Are German cars still cool?
Discussion
Heaveho said:
Corrado VR6. Cool. Golf R. Uncool.
993. Cool. 997. Uncool.
Audi Quattro. Cool. Audi R8. Also cool.
BMW 2002 Turbo. Cool. BMW M3. Uncool.
Mercedes Cosworth. Cool. Mercedes C63. Uncool.
Opinions will vary, but to me, mine suggests most Germans aren't cool any more. And I've got one! And it's not.
R8s will always be cool to me, I've got a bit of a blind spot for them! Unless they're convertibles. Then the deal's off.
I agree, particularly with the Golf R. A friend of mine is test driving a couple Rs this weekend. He's always wanted one. I get it on paper: power, good MPG for what it is, practical for city driving etc etc. But it's so 'meh' in my eyes. I can think of plenty of other things I'd rather sink c.20k into than that. If anything, I think the GTI is cooler than the R, and the R estate cooler than both because you just don't see them all that often, but it appears that my view doesn't fit in with my late 20s contemporaries who all seem to think the R is exceedingly cool. Maybe it's a generational thing and I'm a generation ahead at heart 993. Cool. 997. Uncool.
Audi Quattro. Cool. Audi R8. Also cool.
BMW 2002 Turbo. Cool. BMW M3. Uncool.
Mercedes Cosworth. Cool. Mercedes C63. Uncool.
Opinions will vary, but to me, mine suggests most Germans aren't cool any more. And I've got one! And it's not.
R8s will always be cool to me, I've got a bit of a blind spot for them! Unless they're convertibles. Then the deal's off.
Haltamer said:
Well he looks like a pretty cool millenial, so yes? 
KM666 said:
I'd say there is a correlation between how much of a sense of humour the owners generally have and how cool brands are.
Mercedes are cool cars for daft rich women.
Not daft or rich but my SLK definitely cool. Well it is when I have the roof down. That is what you meant isn’t it. ? Mercedes are cool cars for daft rich women.
Much as most of us love cars, 30-60 year old male car nuts are the last people in the world to know what’s “cool“
Remember the TG cool wall, KCT would have no problem with someone turning up in a Golf r but would bail at someone in a Civic Type R.
But also, as someone above mentioned, it can be from what perspective, ask some kids or young car nuts and they’ll tell you the CTR is cool and the Golf not.
Remember the TG cool wall, KCT would have no problem with someone turning up in a Golf r but would bail at someone in a Civic Type R.
But also, as someone above mentioned, it can be from what perspective, ask some kids or young car nuts and they’ll tell you the CTR is cool and the Golf not.
Kierkegaard said:
Audi were cool for about a year c.2002.
BMW were cool pre-bangle.
Mercedes were cool from 1950-1995.
Porsche were cool pre-watercool
VW were cool pre-emissiongate.
as an addition..
Volvo are now cool...apparently.
Alfa Romeo have always been cool.
Aston Martin were cool until they started selling a Toyota supermini.
Jaguar...it's complicated. Cool, but several non-cool Jaguars to list..
Interesting. To be honest, pre-original A4/A6/A8, I'm not really sure if I got the whole Audi thing but I guess that they used to be a little quirky and something that an airline pilot or architect might drive rather than a photocopier salesman! VW not so much. I guess that my dad's mk2 Polo was fairly well put together for a cheap car at the time but nothing special, although the Golf has always seemed to enjoy a bit of a halo. Some of their newer vehicles like the Arteon, Tiguan and Touareg enjoy a bit more of an aspirational/premium feel too. I wasn't trying to infer that all vehicles from German manufacturers were cool but certainly they used to be more expensive, hence less attainable and by virtue more aspirational and perhaps a bigger proportion of them enjoyed a cool image as a result? I was just interested as to whether any models have managed to retain that.BMW were cool pre-bangle.
Mercedes were cool from 1950-1995.
Porsche were cool pre-watercool
VW were cool pre-emissiongate.
as an addition..
Volvo are now cool...apparently.
Alfa Romeo have always been cool.
Aston Martin were cool until they started selling a Toyota supermini.
Jaguar...it's complicated. Cool, but several non-cool Jaguars to list..
Hyundai, Kia, Skoda, Volvo and Alfa Romeo are all companies whose image seems to be on an upward trajectory at the moment but saying that Hyundais, Kias and Skodas are cool might be pushing it a bit.
Volvo, yes. I would rather have any of their SUVs than the German competition and the new S60, V60 and V90 are all really stylish and cool too. Too bad that they have got rid of the quirky 5 cylinder petrol and diesel engines, so not much to appeal to the enthusiast. I think this is where Audi/BMW/Mercedes/Porsche score for the enthusiast despite the brand image being diluted a bit by cheap diesels and crossovers because you can actually still get RWD/AWD chassis, multi-cylinder engines and manual transmissions, although even the bigger engines and manual transmissions are getting more scarce in these vehicles.
Post-4C, Giulia and Stelvio, Alfa Romeo is certainly up there at the moment as well, although they were just running with the MiTo and Giulietta at one stage, which wasn't so good. Nothing wrong with them per se but the classic Alfa grille didn't sit so well on a couple of rather squat hatchbacks in my opinion. The 159 was 10 times cooler than a 3-Series though, even if it wasn't necessarily the better car.
Jaguar, yes and no. I think the F-Type and F-Pace are really cool. The XJ is kind of cool but getting on a bit now and doesn't quite have the presence of the "classic-style" XJs. The XE and XF are close but no cigar for me. Land Rover to me seem to be the more thriving half of that business but conversely, I think that the products are getting less cool!
What's the verdict on the AMG GT? It's a good-looking car with echoes of the 1950s SLs (especially the convertible version) but it seems quite spec-sensitive and I find there is a fine line between cool and tasteful and chavy and tasteless. It's a very nice car but I haven't really fallen for it yet.
Hungrymc said:
I wouldn’t have said cool was ever the right word for German cars in general. They were a bit too obvious as a slightly aspirational choice. Trying a bit too hard. Just look at 911s in the 80s.
Yeah, I'm with you on 911s in the 1980s, at least contemporaneously but are these Porsche not cool?
wormus said:
See man driving a german whip
But he can't afford to service it
(At 1 minute 49 seconds... don't ask me how I made it that far)
white_goodman said:
Yeah, I'm with you on 911s in the 1980s, at least contemporaneously but are these Porsche not cool?
Don't forget the coolest 911 ever made
The 944S2 was also cool at the time, far more so than the 968.
The 928 has always been more controversial than cool, even back in the day.
Age is a factor, of course. A VW 1600 Type 3 was leprosy when it was new and is cooler than the Arctic these days. Even Beetles were barge pole fodder in the early 70s.
The issue with cool is that it can be blown away by what might appear excessive indulgence and far more money than sense (a German car with half its value above list price after adding options).
American muscle cars are probably always going to be cool, new or old, no matter what you park them next to..
I don't think PH can be the judge of whats cool or not, it is like Steve Wright thinking he is cool.
I would say that high end German cars such as Audi/BMW/Merc/Porsche are fashionable brands to young people, in the same way as clothing brands like Ralph Lauren, ect. To non-petrol heads, a expensive german car is an accessory, like the latest iPhone.
I would say that high end German cars such as Audi/BMW/Merc/Porsche are fashionable brands to young people, in the same way as clothing brands like Ralph Lauren, ect. To non-petrol heads, a expensive german car is an accessory, like the latest iPhone.
LuS1fer said:
American muscle cars are probably always going to be cool, new or old, no matter what you park them next to..
My Dad was an American car dealer so I regularly went to (public) school in the 80s in a muscle car - other kids thought they were cool.Their parents clearly didn't.
V8RX7 said:
LuS1fer said:
American muscle cars are probably always going to be cool, new or old, no matter what you park them next to..
My Dad was an American car dealer so I regularly went to (public) school in the 80s in a muscle car - other kids thought they were cool.Their parents clearly didn't.
V8RX7 said:
LuS1fer said:
American muscle cars are probably always going to be cool, new or old, no matter what you park them next to..
My Dad was an American car dealer so I regularly went to (public) school in the 80s in a muscle car - other kids thought they were cool.Their parents clearly didn't.
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