A Horse With No Name

For a city car the Fit is not bad, but yeah, most of what people are talking about here is stuff that I am not on board with. IMHO I don't like anything Suzuki builds at all. Chris

Warning-this is a rant, but it is how I really feel. This comes in part from Miata net and hanging out with a few of the VW/Audi guys...and talking with people at work or in various social circles. The feeling seems to be widespread that most of what is being built right now is just plain..well..butt awful ugly. I need to know if you all think 2009 is the worst year ever for car design. I just look at what some car makers are building, and I just want to weep. Not to sound like a Cheers and Gears nutjob, but a rusty 73 Maverick on jackstands looks better visually IMHO than the following: Anything from Nissan other than the 350Z or the GTR. The Z and GTR aren't all that great, but they aren't ugly either. Ridgeline, Anything Acura, and the CRV from Honda. Just awful. My wife is not a car person and she laughs out loud every time she sees a Ridgeline. She finds the CRV, the Acura's and the Civic even uglier. The entire Toyota lineup is horrible, other than the TC. Mitsubishi...the new Lancer/EVO I think looks horrible, the Eclipse is amazingly bad (consumer reports is right in giving it a horrible rating, IMHO...just nothing on this car is "right" visually or in the way the interior is laid out.) The rest of the lineup just plain is awful as well. BMW...not on board with anything other than the Z4, and BMW is putting a lot of money on the hood of the Z4 to move it. I still like the old Z3 better than the Z4. Mazda..the CX-7 and CX-9 are really not good looking. Merc-Benz...I like the cars from the earlier eras better. Subaru-the Big SUV (Tribecca or whatever) Ugly, even without the vagina inspired front end. The previous car is an Ob-Gyns worst nightmare come true, and the restyle IMHO makes it even worse. Chrysler...I can't say nasty things about a few of the products because people here drive them or like them, but the Caliber is not good looking by any measure. Am I off base or is 2009 one of the worst year for car styling in a long time? I'm going to find a Delorean, a mad scientist named Brown, a length of wire, and a Court House...and go back in time and buy a 57 Olds ragtop like my grandfather used to own! Chris

Welcome, Vader33! This place is a little nuts, but it is a lot of fun. Oh, and I'm into small cars but I love trucks too. Congrats on owning a Z-71, I am jealous! Chris

Amazing that Astra for example is the best selling car in Europe but they can't give them away here...and it is a damned good car. I really think the best of the new GM (Astra, Aura, Sky, Solstice, G8, CTS, Cobalt SS TC, HHR, Enclave, Outlook, GMT 900 et all) is awesome product. Gm has done a wonderful job with the product itself, now let us get it into the hands of people who have money and need cars. Chris

The old E-30 style cars (the 80's era small BMW's) were way cool and I still want to find one and fix it up. However, I'm with you on the newer stuff. Audi just has its act together, and VW is really getting there. Chris

+1 Chris

Thinking outside of the box is what is fun about loving cars. Chris

I would really like to disagree, the Aveo isn't even on the same planet as the Fit. Chris

I wish I still lived in either Atlanta or Chicago, great ethnic food both places! Seriously, I think it says something that there are no really crative ways to modify most Asian cars. Chris

What about merging the two threads, Phantoms and this should be mine? I'll take a 87 El-Camino pick em up with an SS front end, but made into a convertible, like GM did with a (1965, I believe) El Camino for a show car. I would much rather actually have THAT than a Prius. Oh, and did you know that all Prius come with navigation systems? They drive themselves from one self righteous destination to another... Chris

At least you said it is alive and living in a heated garage under a cover! My old neighbors, when I lived in Mt. Sterling, Ohio used to have a 1982 Camaro Pace Car with about 10k miles on it. It lived a similar life. Oh, to get GM building "real" cars again! Chris

That would kill the fastback roofline, which is one of the best parts of gthe Prius IMHO. Chris

...Oh, and don't worry, I won't be greedy, I'd be plenty happy with just a plane jane Vista Cruiser. One of the nicest cars GM ever came out with, IMHO! Chris

Actually 3 to be exact. What I want to know about is 1964. I heard that the 442 package was available on any body style, and that 4 door sedans and wagons were built. A 4 door 64 442 would be an awesome family cruiser, I think. My favourite "rare" but true Olds is the 66 442 Tripower W-30 that was special ordered for drag racing, and painted (IIRC) yellow with a red vynal top and a turqoise interior. THAT would be an unusual car. Oh, and another interesting couple bits of Olds Trivia...a real Documented 442 W-30 Tripower 66 car was here for sale in Ohio awhile back. THAT has to be a damned rare Olds, as they supposedly only built a total of about 100 or so tri-power 66 W-30 cars. One of the dealers that helped GM decide to build the W-30 Tripoer cars had his son killed in one when his son used the car to show off for his friends. Automobile Quarterly ran a great article on these cars a few years back and I'm trying to remember the rest of the article...Oh, and I may be off on the 100 figure, but it wasn't many cars. Chris

I wonder who will fleet all those vehicles when Chrysler is dead? Chris

I've always wanted one of these cars (err...trucks) with the SS nose. One of the local SCCA guys had one that was just beautiful and then sold it to buy an S-10 EXT cab with the "extreme" package. The S-10 was a great looking truck, but nothing like that El-camino! Chris

Quick add, searched "demo derby" on google and came up with a beautiful 87 Olds wagon that someone was putting up for sale as a derby car. We need to do something to raise the "collectable" level of 80's and 70's GM stuff! Chris

Trust me, I'm making up for lost time for both of us with my Miata! Chris

Sorry to post slut here, but this is a cool thread! I would build a two door Vista Cruiser with a 442 package...70-72 bodystyle. Or a 4 door 66 Caprice convertible. GM actually built one of these (not sure if it was 66 or 67) as a show car and then destroyed it. Kind of like a suicide door 60's Lincoln, only way more cool. Chris

I am into convertibles big time and would like a Z28, Firebird or Mustang convertible from that general era...but time moves on and my real current lusts are either a preserved pre war car (plane jane Ford or Chevy with a cool story would be great) or an oddball more current production car. Chris

It's amazing some of the cars that get crushed, which is just a pet peeve of mine. The first ever GNX (pre-production prototype) was donated to a school's automotive department in Indiana on the grounds that it would be crushed when they were done with it. Chris

I would go all the way and build a copy of the Ferrari powered Firebird that GM built in the 1970's. Chris

The 5.0 Mustang thing isn't really my thing but I can see it. The Civic thing I can see if you want a lightweight FWD car to play with that has a large aftermarket. But once an economy car, always an economy car. Actually as I have said before here I don't mind small cars if they are unique in some way. Cooper S, Volvo C-30, Pontiac Solstice = Pure lust IMHO. Chris

Actually when I needed a good 307 Olds motor for my Cutlass when I was in college, I pulled a nearly new (1300 mile) 307 from a very similar car in an Indiana junkyard. That Buick was specially built for a funeral home and totalled when nearly new. I wish there were a good field guide to funeral home vehicles and ambulances, as well as other "specially bodied" vehicles. Chris

I like the way you think! Chris