Cars that are ageing well? :)

[Attym3]

Waugh-terfall said:

I'm going to suggest the Phase-2 Renaultsport Clio 172:


and the 182:


though I'm not the interiors biggest fan...

I always prefered these personally...

[Classic Grad 98]

IME most ka do look battered- and rusty! Great piece of design though. Can't see Ford releasing a successor which will make the same impact.

[martin84]

joe58 said:

Ford Ka mk1. Truly great piece of design with real surfacing and lines all going places, no 'flab'. Not a single one looks battered on the outside due to plastic bumpers, which unlike other cars were made to be part of the design and not a traditional after thought. First release in 1996.

I salute it.

Great little car. Bit spartan inside but it was a bold move for Ford at the time, the Focus and Cougar came along two years later. 2 out of the 3 were a long term hit. Plastic bumpers were good design but the public later demanded coloured ones so they made them. It was probably the last of the small basic go-anywhere car. Small cars now are massive, chunky, hard to see out of and covered in 'flab.'

[Waugh-terfall]

Attym3 said:

I always prefered these personally...

Some cretin's painted over the diamond turned lip!

[chevy-stu]

I think the Jap sportcars of the early 90's all have aged better than anything from the last 20 years.

Supra, 3000/GTO, Mr2, RX7 all still look fab..

Puma was a good call.. still looks quite fresh.. Bought the missus a 7th gen Celica earlier this year, and think it it's quite current looking for a 12+year old design..
Other nominations are the CL mercs from early 90's too...

[U T]

Mk2 MR2 still looks the part. Friend of mine has a mint one on an L plate. 17 yrs old, just fab. UK car, a 2.0GT in mad yellow. Love it.
The BMW Z3 is improving with age. Not overly impressed when it was launched, about 1997 I guess, but seen a few recently in VGC and they looked great.

[robsco]

[Waugh-terfall]

robsco said:

Even more so the later cars, or those with the headlight conversion.

[robsco]

Waugh-terfall said:

Even more so the later cars, or those with the headlight conversion.

Headlight conversion... Please don't blaspheme Tom.

[jas xjr]

Attym3 said:

I was following this GTO earlier and it was on a "H" plate, it was in mint condition, totally standard bar from possibly a nice SS exhaust, not some stupid drain pipes, crap pic but I think you can just see them?
Over 20 years old and looked brilliant.



Some pics of others...

Now I have always thought that these look terrible. A friend of mine bought one new, and I had to keep quiet

[2thumbs]

jas xjr said:

Now I have always thought that these look terrible. A friend of mine bought one new, and I had to keep quiet

I have to agree with that. Awful looking things. Almost as bad as the FTO

[Chicharito]

martin84 said:

Great little car. Bit spartan inside but it was a bold move for Ford at the time, the Focus and Cougar came along two years later. 2 out of the 3 were a long term hit. Plastic bumpers were good design but the public later demanded coloured ones so they made them. It was probably the last of the small basic go-anywhere car. Small cars now are massive, chunky, hard to see out of and covered in 'flab.'

I looked at them back in the day and bought a Cinq. Sporting instead.

The Cinq. was smaller, better equipped, and had more interior space, due to the boxy shape. It also had a decent engine, rather than a 40 year old boat anchor, and a Sporting was the same price as a basic Ka with plastic wheel trims.

However.. that's not really my point. The real crime in the Ka was that it was smaller than a MkII Fiesta on the inside, but bigger on the outside. Never made any sense, that.

It did age well, largely because it didn't conform with any design cues from the era.

[mike9009]

joe58 said:

Ford Ka mk1. Truly great piece of design with real surfacing and lines all going places, no 'flab'. Not a single one looks battered on the outside due to plastic bumpers, which unlike other cars were made to be part of the design and not a traditional after thought. First release in 1996.

I salute it.

Completely agree. When they first started appearing there was nothing like them. I actually despised the design to begin with, but grew to appreciate how far ahead it was.

What were other offering at the time? Rover metro, vauxhall corsa, renault clio, peugeot 106? It also really created a smaller 'sub category' to the small car, as it was never offered as a five door. A bit like the original mini which was still being manufactured at the launch of the Ka.

As for those suggesting the latter renault clio being a car ageing well. Completely disagree. It is like saying a 22 year old person is ageing well. ( not sure if that analogy makes sense?)

Mike

[Classic Grad 98]

Not exactly a jap fan here but I can't think of a single 80s/90s jap car which doesn't look dated now?
I'm not exactly a Ford fan either- but I think their designs are among the most enduring. The Peugeot 406, 306 & 106 look fresh too.
I am a fan of German cars so naturally some beemers deserve a mention. Don't like Audi tt but that's a great bit of design.

[Rawwr]

I was going to suggest the Ka, too. I'm on my second one at the moment and if you have one without the grotty little turd of an Endura engine, they're brilliant. Even if it was released tomorrow, the Ka would be a good design.

[Johnboy Mac]

martin84 said:

Peugeot 406

The best looking family saloon of the last 20 years.

Plus one to that.

[mike9009]

Johnboy Mac said:

martin84 said:

Peugeot 406

The best looking family saloon of the last 20 years.

Plus one to that.

Subjective topic, i know, but surely the Alfa 156 trumps a peugeot 406 to that claim?

M

[joe58]

I'm glad people appreciate the Ka, I was half thinking the silly people would come out and say it's a silly little car, you know the ones...

But good good design will stay good design and to describe this I give you the Braun RT 20. First designed in 1961. Genius.

[Johnboy Mac]

mike9009 said:

Subjective topic, i know, but surely the Alfa 156 trumps a peugeot 406 to that claim?

M

No!

[chevy-stu]

Johnboy Mac said:

mike9009 said:

Subjective topic, i know, but surely the Alfa 156 trumps a peugeot 406 to that claim?

M

No!

I can't see any 'timeless-ness' in the 406 either... and my Dad's got one.. !!