Quote:
Originally Posted by JayNutter
American cars were far more iconic in that era. The styling from the early 1930's through the mid 1970's was amazing. Cars followed a similar trend in terms of design, but were each distinctive. Now most cars look the same and if you swapped badges most people couldn't tell the difference.
This is not a golden age in terms of car design. I see this era similar to the 1980's. An era where everything was essentially the same except for minor design nuances.
I would definitely agree that new car prices, even used car prices, are getting out of hand. I remember looking at a new 2007 Mustang GT for just over $23,000. A new 2013 Mustang GT is now $31,000. But then again the new one has over 100+ hp and a host of new tech. The area that bothers me the most is price of entry level cars. It doesn't seem that long ago, but there was a time in 2000 when you could get a new Civic or Corolla for around $12,000. Now you can't really touch those cars for under $17,000. That is a crazy increase in price.
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This is NOT the 1980's. The 80's were all about badge engineering. Hell, you could buy the same car from just about every GM lot back then. Ford wasn't much better. F-bodies were packing 5.7l v8's that produced less than 200hp. The ultra-restrictive catalytic converters of the times made it darn near impossible to make power. Cars were still running carbs... which was fine as long as you lived in the optimal environment for that carb's tuning (or had an aftermarket carb and a friend knowledgeable in the voodoo art that is carb tuning).
The Civic and Corolla are more expensive because they have both gone up-market, with Honda and Toyota bringing in lower models below them (Fit, Yaris). I'm also not so sure about your pricing. I paid ~$14.5k for a new Civic HX in 1998.
I think we are in a golden age of sorts. I hope it gets a bit more golden as other auto makers try to match the agility and lightness of the twins. Of course, it's all cyclical. So even if there are other automakers launching sub-3000 pound rwd coupes, their weight and equipment will quickly swell ass the marketeers break out their focus groups and start messing things up.
-Justin