Retro-styling overstayed its welcome?

[blakscorpion21]

After reading this months issue of road and track, i had this thought. the new generation mustang appeared in 05 with a faily new idea of retro styling and alot of people, including myself really like the car for its good looks and unique styling. but then a year later dodge puts out the retro charger and soon to be retro challenger. chevy is putting out a retro camaro and pontiac is putting out a new retro gto(as seen in this months r&t). it was cool when ford did it but after every domestic car company starts following the leader it has become very worn out. and the worst thing is that these cars will sell like hot cakes even though the makers put little effort into their design, robbing old concepts. where do you draw the line, this is ending up just like in the 60s where it was follow ford and will lead to a very boring and non-diverse group of cars from the u.s. whats next? retro z car, retro celica/supra, retro bmw. what are yalls opinions on this?

[PlayStation3]

i think they are pretty gay even though i do like the 06 gto. unless you are talking about the 08-09 one that is suppose to be a old retro. i like the outside of the camero but i hate the interior of it. i like if they continue to make it then people will go into jap cars that used to be domestic people. personal i think the reason why they are doing it is to try to stop the ricer/wannabe muscle.

[TatII]

retro cars are gay, all of them except for the camaro looks like its been design with a tracing paper.

the camaro has got waay too much interesting design elements to make it a new car. the only design cues are the headlights and talights, and even those aren't direct copies of the original like hte challenger and rustang.

if i had to buy an american car, the camaro concept would have to be one of them. along with a LS2 GTO, and a ford GT.

[DinanM3_S2]

The Mustang was NOT the first instance of Retro styling, not even close. I would say either the 2002 Ford Thunderbird or even the 2000 BMW Z8 (based on the 1950's BMW 507) was the beginning of the retro styling fad. You might even be able to make the claim that the Porsche 911 is the oldest example of retro styling since it has barely changed since 1964. What about the Mini Cooper? The Mustang might be the most extreme example of retro styling, but it is not the first.

PlayStation3, I think you are dead wrong on the effects of the Retro Mustang. People arn't going from Ford to others, if you look at the numbers, people are flocking to the Mustang. It has been a huge success compared to any Mustang since the 60's. Ford doesn't care a whole lot about what people do with their cars in the aftermarket. The 05'+ was designed to target all of those people that grew up around the great Mustangs of the 60's, and they have succeeded. Quit thinking like a teenager-twentysomethinger and start thinking like a guy in his 40s or 50s. Middle aged guys adore the new 'Stang. It is the perfect mid-life-crisis car for much of the middle class. I see those things all over the place after just two years or so on the market. In August 2006, Ford sold almost 18,000 Mustangs, which is more then any other Ford except the F-Series trucks. More Mustangs sold then Jaguars, Volvos, and Land Rovers combined. More Mustangs sold that month then all of Lincoln and Mercury cars combined (not including trucks/SUVs). Honda only sold 703 S2000s, Nissan sold a little under 2,000 350z's, Mazda sold 786 RX8s, and Mitsubishi sold under 3,000 Eclipses. The Retro Mustang was a HUGE sales victory for Ford.

My opinion of retro styling is that it needs to combine some modern elements with classic design. I think that the Z8 and Mustang have been carried out very well, as well as the Camaro concept (it will probably look a bit tamer upon entering into the market). I take issue with the Dodge Challenger because there is not a scrap of originality in that entire car. It is a little lame that GM and Dodge are basically trying to copy everything that Ford has done with the Mustang and I would be willng to bet that neither the Camaro nor the Challenger will do as well.

[VAD0R]

Is there anything on the new Charger that makes it look anything like the old ones? I think some of you are overacting on this whole retro thing, since aside from pony cars and the Ford GT there are not many other cars that are taking on the whole retro thing aside from the name.

Also US car designers are not the only ones going retro, just check out the Ferrari Superamerica as well as how the 2008 BMWs are looking less rounded out again.

[blakscorpion21]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

The Mustang was NOT the first instance of Retro styling, not even close. I would say either the 2002 Ford Thunderbird or even the 2000 BMW Z8 (based on the 1950's BMW 507) was the beginning of the retro styling fad. You might even be able to make the claim that the Porsche 911 is the oldest example of retro styling since it has barely changed since 1964. What about the Mini Cooper? The Mustang might be the most extreme example of retro styling, but it is not the first.

PlayStation3, I think you are dead wrong on the effects of the Retro Mustang. People arn't going from Ford to others, if you look at the numbers, people are flocking to the Mustang. It has been a huge success compared to any Mustang since the 60's. Ford doesn't care a whole lot about what people do with their cars in the aftermarket. The 05'+ was designed to target all of those people that grew up around the great Mustangs of the 60's, and they have succeeded. Quit thinking like a teenager-twentysomethinger and start thinking like a guy in his 40s or 50s. Middle aged guys adore the new 'Stang. It is the perfect mid-life-crisis car for much of the middle class. I see those things all over the place after just two years or so on the market. In August 2006, Ford sold almost 18,000 Mustangs, which is more then any other Ford except the F-Series trucks. More Mustangs sold then Jaguars, Volvos, and Land Rovers combined. More Mustangs sold that month then all of Lincoln and Mercury cars combined (not including trucks/SUVs). Honda only sold 703 S2000s, Nissan sold a little under 2,000 350z's, Mazda sold 786 RX8s, and Mitsubishi sold under 3,000 Eclipses. The Retro Mustang was a HUGE sales victory for Ford.

My opinion of retro styling is that it needs to combine some modern elements with classic design. I think that the Z8 and Mustang have been carried out very well, as well as the Camaro concept (it will probably look a bit tamer upon entering into the market). I take issue with the Dodge Challenger because there is not a scrap of originality in that entire car. It is a little lame that GM and Dodge are basically trying to copy everything that Ford has done with the Mustang and I would be willng to bet that neither the Camaro nor the Challenger will do as well.

yes, thats why i said it was a fairly new idea. and definitley the 1st time retro became as big as it is now for cars.

[DinanM3_S2]

Originally Posted by VAD0R

Is there anything on the new Charger that makes it look anything like the old ones? I think some of you are overacting on this whole retro thing, since aside from pony cars and the Ford GT there are not many other cars that are taking on the whole retro thing aside from the name.

Also US car designers are not the only ones going retro, just check out the Ferrari Superamerica as well as how the 2008 BMWs are looking less rounded out again.

We've been talking about the Challenger, not the Charger


The SuperAmerica and 2008 BMWs? The SuperAmerica name is old, but the styling is fairly modern as far as I can see. BMW's Chris Bangle is an outspoken opponent of the retro styling wave.

[Vettribution87]

Originally Posted by DinanM3_S2

We've been talking about the Challenger, not the Charger

Personally, I love the way this new Challenger looks so similar to the old one. (I mean what’s not to like about the looks of the old one anyway?)

Ever since I was a kid I’ve always had a thing for classic US Muscle (esp. Mopar) but by the time I was old enough to drive (1999), these cars became very thin off the ground.
Buying classic Mopar nowadays is quite expensive because you often have to try to outbid baby-boomers with deeper pockets.
As such, I welcome any modern reproduction of the Challenger.

In regard to the use of retro styling in the industry, I feel that it is not easier but in fact harder to make a retro designed vehicle.
Trying to make something look up-to-date and at the same time still show a recognisable link to a classic is in my opinion much more difficult to pull off then getting a clean sheet of paper. It’s quite a balancing act.

Cars such a the Porsche 911 and the Corvette are in the advantageous position of being able to evolve slowly over time because they have (for the most part) been in constant production since their introduction. Also being flagship cars, they enjoyed a certain degree of protection from any radical new directions that a company thought fit for the time.
Cars like the Mustang & Camaro had to put up with some rather sacrilegious compromises imposed on them to meet with the times. (Remember the Mustang II of the 70’s? A vehicle so far removed from the true objective of the Mustang name)
Some also had very erratic production runs, sometimes being cancelled for a certain number of years and then reintroduced in a radical new form only to subsequently be cancelled again a few years later.

In the case of Dodge, it’s been decades since they made anything like those classic Mopars, and as such, they would have a tough time trying to blend modern styling with classic cues.
The Challenger of the 70’s and the one in the pic are eras apart. This makes it very tricky for a retro project.
Heck “Retro” & “Original” are almost juxtaposed terms in this context.

Fortunately, as the early Challenger looked so dammed good, I think few people will be complaining about its looks.

[blakscorpion21]

i think mucle car looks are over rated, they are boxy, clunky, large. there are only a select few that i find attractive like the mustang and camaro classics.

[TatII]

hahaha trying to make them look retro but up to date? thats an oxy moron. all the retro cars looks old as hell. the only thing that makes them look modern are the modern sized wheels, headlights, and little ornaments. but the whole car in general looks like it came from the 60's-70's.

i look at that challenger and all i see is an old ass car. you can put it side by side with the original that is in prestine conditions with larger wheels and to average person would say it barely looks like a newer/older car.

the only and i mean ONLY car that gets away with this is the Camaro. take away the tailights and headlights and the thing looks like a new Caddy.

[Vettribution87]

Originally Posted by blakscorpion21

i think mucle car looks are over rated, they are boxy, clunky, large. there are only a select few that i find attractive like the mustang and camaro classics.

If you like the look of the classic Camaro, then I am quite surprised you don’t like the look of the classic Challenger.
I'm not saying they're identical but in my opinion, (as far as looks are concerned) there is a greater level of similarity between the Challenger & Camaro then ether compared to the Mustang.

Originally Posted by TatII

hahaha trying to make them look retro but up to date? thats an oxy moron. all the retro cars looks old as hell. the only thing that makes them look modern are the modern sized wheels, headlights, and little ornaments. but the whole car in general looks like it came from the 60's-70's.

i look at that challenger and all i see is an old ass car. you can put it side by side with the original that is in prestine conditions with larger wheels and to average person would say it barely looks like a newer/older car.

That really wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
It's still a new car and even if someone mistook it for old 70's model with a body kit, it would still be nonetheless impressive.

Originally Posted by TatII

the only and i mean ONLY car that gets away with this is the Camaro. take away the tailights and headlights and the thing looks like a new Caddy.

I'm somewhat excited about this new Camaro.
Nevertheless, the first pics I saw of the concept vehicle were on another car forum and they were bashing it over its looks.

[blakscorpion21]

i dont like the new camaro, its trying to be too aggressive and just looks wierd. the 2012 mustang concept looks similar but is much cleaner, i like it alot better.

and yeah the challenger is similar to the camaro and it is decent looking but i like the camaro better cause it doesnt look as long as the challenger.

[BP2K2Max]

the thing i don't like about retro styling is that now there's nowhere to go now with the car. look at the mustang, the car already evolved once from it's 70's version to what it was in 03-04, now it's back to 70's styling again. where is there to go next? there's nothin new you can do to the car that wasn't done as it progressed through the 70's (styling wise). what, are they gonna bring back foxbodies once this styling gets played out again? it was kinda cool with the PT cruiser and ford T-bird to give a lil throw back to where it started, but now that everyone's jumped on the band wagon it's getting lame.

[BlackGT2000]

I have heard that in 2008 the Mustang will be restyled slightly with a new front and rear that will look more modern.

[BP2K2Max]

Originally Posted by BlackGT2000

I have heard that in 2008 the Mustang will be restyled slightly with a new front and rear that will look more modern.

i think what we have now looks better than the propsed face lift. instead of the long blinker light up front, it's this little round dot, round headlights and the two hood scoops, nothing phenomenal.