Dash delight?
Dear Classic American,
I was somewhat surprised by the total dismissal of the 1960 Plymouth’s dashboard by the article writer as boring! It’s certainly not my cup of tea either, by 1958 instrument gauges were being replaced by warning lights which prompted an in-period reviewer of a new 1958 DeSoto to praise it for still having a full set of gauges despite trends to cheap warning lights. However the 1958 DeSoto has the soon-tobe-commonplace strip speedometer, as does this two-years-later Plymouth.
What I see in the ‘60 Plymouth’s dash is the then popular preoccupation with alien invaders and flying saucers! The pod hovers over the actual dash like a flying saucer; also when looking at it you see a pair of alien eyes staring out at each side .... ! At least I do, so I feel that the designer had just been watching one of the many alien invasion movies then popular, hopefully at a drive-in! That’s my take on this interesting period dashboard idea.
Chris Drucker
Via email
We want what you’re on! We think Zack was probably thinking about the dashboard extravaganza that was the 1960 Chrysler so-called jukebox dash, with its goldfish bowl styling and electroluminescent illumination. Now that was what you call a ‘rock ‘n’ roll dash!