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Are we done yet ?


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Actually to answer your topic title, I think American car design has been done since the late 60s.

Garage-based American car ingenuity has been going strong since the rat rods entered the scene in the late 90s.

Everything else is getting yourself to and from work in a lunch box on four, three, or two wheels. :lol:

Edited by Dr. Cranky
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Actually,Virge, i think more like the mid 70's. Once the gov. imposed the safety regs on the automakers, the designs were no longer left up to just the stylists. Safety designers had to be involved with ALL aspects of the cars desogn, and in 74 when Roger Smith, Pres. of GM, decided that ALL GM cars would be standardized , it took away the designers rights to design ATTRACTIVE cars, and they became only a part of the design group, and no longer the lead. When we built Chevy's, Oldsmobiles, and Buick STATION WAGONS, on a line that for almost 50 years had been exclusively Cadillac, I knew things were gonna change real fast. And they did! ALL the cars look alike to me now. Almost can't tell a foriegn car from a Domestic big 3 car.:lol:

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Which is why I've found it funny--I'm sure you guys have seen those commercials--where they put a '59 Caddy next to a brand new Caddy, and I'm thinking . . . wow, what a bad idea for selling the new Caddy. Between the two, I will always opt for the '59. Even blindfolded, I would still go for the '59.

Yes, I agree, all the new cars are the same, which is why I ride a motorcycle! :lol:

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hasnt been a good looking car - from ANYONE - since about '61

Yeah .. this is a pretty bad design, eh? :lol:

03G35CoupeDSC_2941.jpg

I could show you many poorly designed '61 cars ... American manufacturers lost it before that and are just now taking a design chance, Chrysler is at least. I AM happy that no two people have the same opinion of car design or we'd all be still buying Model-T's. Being stuck in a past area is stagnation. I'm just happy I can still love cars of all eras (well, skip most of the 70's ;) ) and even many new designs are showing that some manufactures are willing to let their designers have say.

We are in a golden age of the automobile right now ... just look under your hood and kick your tires! Cars have never had more horsepower, handled better, had more luxuries or been more technically advanced than the present day. And yes, I am of retirement age ... I could name every car on the road when I was 10 in 1956. I LOVED the look of cars in the 50's ... but then, I'M still alive and love many new cars now. ;)

I like the rod that started this thread. This is creativity and following the theme to the hilt! More people should do this rather than building another "50's hot rod" where you are only allowed to use a slim category of wheels that SOMEONE ELSE dictated. How boring.

Edited by Foxer
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George you have a point---------when they got rid of true hardtops (starting with GM's "Colonnade" styling in '73) styling started to take on a more homogenized, less appealing look.

The nail in the coffin IMO, was the total elimination of the four door hardtop after '76 by GM, and the unappealing "downsizing" of the '77 full size models. :lol:

At least though back in those days you could tell what was coming down the road................unlike today you have to do a double take to see what is what. The exception might be Hyundai..........I can spot their new cars from literally blocks away!

At least today cars ARE a lot more reliable! No more waiting 10 minutes for the car to "warm up" and then have it cough out on you when trying to get across the intersection! Frequent tuneups are part of the past as well. I just wish (GM in particular) would get just a bit more daring in their styling with their more mainstream products.

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I don't know about you guys, but I've always liked cars with that GOTCHA-TO-LOOK factor. If I want to get there fast and cheap, I simply teleport! :lol:

Seriously, though, it's become a financial and economic burden to buy cars. I grew up believing in USED cars. Why would anyone in their right mind spend 48K on a vehicle when they can buy a house for that kind of dough.

If you line up the LEXUS, MERCEDES, SATURN, et al, I would have a very hard time trying to figure out what the differences are in design. Personally I think they are all designed not even by committee anymore but by a computer, which brings me back to the beginning.

I would much rather teleport.

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My feelings exactly, Virgil. Those are the three probably top selling NICE cars in the world, and yet yes, they DO all look alike. Fox's Lexus STILL looks a smooshed jelly bean to me. Sorry, but it does. No offense Foxer, Don't hold it against me, PULEEEEZE!!!!;):lol:;)

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I don't know about you guys, but I've always liked cars with that GOTCHA-TO-LOOK factor. If I want to get there fast and cheap, I simply teleport! :lol:

Seriously, though, it's become a financial and economic burden to buy cars. I grew up believing in USED cars. Why would anyone in their right mind spend 48K on a vehicle when they can buy a house for that kind of dough.

Ummm, in 2011, $48k is more a down payment on a house in most places...at least any place nice...

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My feelings exactly, Virgil. Those are the three probably top selling NICE cars in the world, and yet yes, they DO all look alike. Fox's Lexus STILL looks a smooshed jelly bean to me. Sorry, but it does. No offense Foxer, Don't hold it against me, PULEEEEZE!!!!:D:blink:;)

NEVER hold it against you, George! That's what is cool. everyone has their own taste!

And, look closely at the jellybean on my grill .. it's an Infiniti .. :lol: And, smooshed jellybeans are cool .. with low drag coefficients! ;)

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As a child of the fifties and early sixties we used to play a game in the evening.

Identify as many cars as you could just by looking at their brake lights.

Couldn't do that today, they all look the same.

Back then we at least had style.

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I really don't like foreign cars. Sorry.

I prefer old cars over new.

Why?

1. Designers actually put time into their creations to make them stand out from the rest.

2. All cars today look the same.

3. Old cars have bigger engines and more power.

4. Old cars sound much better.

5. Old cars have more value!

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