(EXPANDED FROM 4/23/2021)
International Harvester went a long way toward sealing its fate with the introduction of the redesigned D-Series pickup and Travelall in the 1969.
Perhaps the biggest problem was that IH waited too long to redesign its full-sized pickup and sport-utility models. The previous generation used a body introduced in 1958. By the mid-60s, the truckmaker’s vehicles looked dated.
No wonder that International fell from third to fifth place in sales as both Dodge and GMC passed it by (Foster, 2015).
A second problem was that the new design in 1969 did not give International the great leap forward that it needed to stay competitive for a full production cycle, which turned out to be seven years.
Sticking with flat side glass was a crucial error
The single biggest mistake International made was to continue using flat side glass when each of the Big Three trucks would soon switched to the curved variety. Once they did, International trucks looked old and dumpy.
To make matters worse, chief designer Ted Ornas ditched most of International’s traditional styling cues in favor of a completely new look that had all of the beauty of a brick.
Whatever else one could say about the previous-generation body, it had an airy and somewhat rounded quality that served to minimize the vehicle’s size. Ornas replaced that with a squared-off shape which looked crude and generic.
Also see ‘Patrick Foster shows how International Harvester failed to adapt’
The blockiness of the new design can be most easily seen in the Travelall. Its fender tops had an exaggerated pontoon shape that harkened back to the 1950s. This was at a time when the Big Three were moving toward a “fuselage” look that emphasized a continuous side curve from the roof to the rocker panel.
The Travelall looked particularly old hat compared to the Chevrolet Suburban once it was redesigned in 1973.
International had some styling cues worth keeping
What was particularly unfortunate is that the previous-generation design had a few good ideas worth building upon. For example, the side styling had a hint of the fuselage look because its fender-top shoulder was minimal.
In addition, the 1967-70 Chevrolet had already pointed out a way for International to update its unusually horizontal fascia by dropping the top of the fenders above the headlights a few inches below the center of the hood.
The oddest thing of all about the 1969 redesign was how the mid-level character line on the truck bed did not fully line up with the sheetmetal from the B-pillar forward. And in a final artistic flourish, the character line then zigged upward above the front wheels in such a way as to make the fascia look even chunkier than it already was.
Patrick Foster called the styling “clean, contemporary, and ruggedly handsome” (2015, p. 131). Okay, so it was relatively clean — particularly in the rear, with its unusually smooth contours.
I suppose one could call the International rugged looking. But contemporary? Sort-of in its first three years. However, the ballgame was over once the new fuselage-style trucks hit the market.
Dodge completely redesigned its truck line in 1972, followed by Chevrolet/GMC in 1973. Ford gave its trucks a more modest reskinning that year, but it still added curved-side glass and a semi-fuselage shape.
Also see ‘1962 Ford: Harbinger of stylish trucks rots in the woods’
By 1975 the International was really showing its age. In addition to its overly blocky styling, reconfigured body-side trim had an awkward, tacked-on quality.
For example, in the first image below you can see how the two-tone paint stopped abruptly near the taillights. And in the second image the trim clashed with the zigs and zags of the middle character line.
Compare that to the 1975 Chevrolet pickup shown below. The more contemporary look on the outside was matched with a more car-like interior — which was the hot new thing in the full-sized truck market.
Even a truck’s truck can be hurt by bad styling
Marketing for the International tended to emphasize that it was more “truck-like” than other trucks. That proved to be an increasingly weak pitch as the 1970s wore on. Sales dropped off to such a degree that the full-sized body was discontinued after 1975.
International’s lineup of light trucks would henceforth be based on the compact Scout. This looked like an act of desperation. Not only did the Scout not have curved side glass, but even the windshield was flat. International was now dead man walking.
Of course, International’s decline could be ascribed to more than bad stylistic decisions. As we discuss here, the truckmaker arguably overextended itself by trying to keep two distinct platforms current. In addition, IH’s dealer network was not sufficiently broad to tap into growing truck sales among suburbanites.
All that said, styling matters — even with what was supposed to be a truck’s truck. The 1969 redesign turned out to be flawed enough that it represented the beginning of the end for International.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted June 19, 2020 and expanded on April 23, 2021 and May 12, 2023. Specifications from Gunnell (1993).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Foster, Patrick; 2015. International Harvester: The Complete History. Quarto Publishing Group, Minneapolis, MN: pp. 106, 132.
- Gunnell, John; 1993. Standard Catalog of American Light-Duty Trucks, 1896-1986. Second Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
ADVERTISEMENTS & BROCHURES:
- oldcaradvertising.com: Chevrolet (1967); International (1967)
- oldcarbrochures.org: Chevrolet (1973); International (1975)
My great-grandfather was general manager of I-H’s Richmond, IN plant. My paternal grandmother inherited a sizeable number of shares of preferred Class A stock. I-H was in a downward economic spiral by 1965, and like Stude3baker, could barely afford new tooling for the 1969 facelifts. The banking community was not kind to I-H. By 1979, I-H was bankruptbbbb and its stock worthless.
Back in the day in Wisconsin in the 50s and 60s, IH was regarded as the vehicle of choice for tightfisted small farmers. You see one, you could guarantee the owner had a Flemish name.