Automobiles My memories from the 1930's by 10 year periods

[Bob W]

If you want to see a truly stunning version of 1930s aerodynamics in an automobile, try the Bugatti Type 57 Atlantique Coupe. Here is a site that includes a striking blue version along with the recent Chrysler Atlantic Coupe sort of testimonial to it.

That is truely one of the most beautiful machines ever created.

Mechanical progress aside, what is it that just like with the Hondas you've shown here, with Ford's 1957 Thunderbird and the short-lived recent Thunderbird, car companies do not seem able to capture the same grace that the original cars had? Compared to those old ones, the new ones look awkward and pretentious. Don't we have stylists with good taste anymore?

I don't agree. The recent Thunderbird is equal in design to the 1950s original; the interior of the modern incarnation is actually far superior. The new S2000 is better than the original in every way. And Pontiac has never designed an automobile as aesthetically pleasing as the new Solstice (*1).

The problem as I see it is with modern consumers. Look up and down your street. How many driveways are full of soul-less sedans, minivans, and SUVs? Compare that to the number of modern shoppers who choose the vehicles listed above. People seem to prefer blah designs, limp performance, boxy ugly interiors, and no-color paint schemes (*2).

Take Lincoln for example. Instead of producing the cutting-edge Mark 9 and Mark X, they concentrated on selling giant fugly station wagons. And they sold like hot-cakes.

Perhaps I can even prove my point. Hwyhobo, what model car do you drive?

Another factor, manufactures' marketing. Car comparies barely make any effort at all to market their "nice" cars, while pushing the hell out of their boring crap. And the rare commercials that do feature interesting cars are made for the sole purpose of improving the corporation's image, NOT to sell those cars.

Something else to consider, those cars that are beautiful, both the originals and the modern versions, are desireable because they aren't mass-produced by the millions and because they aren't owned by 9/10ths of the population. It's their rarity or uncommon-ness that creates a sense of desire and awe.

Best Wishes,
-Bob

*1 Saw on on the street for the first time today. Ten times better-looking, inside and out, than the Honda S2000. Unfortunately the Solstice is a victim of greedy price-gouging dealers and half-assed marketing.

*2 Evidence for the color-bashing, the popular Toyota Avalon. Available in only four paint choices, all shades of gray.

 

[FullerH]

I don't know about Hwyhobo, but I have a 2002 Ford Focus ZTS and a 2005 Mazda6 Sportwagon. The Ford was the best choice that we could afford at the time and I actually like the wedgey styling. it's a shame that Ford went and "blahhed" it by trying to make it more mainstream. The original wedginess made a statement that few sedans today care to make. one of aerodynamics and downforce.

The Mazda6 Sportwagon is a typical Mazda design, pushing the edge of its national style. While Japanese cars have become ever more smooth and sleek, almost Teutonic, Mazda has chosen a somewhat different route and injected a shot of sporting flair into its designs. Since you don't see that many around, here is a link to a page on them. http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=M6W
I happen to feel that they have nailed this one right on the head. It is a great combination of sportiness and practicality.

Oh, I need to say that a very bad left knee has limited me to automatic shift cars, so I am not able to consider cars like the Honda 2000 or the Ford Focus SVT.

 

[Bob W]

I guess that's what I mean.

See, you bought a station wagon instead of the beautiful ultra-fun MX-5 Miata or the super-cool RX-8 (both are priced similarly to the family-wagon, by the way). It's a wonder that companies even bother to make interesting cars, since they appeal to so few buyers and sell poorly compared to the generic models.

Sorry for the rant. I'm a minor jerk on the best of days, and feel particularly cranky today. Going to get some coffee now...

 

[FullerH]

And neither the MX-5 nor the RX-8 are available with automatic transmissions. I would have considered one or the other in lieu of th eFocus, which is my car, were they available with automatic transmissions since I can no longer use a clutch. So, you see, as age encroaches and brings arthritis with it, your choices become more and more limited. Besides, at my age, I prefer sports sedans to sports cars. I guess that I'm just an old fart.

Actually, my dream would be a Ford GT with some form of sport-shift automatic such as the Mazda6 has.

 

[Bob W]

Oh, I need to say that a very bad left knee has limited me to automatic shift cars, so I am not able to consider cars like the Honda 2000 or the Ford Focus SVT.

I overlooked this part of your post. Did you see the new Ford Thunderbirds? Beautiful outside, comfortable inside, and super-smooth V8. My only complaint was the lack of a manual transmission. The very last year of production there was a sportshiftable automatic transmission option; all of the other years were auto-only. The new ones were grossly overpriced, IMO a primary reason they sold poorly. Used ones are affordable though.

-Bob

 

[FullerH]

I thought that the new Thunderbird lacked the inherent grace of the 1955-1957 T-Birds as well as being WAAAAY overpriced. The 1957 was the prettiest of all of the T-Birds. A classmate of mine at StA had one in white with black pinstriping on the edges of the vestigial tailfins and two very small chrome ringed vents in the hood with small blak flames coming back from them. Were it my car, I would have passed on the hood modifications, but the rest was just perfect. It was a lovely car. The 1958 T'Bird was a gross pig of a car as were the rest of the T'Birds up until the TurboCoupe of, what, the late 1980s. My brother-in-law had one of those and it not only ran like stink but handled very, very well.

I really liked the Lincoln Continental Mark II that came out in the 1950s. As an interesting sidelight, my brother drove his Zephyr into a Lincoln dealer to look at the new Continental when it came out and was told that he, or his family, had to be in the Social Register to buy one. I suspect that they just wanted to chase him away, but he asked them to produce a copy, which they did, and he pointed to our family. Not much that they could do at that point. I also liked the early 1960s Continental convertibles with the suicide doors, they were super luxurious and handsome as could be for a luxury car. It is a shame that they will ever be associated with the assassination of JFK.

Bob W, another dream car of mine is the Q-ship version of the Mercedes-Benz station wagon, the E55 AMG Wagon. With a 469 bhp supercharged 5.5 liter V-8 giving 516 lb/ft of torque at 2650 rpm, this is a car that accelerates like a Porsche 911 Carrera S, a Ferrari 612, or a Corvette Z51, but with the carrying capacity of a station wagon and it lurks there, waiting to surprise various hot-shot rice racers and such. One of my brother's other cars was a 1939 Ford V-8 60 2 door sedan into which he had put a 1956 Buick Roadmaster OHV V-8 with various hot rodding additions. It was bloody fast but looked box stock on the outside. He even had the second exhaust pipe ending just shy of the rear bumper so that it wouldn't be noticeable. That car would blow off almost any other car on the road, including the Ford Interceptors that the police used. I know because the police used to take one out to Manassas drag strip and run it in the stock class, just to make the point that the kids should not get ideas of trying to outrun them. While my brother's Ford never ran against it, his elapsed times were constantly better. The only problems with that car were the mechanical brakes and the weight distribution, but we didn't worry too much about those in the 1950s except in the snow. But the E55 AMG Wagon has it all, power, brakes and handling to go with it! Please see the Car and Diver test at the link:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=16&article_id=9835