Allemano,
I had to smile when you said, "convergent evolution".
Guess that is really quite a polite way to put it.
As is written in the Harris story in the V-8 chapter, I like to call it >>designers borrrow from old designs to create new designs !
Ther are but a very few designers in history that actually broke away from this "convergent evolution>borrowing" and created fresh designs like the world had never seen.
John Hendricks ( Discovery Channel founder ), has an old early teens Cadilac in his impressive museum with slanted/curved /streamlined cowl and windshield posts, he refers to it as the first attempt at streamlining. I guess he is correct?
Harley Earl's 38 Y job is stated as the first concept automobile, is this correct or did he borrow from the likes of Bugatti and other designers such as Paul Jaray ?
Gordon Buehrig patented almost every design of his Cord masterpiece, his pop up headlights were patented in the sides of his fenders, the ACD Society confimed this for me, Bens design in the Speedster was directly in the front nose, Guess that Gordon was first in actual thought/design of the pop up head lights, but Ben borrowed in 1934 and then Gordon changed his design and placed the headlights in the front of the fenders, did get the origins of this one straight as so much has came forth in researching both of them and their life time friendship, who was first?
No matter how far we all go back in tracing origins, it almost always boils down to one designer borrowing from old design to create new design, convergent evolution is a polite way to put it !!
I love the Autopuzzles site !!
John
