New or Old?

[mfg]

What looks better?.......The original '63 style 'production' Avanti nose panel script, or the 'modernized' Avanti script introduced in 1984?

[studegary]

1 hour ago, mfg said:

What looks better?.......The original '63 style 'production' Avanti nose panel script, or the 'modernized' Avanti script introduced in 1984?

I don't know about "better", that is in the eye of the beholder.  There are some that are resistant to any change and will pick the original.  I think that they are both OK, just different.  

[Skip Lackie]

Agree with Gary -- this is a question without an answer.  You have to look at such things within the context of their times.  Steve Blake had to do something to update the 12-year-old styling of the Avanti, and I think he did a decent job, given the resources he had.  At least he didn't ruin the basic design.

The 53-54 Stude coupes and hardtops have been universally recognized as milestone designs, yet they didn't sell very well, perhaps because the styling didn't translate that well to the family-friendly sedans.  By contrast, the bullet-nosed 50 and 51 studes sold well, but are considered to be styling curiosities today.  I'm old enough to remember when they were new -- I thought the 50/51s were hideous then, and still do.  The 53/54s didn't impress me much one way or the other when new, but have grown on me a lot since then.  In 1962, I thought the original grille-less Avanti design was a bit odd, but not unpleasant.  Now I think it's truly classic.  It's all in the eyes of the beholder.

Edited March 28, 2020 by Skip Lackie