In the early 60's, Gene Winfield was a well-known name around the show car circuit due to his custom creations and dazzling paint jobs. His first nationally recognized car was a stylized 1956 Mercury called the "Jade Idol" which sported Chrysler tailfins, quad headlights, and a future Winfield trademark, the "blended" paint job. Unfortunately this beauty was rolled in a trailer accident on the way to another show.