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Quote:
Originally Posted by MoNative34 And your house looks a lot better with a car in the garage and not the driveway. It doesn't matter if its a 56 Chevy or a 2019 Accord.
At least we can agree on the first part.
I'll take a '55 Chevy, or a '56 Ford myself, and gladly park it in the driveway, with the driveway lined with them little solar powered lights. If the powers that be have their way. New vehicles will all look the same, be electric, and be black, white or silver. They havent got a clue what the public wants.
I'll take a '55 Chevy, or a '56 Ford myself, and gladly park it in the driveway, with the driveway lined with them little solar powered lights. If the powers that be have their way. New vehicles will all look the same, be electric, and be black, white or silver. They havent got a clue what the public wants.
Me too. I once had a sky blue '56 Ford Fairlane but that was in 1966. I sold it because it was a 4-door which, back then wasn't so "cool." (pic attached)
I know exactly the '56 Chevy I would take over any Accord no how new it was. (pic attached)
Last edited by High_Plains_Retired; 07-23-2019 at 09:29 PM..
Me too. I once had a sky blue '56 Ford Fairlane but that was in 1966. I sold it because it was a 4-door which, back then wasn't so "cool." (pic attached)
I know exactly the '56 Chevy I would take over any Accord no how new it was. (pic attached)
55 to 57 Chevy’s are classic, no doubt....but car design peaked a bit later, in the 1960s.
Like...
61 Thunderbird ...(yeah, I know, just like the Chevy, 55 to 57 are classics)
55 to 57 Chevy’s are classic, no doubt....but car design peaked a bit later, in the 1960s.
Like...
61 Thunderbird ...(yeah, I know, just like the Chevy, 55 to 57 are classics)
65 Buick Riviera with hideaway headlights
68 Pontiac GTO
65 Aston Martin DB6
66 Jensen Interceptor
69 Camaro RS/SS
63 Corvette Sting Ray with split window
68 Plymouth Roadrunner 440 Six Pack
67 Pontiac Firebird
70 Callenger R/T
70 Hemi Cuda
68 Dodge Charger
66 Lamborghini Muira
69 Mustang Mach 1 Cobrajet 428
68 AMC AMX
63 Studebaker Avanti
66 Oldsmobile Toronado
70 Chevelle SS 454 LS6
73 Ponitac Trans Am SD 455
70 Roadrunner Superbird
68 Chevy Nova SS 396
69 Corvette Stingray ZL1
Some real classics there for sure and the 1960s era was my "time in the sun."
I owned a '68 Chevy Nova (2-door) but not the 396 SS. It had a 305 c.i. small block V8 and a factory floor shift but with a bench seat, I think. That car was a light metallic green with a dark green vinyl roof. Sorry but I don't readily have any pictures of that car.
As far as the Thunderbirds, my favorites were the 1955 through 1957. A friend of mine in the mid 1960s had a black 1955 T-bird without the portholes. With the Ford-O-Matic in the floor, it was a night cruiser for sure. My oldest brother has owned (and raced) numerous Corvettes through the years including the split windowed version.
The original thread was comparing design of the newer vehicles against the older ones.
Gas mileage, repair, safety were not the subject, design was the subject.
Any one with half a brains could clearly see the design of the older vehicles was far superior to what has been produced in the industry for the past 40 years.
Vehicles of the 50's were competing with one another, with over the top styling, and the public loved it.
Today's vehicles are an appliance, with absolutely no commitment to styling.
Bob.
You really can't talk about design and styling without talking about the other items you mentioned. I grew up in Detroit in the 50s and 60s, and could have then told the year and make, and usually the model, of every car that went by. Those years produced some of the finest styled autos that the US ever produced. Some were literally rolling works of art.
You don't see much of that any more because the cars are no longer designed to be stylish or artful, they are designed primarily to meet mileage and safety regulations (which are really conflicting goals, as safety regs have added 200-300 pounds). Style is secondary or tertiary. You could take the emblems off of 10 4 door sedans, all black, white or silver, and I'd be lucky to identify 3 of them. I can't count the number of times that my wife and I have seen a Mercedes emblem on the back of a passing car we thought was a Hyundai or Honda.
That's just the way it is today and I understand times are different. There is no real question that underneath the skin, cars are much better today - safer, more powerful, more reliable, much longer lasting, higher mileage, etc. If you would have told me when I was 20 that I would a car that can run a 15 second or faster 1/4 mile, snap your head back against the head rest (an early required safety feature) and be capable of getting 30+ mpg (not simultaneously), I would have laughed at you. Yet I have one in my garage. I do wish it was a little more stylish.
You really can't talk about design and styling without talking about the other items you mentioned. I grew up in Detroit in the 50s and 60s, and could have then told the year and make, and usually the model, of every car that went by. Those years produced some of the finest styled autos that the US ever produced. Some were literally rolling works of art.
You don't see much of that any more because the cars are no longer designed to be stylish or artful, they are designed primarily to meet mileage and safety regulations (which are really conflicting goals, as safety regs have added 200-300 pounds). Style is secondary or tertiary. You could take the emblems off of 10 4 door sedans, all black, white or silver, and I'd be lucky to identify 3 of them. I can't count the number of times that my wife and I have seen a Mercedes emblem on the back of a passing car we thought was a Hyundai or Honda.
That's just the way it is today and I understand times are different. There is no real question that underneath the skin, cars are much better today - safer, more powerful, more reliable, much longer lasting, higher mileage, etc. If you would have told me when I was 20 that I would a car that can run a 15 second or faster 1/4 mile, snap your head back against the head rest (an early required safety feature) and be capable of getting 30+ mpg (not simultaneously), I would have laughed at you. Yet I have one in my garage. I do wish it was a little more stylish.
I 100% agree with everything you had to say. You “get it”.
You go to any car show today and you won’t find much of anything from the 80’s-90’s. Everything is still 70’s on down.
Once the modern era of design in the 90’s started rounding all the cars off, is when no longer cars became stylish or built with quality of materials.
Just compare the 80’s full size body-on-frame Fords like the Crown Vic, Grand Marquis and the Lincoln Town Car. Not to mention GM makes such as the Caprice, Impala, Roadmaster, Cadillac Broughams of the 80’s to the 90’s models and you will see a major decline in many different areas of the vehicles.
They lost chrome metal bumpers, exterior bright work, metal door handles, thicker sheet metal, nicer interior trim and materials.
Also at least back then the bodies were long and sleek looking, and not frumpy like today. Visibility was a lot better as well. They weren’t works of art, but nice to look at nonetheless.
But at the same time, they don’t compare to the cars of the 50’s-60’s. You can’t beat 2 tone paint, lavish chrome interior and exteriors, little decals and emblem trim, real thick sheet metal and fins that reached the skies. Those were all the epitome of cool and stylish design that made for some real classics that can never be duplicated in the modern era. New cars do look better than they did in the 90’s I will admit that, but they will never be as attractive or as great as the classics.
I have a few on that list ... different years maybe and not always those exact models ( my 69’ stanf is a restomod with a s/c coyote for example) but the period between 1964-1979 has been my main focus in my collection. Now I collect some odd cars like 1970’s Lincolns and Caddys and I admit to having a taste in cars that runs towards the icons of excess but even my favourite Mercedes I own are from that era ( or earlier). I do believe the 1965 Riviera was the best looking US made car of all time closely followed by the C3 vette of chrome bumper vintage. And nothing on the road past or present still has quite the sheer presence of the pre downsized Cadillacs and Lincolns of the mid 1970’s. Yes I daily drive a S class coupe simply because I like big rear wheel drive “ personal luxury cars” and that’s literally the only one on the market that isn’t a badge engineer ( a Continental GT is a Volkswagen and a Wraith is a 7 series coupe ). But for style... give me anything pre 1979 any day.
Some sporty 4 door cars today look like coups. you have to look twice.
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