I will agree that the new Challenger looks nice. However, I see it as just one of those "exceptions to prove the rule." The retrostyle trend is just extreme laziness - instead of coming up with fresh and inspiring eye catching contemporary designs from scratch, the offending design studios are just digitizing classic cars and massaging them some in a CAD program. On top of that, instead of making designs that stand out due to their own merits, the resulting cars are just a desperate appeal to the sense of nostalgia so many of us have.

Whether this increasing lack of creativity and inspiration in design is due to reliance on focus groups, meddling by bean counters, or just a lack of creativity in the current generation of stylists is another issue entirely... At the end of the day, it's the product of sheer laziness.

Also, my comment in my first post was not meant to deride the 370Z at all, by the way. I think it looks pretty good for what it is, and I'd definitely take one for a test drive if I were in the market, but I'm in the same boat with Walter - I don't need two sports cars to keep me occupied.

Whether this increasing lack of creativity and inspiration in design is due to reliance on focus groups, meddling by bean counters, or just a lack of creativity in the current generation of stylists is another issue entirely... At the end of the day, it's the product of sheer laziness.

.

As I said, its not the fact that they are retro styling but the fact that they are taking the wrong approach at doing so.

I think, and this is my own opinion, that cars these days just look like garbage.

I think somewhere around 2000-05 is where they started to seriously go down hill. Even in the 90's their was still some very good styling but now cars are just looking to far fetch,... very cluttered in a sort of sense.

My LS is probably the only modern day car I will ever own. Its plain and clean cut and looks like a car. I cant say that for most other cars out on the market today that have the same styling right out the box that people 10 years ago were achieving through ricey body kits.

I think if the new line of Z cars was a bit longer in the front end and maybe headlights that more so resembled the early Z cars it would be awesome.

but this is 2010, not 1970

Correct, but it is also not 2050 either.

Edited August 22, 201014 yr by jwerner2

My LS is probably the only modern day car I will ever own. Its plain and clean cut and looks like a car. I cant say that for most other cars out on the market today that have the same styling right out the box that people 10 years ago were achieving through ricey body kits.

That's how I feel about my GTO. I'm glad they didn't try to make it look like a caricature of the 1960s-70s GTO. I wouldn't have been interested in it.

I will agree that the new Challenger looks nice. However, I see it as just one of those "exceptions to prove the rule." The retrostyle trend is just extreme laziness - instead of coming up with fresh and inspiring eye catching contemporary designs from scratch, the offending design studios are just digitizing classic cars and massaging them some in a CAD program. On top of that, instead of making designs that stand out due to their own merits, the resulting cars are just a desperate appeal to the sense of nostalgia so many of us have.

Whether this increasing lack of creativity and inspiration in design is due to reliance on focus groups, meddling by bean counters, or just a lack of creativity in the current generation of stylists is another issue entirely... At the end of the day, it's the product of sheer laziness.

Also, my comment in my first post was not meant to deride the 370Z at all, by the way. I think it looks pretty good for what it is, and I'd definitely take one for a test drive if I were in the market, but I'm in the same boat with Walter - I don't need two sports cars to keep me occupied.

So much win in that post right there. I have said it for years to mostly deaf ears. The retro thing, is using the nostalgia of customers to sell a car. If you think about it, what are they doing really. Buy designing a car that looked mostly like a an older model.. you are telling that buyer..

"remember when we did not totally suck"

The other big problem with going retro, is after that, where do you go from there? Do you follow all the previous years designs. Is the 2014 Camaro going to look like the 1970 Z28? You cannot evolve a brand for 35 years slowly adjusting it to the market and changing it, and then go full retro. You just cannot pick back up after the retro fad is over. GM, and Dodge have designed themselves into a box. The mustang however, has gradually changed and never really strayed that far from the original. The vette has done quite well too. And the pinnacle of design evolution is the 911.

The mustang however, has gradually changed and never really strayed that far from the original.

I don't know. The 79-93 Fox Body (Third Gen) kind of stretches that theory........

The mustang however, has gradually changed and never really strayed that far from the original.

Ehmmm... Mustang II? And don't forget that it was the Ford Mustang that started the retro-pony car trend

But the Mustang II looked a lot more like the original Mustang than the Third Gen did.

The Mustang has changed dramatically over the years!!

And don't forget that it was the Ford Mustang that started the retro-pony car trend

And with the exception of the Charger they did the worst job at doing so.

I think the 370Z is a step in the right direction after the 350Z. In my opinion the design does not try to copy or bring back the looks of a 240Z . It does come closer to the original hallmarks of the 240Z which is a small, well handling sports car that offers a great value for the money compared to other two seat sports cars on the market. I would like to see Nissan strive to keep an entry level Z priced under $30K. Its nice to have all the latest technology but those options really drive the price of the car up.

okay okay OKAY...

I admit it. I did forget about the mustang II and the Fox body. Mostly the fox body to be honest.

I am so ashamed!!

I can't beleive you guys cut that pinto with mustang badges so much slack

As opposed to the retooled 2nd generation Falcon that it originally was?