Let it be known, cars can still look striking. I think people assume that because of Federal safety regulations design isn't much of a choice anymore. You need to have your headlights at a certain height, air bags are necessary, and crumple zones are king.
I drive a 1966 Coronet for chunk of the year. In the summer I almost always drive it to work. I get a lot of people saying "they don't make them like they used to." The thing is, they do and better.
A lot of people (typically older people) think modern cars are boring. I love classic cars, they have much different lines than today but you have to remember not every car in the 1960's was a '63 Corvette Stingray split window or a series 1 Jaguar E-Type. I think we forget that there were bare-bones everyday cars with just a heater for an option and four plain doors. Those cars were used, abused, and scrapped. Whats left behind are the cool cars people never got rid of.
Cars now, are safer, more efficient, faster, and last longer. There is no doubt about it. On the other hand, they are more expensive to buy and fix and more of a challenge to work on (sometimes).
Style is not gone. Back in the 1960's (my favorite age of cars from all over the world) the average American car was pretty plain. Once you moved into the muscle car, sports car, or super car segment things got interesting. Colors were in your face, no scoop too large, no hood too long, and definitely no exhaust note too loud. These are the cars that stick in our memory.
Pictured above is a 1966 Jaguar E-Type, regarded as one of the most beautiful cars of all time, Next to the Jag is a lowly 1967 Plymouth Valiant Signet. See what I mean? That Plymouth is very forgettable.
What cars today are beautiful?
This Maserati GranTurismo is. The Maser is a big 2-door grand touring car . Its got a lovely sounding 4.7 liter V8. You may argue that this car is too expensive, back in the day they made good looking cars cheaper. Well how about this then?
This is the 2016 Mazda 6. For less than $30,000 you can get a pretty stylish sedan (which by the way is still offered with a manual transmission). Its simple and attractive.
I will give classic cars this, modern cars are styled after them. The 911 has looked the first model for like 1,000 years. The Jaguar F-Type, another gorgeous machine, you can see a lot of E-Type in it. Any Aston Martin looks like the Astons of old. The new Fiat 124 Spider looks very similar to the old. The 2005, 2006, and 2017 Ford GT look very much like the 1966 Ford GT.
I think people are unfair to car designers. People love heritage but complain when the car looks too similar to the old. Honestly, there are plenty of modern day boutique manufacturers making masterpieces. Look at Pagani, Ariel, Koenigsegg, Noble, Weisman, etc. I don't think using classic car style on new cars is cheating. The designer is adding a modern flair to a, frankly, outdated design. People say some cars look timeless but really they still look like old cars Maybe the BASIC design is timeless. I'm talking about the long hood on sports cars, the low roof and high haunches on supers, and the square jaw of a muscle car. That isn't saying these classic cars look bad, it just means they need to be updated to capture most people's attention. We often forget that a car is just a product that is meant to make money. Manufacturers need to make money with design. I hate how that sounded. I just think the people that think old cars are the only pretty cars need to open their eyes a little.
Times change and it changes everything with it.
(By the way the original Ford GT was crazy expensive just like a modern day Zonda)
