I saw this 2002-ish Thunderbird on my drive this morning. It had the optional hardtop with a port window. I never liked it. It was never fast, it never handled well. It was at a period when Ford was trying to be European but failing. And I always thought it was ugly. There was also the New Beetle, the Mustang, Chevy HHR and SSR, PT Cruier, and a few others. All styled to reflect classic lines of their corporate ancestors and not much else to show for it.
Can we stop that now? Can we kill this trend? Can we design something that’s new, modern, and elegant without looking all modern bubbly?
Hooniverse Asks: Can we stop with retro styling now?
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38 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Can we stop with retro styling now?”
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Has there really been any new retro cars launched since 2010 or so? The only ones still in production that I can think of are the Volkswagen Beetle and the Fiat 500. And the Fiat 500 is cool.
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Challenger and Wrangler are also still in production and strong sellers. Jeep has a Scrambleresque pickup on the way.
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If the Wrangler is retro, isn’t the 911 as well?
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No.
CJ had round headlights. YJ modernized with rectangular headlights. TJ and beyond went retro by bringing back round headlights.
911 design is an evolutionary continuum.-
I don’t think going from round sealed-beam headlights to rectangular sealed-beam headlights qualifies as “modernization”.
Besides, the 911 went to that amoeba-like mess of a headlamp with the 996 and then returned to round (elliptical) with the 997. Same difference. I would argue that the 911 continuum stopped with the 993 and the last air-cooled engine. Even the JL is far more true (design-wise) to the original CJ than the 991 is to the 901.
Incidentally, I think the 993 was the best of the line. From the 996 forward, 911s look much more modern, and the 991 doesn’t look very retro at all. Nor do I like it. -
For the Jeep crowd, the headlight modernization was about as big a change as a front-engine Porsche is to the 911’s.
https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.389132337.3538/ra,womens_tshirt,x1900,026541:3d4e1a7dce,front-c,265,125,750,1000-bg,f8f8f8.u3.jpg -
I was part of the Jeep crowd (owned two CJs and an SJ). Granted, I do prefer round headlights, but all that talk was tongue-in-cheek banter. Fans were legitimately pissed, however, about Chrysler dropping the inline six for the V6. The Wrangler adopted round lights only because the seven-slot grille and round headlights had become a brand icon, and Chrysler wanted to capitalize on the marketing of that image.
A front-engine 911, on the other hand, would absolutely cause heart attacks within the enthusiast group.
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Mini
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Right. However, it has almost gone from being retro to just being its own thing now. When I see a new Mini these days, I really don’t associate it with the original car.
The beetle is gone next year
Safety regulations generally prohibit the kind of retro I’d get behind – chrome bumpers and trim, sharp leading edges, glass sealed beam lamps.
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The video that went around the internet a while back of the crash test of an old Impala (’59 I think) versus a newer Malibu was really interesting. The thing that stuck out to me was how the A-pillar of the old car was really just something to hold the roof up and windshield in place. It didn’t really serve any other structural purpose.
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Footage of old car crash tests are downright terrifying.
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The offenders you listed never really did anything for me even when the trend of old was new, but to each his own. Fashions must change, or else the fashion designers will all be out of work.
I will say though, I’m a bit of a sucker for the current crop of retro motorcycles, not that I am likely to actually buy one. My current favorite:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b7958f60a366286ed4f0e3f2a4f44a894538a81343c90a3b5a205af43ebbae46.jpg
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I gravitate to plain standards, but I’m a little disappointed the Japanese have largely avoided it. Honda’s got the CB1100, which seems to be a great modern interpretation of the UJM, but a little big and expensive for me, and Suzuki has the TU250x, which just looks a little ill-proportioned, or the details are wrong (I think it’s the airbox cover that I don’t care fore, especially in the pewter they’ve made most of them in). For all the inroads they’ve made into low-displacement bikes, most of them still go for Transformers styling.
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My favorite retro styled bike is the 961 Commando, but I can’t help but smile at the new Honda Monkey 125.
https://mcn-images.bauersecure.com/upload/291886/images/Norton%20Commando%20961%20SE.jpg
http://www.hondaprokevin.com/wp-content/uploads/ngg_featured/honda-monkey-125-concept-motorcycle-mini-trail-bike-dual-sport-3.jpg-
Those Kenny Dreer Nortons are my favorite Nortons, as heretical as that might be to the Norton faithful.
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Kenny Dreer certainly gets the credit for the styling, even though the UK built 961 is a bit removed from Kenny Dreer’s 952. Is it more or less heretical than the Hinckley Triumphs are to Triumph guys? Most old school Triumph fans I met when I had my T595 embraced the rebirth of the company.
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I thought the whole jumping off point for the Stuart Garner-owned Norton was based on Dreer’s 961 prototypes.
The Norton guys I was around while Dreer was in business all seemed to have a beef with him, for some (likely idiotic) reason – maybe just the Oregon-built element. Triumph didn’t seem to suffer anything but enthusiasm with the company’s rebirth, but I get the sense that the earliest Hinckley bikes are viewed as lesser machines than both earlier & later Triumphs – maybe analogous to AMF-era Harley.
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Is the 21st century Yamaha SR400 ‘retro’? Technically, it never went out of production…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f0ebe961baefebe2de9b7ac16dfc647e9944bc1d4b07749075810ec794346928.jpg
How ’bout the 21st century Royal Enfield Bullet? Any of the re-boots of Indian?-
or the Ural, with roots in 1930’s Germany? https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d763e7c553f555521e290506ae52ab03d6d7d9f777596ae0a554e894a4538909.jpg
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Maybe it’s time to revive its Chinese cousin, Chang Jiang. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/1969_CJ_M1_Sidevalve.jpg
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I love retrostyled bikes
Each generation cherishes things they missed out in their parents’ generation. In the 50s, Elliot Ness and the Untouchables made the 30’s fashionable. The 70’s brought back poodle skirts and sock hops via Happy Days and American Graffiti. The turn of the century brought back malaise via That 70’s Show.
The problem is that many fashions aren’t intended to be timeless. Cars used to change grilles, taillights, bumper designs annually, just because.
When the New Beetle, PT Cruiser, and other retro designs first came to market, they commanded a premium price. Now they’re yesterday’s fish. I think the marketplace has room for another good retro design, but most of the good source material has been picked already. The time is right for a re-do of an 80’s classic (non-cookie cutter) design. BMW would be ripe for mining, but I don’t know if they would want that brand to look backwards.
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I’ll admit I’d like to see a modernized Ur-Quattro; take a TT RS with the 2.5L I-5, mate it to a manual again, and rebody the whole thing 80s-style, box flares, quad rectangular headlights and all.
Hooniverse staff in Boston/Cambridge!
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Yup, that’s where I live.
There’s a couple of those retro T-birds were I live, and I must say their styling has aged a little bit better than most of the other retro cars. They’re also a little smaller than I expected.
I agree, I hated the RetroBird when it came out, and I hate it even more now. The proportions absolutely suck.
Likewise, I hated the PT Cruiser, the HHR, the New Beetle, and the Prowler. The Mini, I liked, though not so much since they’ve swollen in size. I don’t drive coupes but think the Challenger looks badass. And I still really like S197 Mustangs.
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I agree with your thoughts on the 5th gen Mustang. To me it’s the natural evolution from the first generation. It completes the design direction and makes up for the poor intermediate designs. I don’t consider it a reto design, rather a continuation.
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I do have a soft spot for the ’87-91 notchback Fox bodies, but you’re right, the S197 looks like a fast-forward evolution from 1969. I still scour Craigslist for GTs in my price range, but usually only find 6-cylinders.
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I’m a big fan of the early S197 Mustang too. I’m not terribly offended by most retro designs, but not particularly attracted to them either. The Challenger looks great but is too big. The T’bird was too bland. Like they wanted to do it but not get too carried away with it.
Generally, I’m done with retro but if Honda decides to come up with a true modern version of this I might change my mind. Wishful thinking, though…
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GhCfps4hbnE/maxresdefault.jpg
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I considered buying one of those in black years ago, but couldn’t fit well enough behind the wheel.
Honda dealers tried to play up the CR-Z as a spiritual successor to the CR-X, but it just didn’t have the same lively feel. I will give Honda credit for offering a 6-spd manual in a hybrid, though.
All depends on the era of retro we’re talking about. 50s pastiche was kinda lost on me — as a (very) late Millennial the stuff it referenced was mostly the preserve of history books for me. But when retro thinking starts properly raiding the 1980s for inspiration, I’ll lap it up.
Let’s make merry with the “Full time 4WD” graffix.
Reminds me of how they seem to be making more and more reboots in Hollywood. It’s generally a safe sell.
So you don’t like the new Peugeot coupe concept? Oh dear.
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I think it’s utter pants, electric self driving nonsense pants too. Looks like the sort of crude thing some random amateur on the internet would draw up in potatoshop as a modern *insert iconic car from the past here* concept. On the plus side – velour sofa interior.
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