'66 AMX Project; Cavalier
The Challenge
Automobile designers used to be dexterous artists also, drawing pictures of cars without the aid of modern computers. Mirror images of drawings can be done by using cameras. "Camera work" nearly slices art work time in half by making positive or negative images for certain symmetrical things and there are many opportunities to make use of this technique when designing a great many of parts that go in to making a car; right and left interior door panels made from one drawing for example. The theory behind this suggests that a whole car can be done from only drawing one quarter of it, then the other three quarters can be mirror images of that one corner.
Then Reality
The American Motors Metropolitan has roots in symmetrical design by Nash Motor Co. right before they merged with Hudson to become AMC. The NKI prototype fit the spare tire horizontally into the "grille opening" at the rear of the car for an impact absorber.
Next in American Motors history we find the Cavalier prototype. This time the exercise in symmetrical design would be done in a new sixties environment. It would be interesting to know the percentages of how many parts were interchangable front to rear and side to side and how the Cavalier compares to the Metropolitan prototype, and then other design attempts of other manufacturers.