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Is this is the best era of American car designs since the 70s?
- Thread starter GameOver
- Start date
I think 70s cars are ugly (I grew up in the 90s so 70s cars have "creepy uncle" vibes) but I do think the cars in the OP are neat so I don't know what my answer is.
Modern cars are bloated formless blobs which are impossible to see out of. High belt lines, raised hoods, and huge wheels have combined to make SUVs, hatchbacks, wagons, and sedans all converge into a big wagonish thing with a slight ride height lift, or in other words, a crossover.
Edit: and yes I know a lot of the above are for improving occupant safety in a crash, but that doesn't mean I have to like how it looks.
Edit: and yes I know a lot of the above are for improving occupant safety in a crash, but that doesn't mean I have to like how it looks.
lol i kind of like that most regular sedans look like sports cars of the past now
then it's funny because i can't really stand the look of the modern camaro and mustang (atleast the front)
then it's funny because i can't really stand the look of the modern camaro and mustang (atleast the front)
I really don't care what my car looks like tbh. As long as it is ev, reliable, and got safety features then I am gucci.
Yeah. When I was a teen in the early 2000s all of the non-exotic cars that I saw were ugly to me. And I wondered if I just felt that way because they were contemporary or if they were really just ugly.
It turns out they were just ugly. Almost every new car made these days looks pretty good.
it was great in the mid 10s, now slowly in the decline
now everything is going more hyper aggressive and ruining the designs. biggest example, the 2015-2018 mustangs are beautiful, 2019 on they started to add teeth to the grill, made the headlights more squinty, the lines sharper…. like stop. not everything needs to be monster energy drinkified. same goes with camaros, you can barely see out the back anymore
but atleast they didn't fall off the truck like the germans with new gen BMWs where every car looks like 50 cent smiling
now everything is going more hyper aggressive and ruining the designs. biggest example, the 2015-2018 mustangs are beautiful, 2019 on they started to add teeth to the grill, made the headlights more squinty, the lines sharper…. like stop. not everything needs to be monster energy drinkified. same goes with camaros, you can barely see out the back anymore
but atleast they didn't fall off the truck like the germans with new gen BMWs where every car looks like 50 cent smiling
The 80s and 90s and to be frank the 00s were just horrible for American automakers. It seems things have improved a lot in the 10s. But there is still room for improvement.70s Mustang
80s Mustang
That 80s cocaine was something else, look what they did to my boy.
Cars got smartphone disease and found a working template and everything is very close to that template but almost nothing actually improves on it
Trucks also got the same shit, everything is that generic "IM A BIG ASS TRUCK FOR REAL AMERICAN MEN AND LOOK AT HOW BIG I AM" model now
SUVs are immoral so I wont comment
Trucks also got the same shit, everything is that generic "IM A BIG ASS TRUCK FOR REAL AMERICAN MEN AND LOOK AT HOW BIG I AM" model now
SUVs are immoral so I wont comment
At least back then American makers made regular cars: sedans and hatchbacks. Now they don't bother at all and only do only muscle cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs. Maybe it's for the best that they specialize in what they're good at but I'm not really interested in any of them.
This. I don't know what happened but man I love how they managed to push the muscle car design without going all European. It's still unique and it actually looks good.
Lovely.
The Bronco and the new Discovery is also ridiculously good looking, can't believe we got 2 of those actually useful SUVs in such a short time.
Nothing said '70's like a vinyl-roof-topped Ford Maverick. "Not-quite-a-mustang" in just about every way, though it did have air conditioning. That roof was destined to crack eventually, and when it did it really peeled away. Most of today's cars look better than that, but not necessarily better than mustangs of the era.
This, pretty much. The recent Camaro refresh was a bust. Sad story, GM went to focus groups largely comprised of 5th gen Camaro owners while developing the 6th gen, and they were clear: they didn't want a drastic redesign, they felt the 6th gen should carry forward the styling of the 5th gen. So Chevy designed the car with that in mind; then it came out and really didn't get much of a sales spike at all, probably because most average joes just thought it was another update to the 5th gen. So they felt the need to do a expedited refresh to substantially change the styling…. aaaaaand they fucked it.
Other than General Motors, yes. If you count GM then no. They've always had pretty terrible designs but lately... We'll see several of their brands disappear within the next 10-20 years for sure. Terrible crap.
80s Mustang
That 80s cocaine was something else, look what they did to my boy.
80's Ford are some of the most horrid looking vehicles ever produced.
I hated them, and I grew up in the 80s/90s. I do like later Model Mustangs and have owned two of them.
I had a number of High School friends who had Mustangs ranging from 88-93 models, and I thought they were so ugly.
This was my ride at 18...and somehow I didn't die wrapped around a tree. I was the only kid in school with a Vette, bought it with my after school work money I saved from the age of 15.
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The move to unibody construction from body on frame and tighter emissions regulations is likely the reason.
Challenger is almost old enough to drive itself and it's still probably the sexiest car on the road, including foreign vehicles.
If I could have one classic car, this would be it.70s Mustang
Three of the four OP examples are muscle cars on their way out lol, but I agree, 90s-00s US car designs were pretty terrible. They didn't start turning around until they either went retro with designs (big credit to the Mustang there) or just started copying German design. Current American designs are much nicer, the only problem is that they're 95% SUVs and pickups.
Yeah they absolutely ruined it with the 2019 refresh until they moved the bowtie back up onto the grill in the following year.
For me as well. Though to be honest I find all cars at least a little bit ugly, so maybe I'm just too much on a NUMTOT to get it.
I am probably alone here, but I think the pinnacle of American consumer car design was the Pontiac Solstice, and that might be because my favorite car design of recent times has been the current Mazda Miata. I think I just like Roadsters.
Yeah, the initial 6th gen would have had more of an impact without the 5th gen refresh two years prior.
It looks nice in pictures, but unless you're very tall/300+lbs, you feel like a little kid in this thing. It's got horrible proportions.Challenger is almost old enough to drive itself and it's still probably the sexiest car on the road, including foreign vehicles.
If I could have one classic car, this would be it.
