The "Bad Boy" of yester year

[blight]

So I was thinking today. Now keep in mind that I am 24 years old so this is going to skew somethings. Most of today's young woman are not really looking for something much different than they ever really were back in the day. This is a generalization of course but, I find that most woman are looking for the "bad boy" or at least are falling for them. Then in the end when they get older and more mature, they want the bad boy that in the end is not really a bad boy but just has confidence in who they are, and at the same time can be sensitive etc.

Anyhow that in itself gets into a different discussion for another time and that is not exactly what I am looking to discuss. What I have found in common with woman now and before (meaning before my own personal time) is that the image of the bad boy is not that much different. He wears leather, tends to wear a lot of black clothing (its sleek and mysterious), may own a Harley Sportster. Now the thing I find HAS changed is the cars that these woman imagine this bad boy to be driving. That is what I would like to discuss.

As time has gone by the the "bad boy"'s car has changed. Through out the years what have you found that the guys around you that have the "bad boy image" have been driving for a car? Was it a mustang? Vette? etc?

So I am going to start from a more logical beginning in time range.

What car did he drive in the 1960s?

1970's?

1980's

1990's

and now the 2000's?

I personally found that in the 2000's there has been a slight lean much more to the import cars. BUT when it comes down to it, the 350z/g35, mustangs, evo's, sti's, and f-bodies still dominate this era. The guys with the civics, eclipses, 240sx cars are still boy racers, and give off the I'm just a kid vibe to most females out there not the more manly "bad boy" image they tend to fall for.

So that in mind (and I am noticing I am getting a little redundant here). What do you all think these guys drive in these time periods?

On a side note PLEASE I really don't want to get into the politics of this discussion I am looking for strait forward answers (opinions on what you think, not your opinion on what you think about what others think- I don't care and that just causes pointless arguments so lets just keep that out of this please).

[MagicRat]

Imo girls have little interest in cars..... they are little more than a fashion accessory.... and sometimes they are simply bored by cars that guys would find interesting.

Imo girls are much more interested in cars that reinforce an aura of a man's confidence / mystery / wealth / independent spirit. If this is rebellious/bad-boy, so be it.

To that end, I would say that the chick magnets over the years would be stylish, expensive personal luxury cars.
Early 1960's...... Jag E-Type
Late 60's Caddy Eldorado

1970's Lincoln Mk's IV and V, and the Mercedes two seaters (450 SL etc)

1980's...... Ferrari 308.
1990's BMW..... although I remember in the early 1990's, the Lincoln Town Car was, by surveys, found to be the most desired car among American women.

As for Corvettes....... every woman I have ever known over the years (who expressed an opinion on the subject) thought that 'Vettes were driven by egocentric jerks, and/or insecure, fat middle-aged guys on a mid-life crisis.

I agree with you.... all the tuner /enthusiast cars don't attract the girls much........maybe as teenagers, but they seem to grow out of this and fall for the cars that indicate the guy has a fat wallet.

[blight]

anymore thoughts out there?

[RahX]

How about bikers? Not just Harley guys either =)

[blight]

looking for cars not bikes - that is already part of the obvious persona

[akboss]

Wow, this is a random post - what made you think of this for a topic? Interesting nonetheless.

1960's - Big-block Chevy SS like Chevelle, Nova, El Camino. Also cars from Mopar - Charger, Challenger, GTX. An off-beat choice would be the late-60's Mercury Cougar, but with the right engine it was bad-ass, as was the Olds 442, but that was a Gentleman's muscle car.

1970's - Most American cars started to get small and ugly, so imports gained some ground. Datsun 240Z was a sharp car, as was the new light and small Mazda RX-7. But a few big-metal survivors soldiered on, like the Pontiac Trans Am, Plymouth Duster and the Olds Cutlass. Corvette was a high-brow choice. The Jeep CJ was the back-country version of super-cool.

1980's - The Corvette gained even more ground in the 80's, looking more modern than most of its counterparts. Porsche also gained ground with the legendary 911 Turbo, extra-mean looking in all black with black Rally wheels, as did the powerful BMW 6-series. The Lincoln Mark VII was pretty bad-ass too. But the cool guys don't have a lot of money - after movies like Smokey and the Bandit, 'cheape' cars like the Pontiac Trans Am were at an all-time cool, as was the Z28 Camaro. Don't forget the off-beat Monte Carlo and the Buick Grand National.

1990's - the early 1990's started off with strong offerings from Japan (300ZX Turbo, Supra) but this wasn't what you'd find that 'cool guy' driving. He would be behind the wheel of an American muscle car, as always, defined by the Chevy Corvette. The expensive and at-the-time immensely powerful ZR-1 defined the era of the Vette. Ford had it's strongest offering of the Mustang in a long time - the 5.0 GT was a hit, and the early 1990's body style would go down in history as one of the 'stangs most famous. The 1994 Camaro was an attempt at modernizing the muscle car with mixed results, it was a bit funny looking but maintained a power advantage over the Mustang, and hence it later grew to always be a little 'cooler'. By this point the Firebird was too flashy, and the Mustang was too soft. Some cool 4-doors started to emerge, like the infamously bad-ass 1995 Chevy Impala SS.

2000's - The 21st century ushered in a new generation of cool cars, with imports gaining more and more ground in the cool scene. But in the late 1990's and early 2000's, gas was cheap and once again big was in. This time it was SUV's and Pickups that were getting lots of attention - big luxury rides like the Cadillac Escalade were in, as were big offerings from GMC (Denali) and Dodge (Ram). Muscle cars got fresh blood with the best looking F-body Camaro's showing up in the last model years, coupled with serious power in the SS models. Mustang brought a hit retro look to the table with the 2004 Mustang, and since has spawned a massive retro trend from North American manufacturers. Mercury brought out the Marauder based on the Grand Marquis, but this was the Olds 442 equivalent - the gentleman's choice and not a bad-ass muscle car.

Overall, the bad-ass cool guy, from 1960 to 2000, typically drives something built in North America and not overly expensive. It is black, has a loud exhaust, a manual transmission (changed in newer cars), and it had better come with a V8. It's the attitude it carries with it. Many import cars are faster, better made, and more stylish, but that didn't matter - its all about the cool.

[blight]

Well I am writing a book to be blunt. One of the characters in the book reflects that stereotype SO... yeah.

You know its funny I keep seeing trans am anything 67 to 81ish. The first and second gen cars. The Camaro seems more like the preppy popular guys cheaper car if mommy and daddy did not fork out the cash for the vette, viper, supra etc. This can actually pretty much be said all through out the years.

Your post was VERY helpful thank you very much.

[akboss]

Originally Posted by blight

Well I am writing a book to be blunt. One of the characters in the book reflects that stereotype SO... yeah.

You know its funny I keep seeing trans am anything 67 to 81ish. The first and second gen cars. The Camaro seems more like the preppy popular guys cheaper car if mommy and daddy did not fork out the cash for the vette, viper, supra etc. This can actually pretty much be said all through out the years.

Your post was VERY helpful thank you very much.

Glad to help! And very cool you're a writer - something I take personal interest to myself.

One quick thought - if you are setting up a character to be 'cool', be careful not to paint a stereotypical picture of a white-trash trans am in a trailer park - which can be the stereotype of the mid-80's cars, the Knight-Rider ones. It isn't a great movie, but the picture they paint in the original 'The Fast and the Furious' movie with Vin Diesel and his heavily modified 1971 (I think) Dodge Charger is the token 'cool guy' scene. The car is a restored classic but he has been under the hood and made it a monster - thundering exhaust, supercharged engine out of the hood, so much torque it twists the frame on takeoff - those elements combine make what could have been a run of the mill old Charger into a road-destroying bad-ass mobile. Whereas if you watch a movie like Joe Dirt, he also drives a classic Hemi, but it is a POS - it doesn't work the same. The Fast and the Furious series actually picks up on a lot of stereotypes so it might be a good reference point for some foundational elements to your characters...especially that of Vin Diesel.

Cheers, best of luck.
A.