Retro dead in car design?
Discussion
In this interview J Mays says "There hasn’t been a retro come out for 5 or 6 years now and retro was only interesting when we could use it as a differentiator but once everyone is doing it I have no interest in it. We have put that over to the side, I won’t say that we will never do another one because might (hands up), but for the moment its on the shelf. We will keep it there as a weapon in our arsenal…though we may not have to use it." which is a shame. I'm not saying I'd like to see a Cortina or Capri, but I would like to see the Fulvia that Fiat showed a while back.
Oh God not J Mays and his bloody "golden ratio". Quite a reputation for not being the easiest person in the world to work with too.
As for retro, we've seen some from US and Europe, but in terms of Ford's Euro market I don't think they have much retro style to cash in on. I might be at risk of being shot down in flames here, but the sought after Ford models from yester year were never great because of the way they looked, IMO. It was the performance, rally success that made people lust after them.
As for retro, we've seen some from US and Europe, but in terms of Ford's Euro market I don't think they have much retro style to cash in on. I might be at risk of being shot down in flames here, but the sought after Ford models from yester year were never great because of the way they looked, IMO. It was the performance, rally success that made people lust after them.
Chicane-UK said:
The Americans got "retro" with their new generation of muscle cars.. just a shame they're not really practical, affordable, and easily obtainable here in the UK. I look forward to the Mustang getting a UK release in 2014 (I think it is!)
You can get a retro look V6 (05+ model) for less than £10k and V8's from ~£12k. and they are more than practical, been using one as a daily drive for over 3 1/2 years and had no problems with it mechanically or practicality wise at all.Oh and the 2015 car (released in 2014) will not (if the various press releases are to be believed) be a retro design. If it is released here and if they do there is supposedly to be no V8 option in the UK/Europe - not initially anyway.
GregMac said:
It would have been a great craze if it resurrected cars we actually liked, aside from the Mini and they got that all wrong anyway.
Yep, they definitely got that wrong; I mean you hardly ever see any on the roads, and there isn't even a dedicated dealer network set up for them, I mean had they got it right it would have created '000's of jobs in the UK.What were they thinking eh? Bloody idiots!
Ozzie Osmond said:
I shouldn't get too misty-eyed, there's been plenty of "rubbish retro" around.
I suspect I'm in the minority here but.... I quite like the S-type, the T-Bird isn't too bad either, the new Beetle isn't a minger and I really can't see a problem with the TVR S. As regards the PT it's a marmite car - sometimes you really can't do anything right, people hate the same-old same-old look of cars they then hate the PT for not looking (ignore driving ability and fit/finish in this regard) the same.... WTF??? - VW Beetle
- Jaguar S-type
- Ford Thunderbird
- TVR S
- Chrysler PT Cruiser
"After being on hiatus for several years, Ford introduced a new Thunderbird for 2002. Returning to the original formula for the Thunderbird, the latest version had a two-seat coupe/convertible layout like the first-generation Thunderbird and retrofuturistic styling to match. It was built on a platform shared with the Lincoln LS and Jaguar S-Type. The interior, particularly the appearance of the dash area, instrument panel, and steering wheel, was very similar to that of the Lincoln LS. The sole engine of the Thunderbird was a Jaguar-designed AJ-30 3.9 L DOHC V8 mated to Ford's 5R55N 5-speed automatic transmission. Sales dropped significantly after its first model year and the last one rolled off the assembly line on July 1, 2005." Wikipedia
irocfan said:
Ozzie Osmond said:
I shouldn't get too misty-eyed, there's been plenty of "rubbish retro" around.
I suspect I'm in the minority here but.... I quite like the S-type,- VW Beetle
- Jaguar S-type
- Ford Thunderbird
- TVR S
- Chrysler PT Cruiser
The issue with retro design is that it's got nowhere to go. It's already been developed to its natural conclusion. I do wonder how much longer Mini can keep plugging away with their 'look' because it's looking increasingly absurd the more cars they apply it to, and there's no logical direction for its development.
What I find annoying, though, is the identikit styling trends that are emerging, especially in the family hatch market. The Focus, Astra, Ceed, I30, C4, A3, Golf, Leon, C4, Civic and so on all look pretty-much identical, right down to cribbing individual small styling details off each other (shape of front air intakes, exhaust housings, D-pillar quarter-windows, headlights etc). It's pathetic.
I'd have an Alfa Romeo Giulia, at least in part because it has the confidence to be an Alfa Romeo. I would say the Citroën DS4 too, but it's stupidly packaged in the rear - despite being a 5-door hatch the rear windows don't wind down due to the shape of the doors and there's no legroom due to the size of the front seats. I put all this to a Citroën salesman once and he said 'that's because it's a driver-orientated car, sir'. Eh? No it isn't, it's a five-door family hatch, it just suffers from a few catastrophic design flaws.
What I find annoying, though, is the identikit styling trends that are emerging, especially in the family hatch market. The Focus, Astra, Ceed, I30, C4, A3, Golf, Leon, C4, Civic and so on all look pretty-much identical, right down to cribbing individual small styling details off each other (shape of front air intakes, exhaust housings, D-pillar quarter-windows, headlights etc). It's pathetic.
I'd have an Alfa Romeo Giulia, at least in part because it has the confidence to be an Alfa Romeo. I would say the Citroën DS4 too, but it's stupidly packaged in the rear - despite being a 5-door hatch the rear windows don't wind down due to the shape of the doors and there's no legroom due to the size of the front seats. I put all this to a Citroën salesman once and he said 'that's because it's a driver-orientated car, sir'. Eh? No it isn't, it's a five-door family hatch, it just suffers from a few catastrophic design flaws.
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