From West Virginia

[Sandy G]

Part of the problem was that the "Deep Draw" metal-stamping technology that provided cars of the late Fifties w/their heroic soaring fins, & swoopy shapes, was in its infancy, & not well understood. Neither was rustproofing as well developed as it is today. The new stampings often left sheet metal too thin. The 1957 Ford had intricate stampings around its headlight buckets, & they were rust prone.

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Part of the problem was that the "Deep Draw" metal-stamping technology that provided cars of the late Fifties w/their heroic soaring fins, & swoopy shapes, was in its infancy, & not well understood. Neither was rustproofing as well developed as it is today. The new stampings often left sheet metal too thin. The 1957 Ford had intricate stampings around its headlight buckets, & they were rust prone.

True, and GM cars had the same problems in the same areas. Part of it too was they didn't have good splash guards to keep water spray out of those places.

Remember, on average people only kept cars 3-5 years then too. And, the used car market was different then. A 1957 Chrysler wasn't going to get much trade in value in 1962, rusty or not. The Forward Look car's design aged pretty quickly in the early 60s.