I guess I’ve never given much thought to who I would choose if I could pick one person to have breakfast with, and that’s OK – fate picked that person for me.

While attending an RM Auctions media event in Monterey, Calif., this morning, I sat down with a lovely couple over a bowl of fruit. I introduced myself and soon learned I was dining with Virgil Exner Jr. and his wife! Exner’s father is famous for designing many cars, including the “Suddenly it’s 1960” Chrysler Corp. products, among others. Exner Jr. has said that the Diablo show car from 1957 was among his father’s favorite dream cars for which he was responsible, as it was the purest form of his idea of the perfect car of the time.

Exner Jr. is no slouch. He was a designer for Ford for many years both in America and abroad. In Europe, Exner Jr. told me he was on the advance design team that brushed the first Ford Fiesta there. He was also part of the team that designed the Pinto and Maverick, among others. I hope to get a formal interview with Exner Jr. for an upcoming issue of OCW.