hi.  ( shoot fridaye is long past ! ) 
You are very close on my personal choice for one of the best ever, if not the best ever, American car designs...
which I say is the 1963 Corvette Stingray Split-Window Coupe. 

Only one year for that split rear window too.   A 'perfect shape' and a very American shape in my opinion.,
And man, does the Stubaker Hawk ...the first version ...
purely for the shape -  that deserves a major Honorable Mention as one of the best american car designs ever too. 

the Car of the Century was the Porsche 911 I believe. 

Scott
www.turobvans.com 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Annie 
  To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans 
  Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com 
  Sent: Saturday, February 27, 2010 1:29 PM
  Subject: Re: Are Vanagons pretty?

  To the best of my knowledge, the Car of the Century - that won the #1 spot - was not a 60's era vehicle. In fact, only 1 of the top 5 was even American made and it was not a 60's era. 

  The #1 car? Ford Model T followed by the Mini, The Citroen DS, Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911.

  But I'm guessing the car you're talking about is a 63-67 Corvette, which did make the list, but not anywhere in the top 5.

  ~Annie 

  On Sat, Feb 27, 2010 at 1:08 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

    I would not use the word 'pretty' to describe the shape.

    but ...the shape, and some nuances on it grows on me at least.
    I wake up where I can look out at least 10 vanagons.

    I particularly like the treatment around the rear air intake vents - very
    nicely integrated there.
    The crease down the side, the shape and shape of the windshield and front
    door side windows..
    like all of that.

    They beautifully maximized the interior volume while keeping the box shape
    to a certain size...
    and ....very nicely, the sides are not flat at all.
    the are curved top to bottom of course,
    but they are also curved front to rear if you look closely.

    the 'look' of the front - the grill with two eyes and the lower
    grill...........all very nice.

    what I find is that 'after many years' most well-known car/van body styles
    take on a certain 'right-ness'.

    For example...the classic 300SL Gullwing mercedes sports car,
    and the Jag XJ6 ....the original early ones ...and XKE...
    you could not change *one line* on those cars by even half an inch and make
    it better.

    Same for the Porsche 356.
    The 911...........I have always regarded that as 'an OK shape'.....rather
    practically shaped.
    914's............now there is a controversial body style - many consider it
    either good looking, or ugly, not much in between.
    I had a Porsche 914-6 in my shope for about a year.
    The -6 is a 'real' Porche...........911 six cylder engine, 5 lug alloy
    wheels etc.
    ( the 914 IS a volkswagon .....Type IV air-cooled 4 cylinder engine, 4 lug
    wheels etc. ) ...
    the look very similar of course.
    And the earlier ones have nicer early stype bumpers, ...
    my point is ...
    the more I had that 914-6 around, the more I looked at it ...
    the more I got it ........what a great shape it is.
    I think the 'sail' pannel on the side is awkward .......just doesn't fit
    with the rest of the shape of the car.
    Where it's really nice ......just looking purely at shape from an art/design
    point of view ...is there rear ...
    the rear fenders that are subtly bulgey, the rear deck is nice.  The flat
    small rear window is nice.
    And the slenger-top front fenders are slick too.

    so give all that ...
    how a shape grows on you ....
    yes, vanagons are very , very nice.
    There's more emphasis on practical shape than there is on making it 'good
    looking '..............but still, not bad.

    and .........like old photo's .....
    you know, a picture of whatever, a picknik table and a campsite can be so
    mundane for a long time.
    But see that same picture 25 years later - it takes on a lot more value.

    same on car shape and design ....give it 20 years or more, and certain ones
    start looking really, really 'right.'

    and ....I will close with this question .....
    purely subjective of course .....and many cadidates ....but there is 'One'
    Amercian car shape/design that is very, very 'right'.
    What car is it ?
    60's is one hint.

    oh ....it's a lot like this ...around Y2K there was online voting for car of
    the Century.  Many were suggested, VW Bug, Citroen 2CV, Model T Ford etc.
    etc. etc.  Cobra even ( and There, is another shape/design that is flowless
    and 'perfect' with the passage of time )
    I thought and though about what car might be the Car of the Century.
    I'm thinking it has to be very well known, should be good looking, should
    have great performacne, even racing history , and probably many of them
    made.
    I finally figured out what car that would be...
    and by golly,  the one I finally came up with  was the car voted as Car of
    the Century.
    Car to guess or say what it is ?

    Scott
    missing having a 'real' saltwater sailboat.
    Ex-Sausalito-ite.
    www.turbovans.com

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Mark Hineline" <hineline@HELIX.UCSD.EDU>
    To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>

    Sent: Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:23 PM
    Subject: Are Vanagons pretty?

      Who thinks their Vanagon is pretty? I have a decidedly positive
      reaction whenever I see a Vanagon, and I really like the way the sheet
      metal goes together on the nose, but objectively I can't say it's
      pretty (the way a 911 is pretty).

      So?

      Mark