I think you all need to think outside the box of what has previously been known to become classic cars. I agree that most of todays cars look too much the same. But I think in the future the car to have sitting in your garage under a tarp will be the Honda Insight. This will be valued as one of the first hybrids plus it has a distinctive look.
Ok, you got me. You are right, I cant name them, I dont speak japanese, and I cant tell them apart.
Doesnt mean I cant talk about “car culture” though.
I can name more classic cars than you can name “current cars” which may or may not ever become classics(I doubt it).
Most young people I know, even mechanics, cannot tell most new cars apart at a distance, yet, even today, I, as a very very non-expert, can still tell a 55 willys, from a 58 Rambler, from a 1960 chevrolet, or a 61 chevrolet, from a 1956 buick, from a 60 corvette, from a 58 pontiac, etc, and at a half mile a way at that!!!
At a half mile away, I can tell you exactly which car is which, if you put a 50, 53, 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 and a 61 chevrolets in a group. Can you correctly list off all the years, which is which, if I were to grab 10 toyotas and put them in a field a half mile away?
I can sit a half mile a way from a car show and probably give you a pretty accuate list of over half the cars I can see, but, I bet, that “YOU” cannot accurately list off even close to half the cars and models if you were sitting a half mile away from a mall parking lot. I would like to see you name off all of todays cars and their years at a half mile away.
Yeah, we could buy cars every 2 years, and we did, Cars did not cost much, I didnt pay over 2000 for a new car for a very long time. most cars didnt go over 3000 until what ? the 70’s. We could get most of our money back when we traded them in, and we had very low taxes back then, the maximum you ever had to pay on social security was $164 a year, and that is only if you were a movie actor and were rich. We spent money on cars instead of taxes.
When someone on the block bought a new car, we actually did all come over to take a look at it! All the neighbors would come over and make a fuss over someones new car! Those old commercials where you see friends and relatives coming over to admiring your new car, were actually true events! That IS how people reacted back then.
Today, if someone on your block buys a new car, who cares?
Another car culture thing, every town of any size, had “drag strips”, and figure 8, or oval tracks for car races. Young and old people went to car races, and the figure 8’s were the most fun, since you got to see at least one accident each nite whre the tracks crossed.
I don’t agree. The WRX engine is bulletproof. It’s got an incredibly strong bottom end. And the drivetrain (other than the tranny, which is the weak link) is also very strong. Remember, these cars are designed for rally racing, and in those races they go over very rough terrain at ungodly speeds, and in the endurance races they have to keep doing it for hours on end. Both the Evo and WRX are over 3200 lbs despite being compact cars, and the reason is because of their heavily beefed up chassis.
I’d love to take you up on that. I would bet you I could correctly identify 90%+ of them. Present day cars are not all as drab as you make them out to be. You’re just used to the older style. I would actually have a harder time picking out a 50s era Ford from a Chev than a newer Toyota from a Honda.
The current model Chrysler Voyager minivan–especially those with the darker blue color. Their front grills are pretty aggresive looking. I can see the model attracting young motorheads in about 13 years (I guess my 3 year old son will qualify)who will slam a big engine in 'em. The size is just right for transformation into a party vehicle.
I’ve got to add the Honda CRX, the early Golf, and the RX-7 to the “ricer” series. Not around anymore, but they are the progenitors of the species.
Let’s see. Jeep Grand Cherokee was the first of the luxo SUVs. Mmm. Caddy Escalade, maybe the Ford Excursion, for pure size.
Suzuki Samurai, Jeep Wrangler, maybe.
Any of the low-production car models, from SVT to the Bullitt to the Prowler to the STi.
Marauder will not make it. Too little, too late. Not enough car.
The SVX already made it.
The new 300 shows promise, though. Hm.
Of the expensive buggers? CLK. Easy. Easy as pie.
BMW 3-Series. Forever the finest handling car in the world.
Face it, folks, we live in the golden age of automobiles.
I agree with you on the CRX…My first car was an 85, I want to fix up when I have some money. Those were great cars. I’ve noticed I’m seeing a lot more of them fix up and drove around now too. Really fun little car 
The biggest problem with making modern day cars classics is the amount of plastic in them. Right now, there’s not enough demand for folks to come up with a cheap method of duplicating plastic parts, and there might well never be. Not to mention the electrical system that’s incredibly complex in most modern cars.
Unbelievable. You may be right, I can only say what I know, and the cars that I grew up with. My years lasted much longer back then, so I spent a very long time with 57 chevys,fords,dodges, etc, then came a very long year with the new 58’s, and so on. Everybody knew every car every kid had in high school, and every kid who came to the drive ins we identified by his car.
I dont even pay attention to the cars today, I cant tell any car from another except for the vw new bug, chrysler Prowler, etc.
Should add the Buick Grand National, of course. And the 90s Firebird and Camaro… specially the Firebird with the rear wing.
I really don’t see how you can claim the current Mustangs somehow shame the classic Mustangs, or that no current car can compare with their vintage counterparts.
I’m a Mustang guy; I’ve owned three, including two 65’s. I could fill your head with trivia about the classic Mustangs. My point is I have a somewhat informed opinion on this. So having said that take a look at the specs of the current SVT and tell me what classic Mustang can compare in any kind of objective performance measure.
Subjective is of course another matter, and to each his own. I love the look of the 65 and 66’s, to me they represent the absolute pinnacle of Mustange appearance. But the current model looks pretty good to me, and based on prototypes and sketches the 2005 model should be a winner.