ot: pony cars

[eddief]

Just on looks alone:

This:

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2016-chevrolet-camaro-official-photos-and-info-news

Or this:

http://www.h3dwallpapers.com/2015-mustang-5380/

Think I like the Stang.

[Cicli]

Nice cars. For some reason I cant get too excited about off the shelf cars. Bikes either.

[Rada]

Plastic bikes, plastic cars. Pretty much all look the same. Boring.

[thwart]

I'd go for neither of the above.

'Transformer' cars.

Whatever happened to the subtle aggressive look… ?

Sorry about the size here…

https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.popularhotrodding.com%2Ff%2F features%2F1006phr_1966_shelby_gt350%2F27574811%2F 1006phr_20_o%252B1966_shelby_gt350%252Bfront_left. jpg&f=1

[Seramount]

I think both are seriously fugly.

had a '68 SS 396 Camaro in high school...one of my teachers had a '65 Shelby GT 350. both were beautifully styled cars imo.

the modern versions come nowhere near in terms of aesthetics.

[mg2ride]

I would take this off the shelf, plastic car over damn near anything on the road.

http://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/Chevrolet/northamerica/usa/nscwebsite/en/Home/Vehicles/Performance/2015_Corvette/Model_Overview/01_images/2015-chevrolet-corvette-stingray-sports-car-mo-exterior-1480x551-04.jpg

[mg2ride]

I'd go for neither of the above.

'Transformer' cars.

Whatever happened to the subtle aggressive look… ?

Sorry about the size here…




I have never understood the appeal of old mustangs. That late 60 early 70 fastback are decent but the older fastbacks and the coupes do nothing for me.

[MattTuck]

I think both are seriously fugly.

had a '68 SS 396 Camaro in high school...one of my teachers had a '65 Shelby GT 350. both were beautifully styled cars imo.

the modern versions come nowhere near in terms of aesthetics.

I'm not a car aficionado by any stretch, but a good friend of mine is. I look at the design as an issue of product. One of the ways you sell more cars is to change the design. In this way, designers are slaves to their own genius. Even if they do something truly original and great, they are by their nature forced to change it.

One could make the argument that changes would always be positive, and design should be like a mountain climber moving towards the summit, with each step improving upon the one before. But we know this isn't true.

Incremental changes accumulate and then you end up with the evolutionary equivalent of a giant sloth -- an animal doomed to extinction because conditions no longer favored the features it had evolved.

How can you improve on the designs of the great cars of the past? You probably can't. But you can try new things and hope that you capture lightening in a bottle -- just realize it only has a shelf life of 1 product cycle before you must do something new.

Of all the cars, I think the 911 has been the most consistent in holding steady to a design vocabulary. But even it is straying from that path in recent years.

How does one improve on something like this?
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01518/Mercedes-300SL_1518098c.jpg

[TBLS]

Just passed three of the new mustangs running on mfg plates on the way home from dinner...all GT's and looked pretty slick. One advantage of being in Motown.

[Charles M]

My current daily driver...

http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/mus2.jpg

[jerk]

i got dodge challenger scat pack after driving and testing both the camaro ss 1le and the new mustang gt. the 500hp engine and the styling did it for me. the mustang was a bit too euro and low-key for my liking and the camaro was awesome in almost every way- except the gal pal hated the way it looked. plus- i wasn't looking for a track car- i was looking for a big dumb american muscle car and the scat pack is simply a better car.

anyway....don't forget mopar!

[eddief]

and I know I asked about looks, but reviews would suggest the new Mustang is a significant evolutionary step toward being an "all world" road car.

[FlashUNC]

Mustang finally ditched the live axle in the back for independent rear suspension.

I'm a Mustang sucker, personally. Appeal to my inner 15 year old.

But I drive a hot hatch instead.

[thirdgenbird]

I like the look of the mustang. I love the sound of the flat plane v8 in the gt350r.

[texbike]

Just on looks alone:

This:

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2016-chevrolet-camaro-official-photos-and-info-news

Or this:

http://www.h3dwallpapers.com/2015-mustang-5380/

Think I like the Stang.

I'm glad that they're making the modern Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger but their styling just doesn't hold a candle to the original designs. From a styling perspective, I think that the Challenger nailed it the best. If I was to buy a new pony car, it would be a toss up between the Mustang and the Challenger. The Camaro would be a total no-go for me -just too ugly.

I have never understood the appeal of old mustangs. That late 60 early 70 fastback are decent but the older fastbacks and the coupes do nothing for me.

In high school, I probably drew more 65/66 Mustang fastbacks and old Porsche 911s than any other object. I just drooled over those cars.

I would take this off the shelf, plastic car over damn near anything on the road.


I REALLY want to love the C7s but just can't get past the styling. Much like the Camaro, it's WAY too busy and looks like a mess.



Of all the cars, I think the 911 has been the most consistent in holding steady to a design vocabulary. But even it is straying from that path in recent years.

How does one improve on something like this?
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01518/Mercedes-300SL_1518098c.jpg

Agreed. There's a 300 SL sitting on the showroom floor of our local dealership. Design perfection! However, the new AMG GT looks pretty hot!

Texbike

[don compton]

At 63yo, I have owned plenty of performance cars. V8s are wonderful, but are so behind in today's world. In 1978 I owned a '64 Ferrari 250 gt Berlinetta Lusso. 180 cubic inch, V12, Webers, the whole bit. At 70mph, I would be lucky to get 14mpg. Of course, no one cared then, but even in F1, economy is important.
Along with my Audi, I own a MINI S. It's as fast a my '84 911, gets great mpg, and handles well at very high limits.
At my age, performance with efficiency is something that fascinates me.

[thirdgenbird]

At 63yo, I have owned plenty of performance cars. V8s are wonderful, but are so behind in today's world. In 1978 I owned a '64 Ferrari 250 gt Berlinetta Lusso. 180 cubic inch, V12, Webers, the whole bit. At 70mph, I would be lucky to get 14mpg. Of course, no one cared then, but even in F1, economy is important.
Along with my Audi, I own a MINI S. It's as fast a my '84 911, gets great mpg, and handles well at very high limits.
At my age, performance with efficiency is something that fascinates me.

Both cars have a 4cyl turbo option. It would be the first mustang it test drove.

[bart998]

My first car:

http://www.svs.com/zim/mustang/images/70-D.jpg

My current car:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/03/2010mustanggtabg_06_opt.jpg

I'll take a Mustang every time.

[Llewellyn]

Meh, they both look about as subtle as a whack with a baseball bat to the back of the head (and about as fugly).

Now a 911 on the other hand...........serious style. Has always been a classic, always will be :banana:

[RacerJRP]

On looks alone between the two in question I take the Mustang. The Camaro is just too damn big and bulky looking. Having said that, if I was buying a new sports car it wouldnt be anything from the US manufacturers.

Props to the Scat Pack. That is a darn cool looking car!

[Ken Robb]

At 63yo, I have owned plenty of performance cars. V8s are wonderful, but are so behind in today's world. In 1978 I owned a '64 Ferrari 250 gt Berlinetta Lusso. 180 cubic inch, V12, Webers, the whole bit. At 70mph, I would be lucky to get 14mpg. Of course, no one cared then, but even in F1, economy is important.
Along with my Audi, I own a MINI S. It's as fast a my '84 911, gets great mpg, and handles well at very high limits.
At my age, performance with efficiency is something that fascinates me.
After 30 years driving BMW sedans including an M3 we sold them for a 2007 MINI Cooper S (turbo) and a 2014 Mazda 3. I have always though Mazdas were more fun to drive than other similarly priced sedans going back to the RX2 in 1970. The new ones have very Teutonic driving characteristics. Leslie drives this most of the time.

My daily driver is the 2007 MINI. It drives like a go kart: it turns in like a kart and it rides like a kart. :) It has plenty of power for fun on the street and averages 30+ mpg on premium gas. I keep thinking I should buy a new car while I can still drive but I haven't thought of one that makes sense as an overall improvement. I have always loved Porsches but they don't make sense for my daily use. I do many short trips that would not get the many quarts of oil (9 or so?) in a 911 up to temperature and that is not good for any engine.

[93legendti]

My neighbor works for Roush

https://www.roush.com/our-capabilities/engineering/powertrain-engineering

He brings home their latest 700hp super car a few times a week.

He went thru the Camara and Mustang with me and showed me where styling was dictated by the need to account for federally mandated safety requirements.

[unterhausen]

the looks on the Camaro are driven by the fact that the design team should be fired.

I think they are actually moonlighting from Fisher-Price toys.

[Black Dog]

Reading the thread title I thought I was going to see this Pony:

http://dev.hatchheaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Hyundai_pony_82.jpg

[tiretrax]

The new Camaro makes me think of a term I recently learned - Dadbod. The definition I heard was now overweight but can tell it was hot in the past.

Of the big 3, I think Chrysler nailed it and still has slimness of the original model.