Older car styling

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

Thought I might start this as a counterpoint to the 'modern car styling' thread.

I pointed out that there's no shortage of munters in older cars, too, to which came the reply, yes, but most modern cars are either bland or hideous, and won't age well.

But I think that's also true of older cars. There are relatively few 'classics' (outside of the supercar genre) that retain their kerb appeal to my more modern eyes. Things I used to think were stunning (like the Citroen SM) now reveal their awkwardness. Perhaps controversially, I think even that epitome of 1980s style, the Porsche 928, has some odd proportions. Wouldn't stop me buying one in a heartbeat, had I the funds, but the bonnet line is just too slight, the weight is visually in the wrong place when you view it in profile.

But there are still cars that have retained their looks, even half a century or more on. A few suggestions from me:

 

[gintonic]

hideous outdated and boring

 

[matt j]

hideous outdated and boring

Yes, but nobody mentioned Macans.

 

[PaulMB]

Hideous??? The BMW is gorgeous!

 

[gintonic]

Yes, but nobody mentioned Macans.

and your point is? yes an ugly car, but a brilliant car. I owned one for a few years and loved every minute

 

[matt j]

and your point is?

That people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!

 

[gintonic]

That people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!

but I'm not. The Macan isn't pretty, but it is a great place to be.

 

[Tony L]

The thing that winds me up about new cars is so many are virtually identical. I struggle to tell most of them apart aside from ‘generic city runabout’, ‘generic hatchback’, ‘generic saloon’, ‘generic 4x4’ etc. There was far more character and individuality to cars of the 50s, 60s, 70s etc, e.g. no mistaking a Mini for an Anglia, a Austin 1100 for a Cortina, a Volvo from a Saab etc, plus the ‘supercars’ of the day e.g. Lamborghini Mura, Ferrari Dino, Porsche 911 (proper ones!), Jaguar E-Type, Jensen Intercepter etc were all entirely distinct from one another too. I’m sure aerodynamics and safety regs are a large reason why modern stuff is just so bland, but even so you shouldn’t have to look at the badge on the back to tell stuff apart! I remember a friend with some generic modern hatchback saying he had to remember exactly where he’d parked it as he couldn’t recognise the bloody thing from everything else in the carpark!

 

[Rug Doc]

A CSL is hardly hideous and almost not boring to drive! Older cars like these have character in spades!!

if you’re lucky enough to have owned a classic for a while you get to know its’ sounds and behaviour and it gets under your skin. A modern 911 doesn’t do that.. it just works, goes well, but is outdated sooner (as the next updated model is out 12 months later) and boring because it’s so predictable. Imo.

 

[Minio]

Equally boring are today's car colours. Predominantly white, silver or black.

I look back with fondness on my mum's lime green Ford Anglia or cars like Wolseleys that had duo tone colour schemes.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

Aaaah.

back when most cars did 6 to 9k miles per year.
Batteries were removed overnight in winter.

Cylinder heads were decoked every 10k miles.

Brakes were downright dangerous and using them on corners was suicidal.

The seat belts were ineffective.

The design killed occupants, cyclists and pedestrians in collisions.

Jimmy Savile.

Tyres wore out quickly.

Noise from non-existent aerodynamics.

Horrible chassis.

300 mile range if you were lucky.

Rust


Rust


Rust

 

[kennyh]

Almost 60 years apart but spot the similarity. The Brit version gets the nod though for me.

 

[MikeMA]

Citroën DS Décapotable

 

[scotty38]

Here are my two, what more could you ask for?

 

[MikeMA]

Ford Mustang convertible

 

[-alan-]

hideous outdated and boring

Aaaah.

back when most cars did 6 to 9k miles per year.
Batteries were removed overnight in winter.

Cylinder heads were decoked every 10k miles.

Brakes were downright dangerous and using them on corners was suicidal.

The seat belts were ineffective.

The design killed occupants, cyclists and pedestrians in collisions.

Jimmy Savile.

Tyres wore out quickly.

Noise from non-existent aerodynamics.

Horrible chassis.

300 mile range if you were lucky.

Rust


Rust


Rust

As current/ex Por-scha owners..you guys shouldn't be in a thread about cars and style surely..

 

[gintonic]

CSL is hardly hideous

yes it is

Imo

you are wrong

 

[martin clark]

And you are a philistine.

 

[ff1d1l]

 

[darrenyeats]

Aaaah.

back when most cars did 6 to 9k miles per year.
Batteries were removed overnight in winter.

Cylinder heads were decoked every 10k miles.

Brakes were downright dangerous and using them on corners was suicidal.

The seat belts were ineffective.

The design killed occupants, cyclists and pedestrians in collisions.

Jimmy Savile.

Tyres wore out quickly.

Noise from non-existent aerodynamics.

Horrible chassis.

300 mile range if you were lucky.

Rust


Rust


Rust

Plus polluting, inefficient, smelly.