I am definitely old school when it comes to cars, although I drive a modern vehicle myself. But I have a healthy and nostalgic appreciation for the way cars used to look, as opposed to the homogenized, generic look of vehicles today. Allow me to illustrate what I mean.
This is the way the Dodge Dart used to look, back in the late 1960s.
It’s simple, boxy, but it had character. Here’s what the convertible version looked like:
Now that’s style, at least from my perspective. If they made a car similar to this one today, I’d buy it, even without the airbags, shoulder-belts or, hell, FM radio.
Now, here’s what the all-new Dodge Dart looks like:
No, that’s not a Ford Festiva, a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic, although you could be excused for making that mistake, since most modern cars look alike. Here’s another view:
I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t have the character of the old Dart. And yes, I know modern CAFE (fuel economy) standards force design changes, and that modern sensibilities tend to favor sleeker, rounded body styles as opposed to the old boxy design. But I still like the old one better.
Even cars that are deliberately designed to be throwbacks to yesteryear—think the Ford Mustang, the Dodge Challenger, the Chevrolet Camaro and the short-lived Ford Thunderbird—still lack what I think was the essential character of their forebears. Given the choice between a modern Corvette (with all of its advancements) and driving something like this, my choice would be clear:
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