling. Just a few short years before, his Finned "Forward Look" cars had caused a sensation with the public, dramatically improving Chrysler's sales and causing General Motors to cancel what was to be its 1959 lineup based on its 58's, and come out with some finned creations of its own, notably, the shark-finned '59 Cadillac and the "Bat-Winged" '59 Chevy.
