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Which Classic Car Design Would You Revive?
Assume you've got the funding to take advantage of the new Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act
By Rain Noe - February 3, 2016
Let's have a bit of fun here: Given that it's now easier to start up a replica car company in the U.S., let's say that you had the funding to do it and unlimited licensing options. Which car design would you choose to revive? Remember that:
- Under the Low Volume Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Act, the design's got to be more than 25 years old--and you'll probably have to go further back than that to find a true design classic. (Can anyone think of a single U.S. marque that produced a lustworthy car in the '80s and '90s?)
- We're assuming American designs; we'll save the European designs for another entry
- You can assume modern underpinnings, technology and safety features, so don't worry about the poor mileage, horrendous plate-glass windshields and drum brakes of the past
I'll pick five to get you started:
1940 Cadillac Series 62 - Bohman & Schwartz
Enter a caption (optional)Designed by the legendary Harley Earl (and here with a custom body by the Bohman & Schwartz coachworks of the era), you can almost hear the swing music when you look at this thing. A fine example of streamlined design, the nose recalls a locomotive or the prow of a ship, while B & S have added a fanciful plunging beltline. This bad boy had enough room inside to seat six freaking adults.
1949 Buick Roadmaster
Enter a caption (optional)One of the transition vehicles, in my humble opinion, between the streamlined '40s and the jet fighter '50s design aesthetics. The absurdly chunky grill looked like it was made to chew the road up in its chrome teeth. The nonsensical but handsome "VentiPorts" on the side recalled a ship's portholes, but were supposedly there to help ventilate the engine. This vehicle represents a time when American excess actually had aesthetic value.
1959 Chevy Impala
Enter a caption (optional)I had the good fortune to see one of these driving down the road once. I know the design doesn't make any functional sense. I know it's too much. I know the one in the photo has been lowered beyond what you got straight out of the factory. But when you see one of these things glide past you, you get a funny feeling in your stomach.
1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe
Enter a caption (optional)I'll always have a soft spot for the '63 split window, because it was a function of manufacturing limitations. Designer Bob McLean wanted that crazy compound curve shape for the rear window and no one knew how to make it. So they split it in two, inconveniently placing a strip of metal obscuring the driver's visibility. Today we could retrofit it with backup cameras and finally provide a perfectly unobstructed view while leaving in that vestigial strip as a reminder of our former limitations.
1967 Pontiac GTO
Enter a caption (optional)To be honest, I don't even find this car that attractive (though I think the single hood scoop on the '65 and later models looks better than the dual ones on the original '64). The reason I'd bring this car back is because it was symbolic of American auto design clearly moving in a new direction—the '50s were never coming back. Sure, the muscle car design aesthetic eventually led the U.S. auto industry into ruin, but for the next few, all-too-brief years, we still had it.
Okay, your turn. Show us some good ones!
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Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Which Classic Car Design Would You Revive?
Okay, my suggested design revival would be the Studebaker Avanti body with a Tesla underneath. It's a timeless styling concept that died an early death because of Studebaker's fold.
1953 Studebaker Starliner Coupe, from the studio of Raymond Loewy
Someone has to drop a truck on this, so I nominate the original Dodge Power Wagon.
BAM!
In the lust worthy 80's and 90's challenge, I would offer the Plymouth (Chrysler) Prowler, which came out in '97.
Good call. Whatever happened to that thing?
Brubaker Box Van/Machine!!!
64 1/2 Ford Mustang
Comment on this
The 1960 Buicks, sculptural masterpieces.
1972 Datsun 510
The 1970 Plymouth Barracuda (top)
My all time favourite car, the 1969 Camaro. (middle)
My '65 Plymouth Valiant that was cruelly taken from me when a jerk ran a red light. That Slant-6!
Not yet classic but love to see McLaren F1 reproduction, amazing packaging of hyper car, the size of Honda civic hatchback, but seats three, plus luggage, how many super cars can do that? None
definetly anything AMC .... like the pacer
kidding... either the javelin
or eagle coupe. (suck on that subaru)
I thought this was about America car designs.
The 1960 Buick sedan, any model (LeSabre, Invicta, Electra). Such seductive curves!
1976 Nissan Skyline GTR
This one and the datsun 620 for sure when we get to Japanese cars
chevy nomad :D
Jensen interceptor... no least for the name...
E30 M3 of course! With a spattering of new mechanicals, but keeping it in the spirit of the original.
A 1948 Tucker for certain, and if the law allows for concept cars which never got off the drawing board, I'd have to go for the Tucker Talisman.
1965 corvair would be sweet with some upgrades.
Sorry, BUT the picture you have here is not a 1965 GTO. It's a 1966 or 1967. I had a '67 as my first car. The '65 has harder lines and is slightly smaller.
Good catch--I see now the rear fenders are clearly flaired like the '67. By the bye, you lucky bastard, that was your FIRST car?!?
Yep! Blue with white interior, 400ci (6.5l), Borg Warner T-10, with Hurst Syncro Loc shifter, and solid B-pillar so it was real quiet somewhere beyond the speedo peg.
Chris,
I hate you.
- Rain
1970 Plymouth 'Cuda AAR
British Ford Corsair convertible.