Vincent E. Gardner was a designer of some renown. He was submitting car designs and winning contests while still in high school. He worked at Auburn Automobile Company before going to Studebaker to work under Raymond Lowey.
In 1947 he bought a new Studebaker Champion coupe and took it home to disassemble it. He turned it into the Gardner Special and in 1950 it won Most
Magnificent Custom Roadster at the National Roadster Show.
In 1951 he won a design contest sponsored by Motor Trend Magazine and Ford Motor Company with his Vega roadster. It was widely acclaimed and Ford was encouraged to put it into production. The fact that it was based on a (English) Ford Anglia chassis killed the project. The enthusiasm for the two seater roadster is credited for Ford introducing the Thunderbird in 1955.
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