retro cars
 

Saw a Delorean on the road a few days ago. Can hardly believe a 38 year old car (circa 1981) can still look so cool. The stainless steel panels and that wedge shape. Amazing. Looked them up on Autotrader when I got home and prices are creeping up. A good condition one typically goes for $30-40K! Would anyone here give up their 86 for a DMC 12? They are pretty underpowered at 150bhp and 9s 0-60. Then again it's classic.:thumbup:

Love them, beautiful cars and totally nostalgic. Drivetrain is just garbage though. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7f9eZCQc4M[/ame]

Never understood the infatuation with them. I thought they were ugly when new, with dull handling and that godawful PRV V6. I did see one that had been painted though, and it looked marginally better..

Try 130...

:barf:

Just get this... It's good looking and billionaire budget friendly!

https://deloreanindustries.com/delor...rbo/#gallery-1

the 80's were full of cars that i love looking at, but were abysmal to make move.

That was the golden era of Japanese sports cars. Celica all trac, MR2, Eagle Talon TSi, Prelude, RX7, 3000GT VR4...Before the computers took over and there were no short cuts to make a proper sports car. Nowadays manufacturers are lazy. Take a family sedan, drop in a V8 and call it a sports car. Our 86 is a tribute to that era

retro cars - ??

I guess I was expecting much older ones - :iono:


humfrz

millennial's are old enough to have a midlife crisis now.

i'll never understand why the 'classic' radio stations play up to the 80's, but ignore the 90's, even though the 90's are now older than when they started playing 80's songs as 'classics'.

i was talking mostly american domestic, it seemed the right theme with the delorean start to the thread.

but yeah, the import golden age is entirely different. i wouldn't ever kick any of the one's you listed out of my garage. i'd need a spinning wheel to decide which one to drive that day!

Some Deloreans are classics. Some are brand new, or newly assembled...

https://www.delorean.com

https://www.maxim.com/rides/brand-ne...ng-soon-2018-1

When I saw the title retro cars, I thought of these (not actual, original, old cars):

http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sit...ular-front.png

http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sit...ular-front.png

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....er-concept.jpg

:barf::barf::barf::barf:

I'll pass on the DeLorean but...

I'd trade my 86 for an air cooled Porsche in a heartbeat. Maybe a 964 C4 Targa in coke white over red leather? That'd be the definition of 80s cool.

Am I the only one that actually likes that gen mustang? I think it's the best looking gen. The S550 is clearly a better car, but it also looks like the car version of the guy that picks a fight at the bar after only 3 drinks. It's too dang angry. And the New Edge mustang is a mullet with wheels (then again I grew up in Appalachia so it might just be the local population that drove the things...)

Nope, my wife has an '05 Mustang Convertible she bought new and she wouldn't trade it for pretty much anything on the market. We've done some slight cosmetic mods to it (blacked out the rear trunk area, added sequential taillights, that sort of thing) but I think its a good looking car. Definitely better than most of the generations right before it.

Most of your list are more 90s cars than 80s although limited numbers did appear in the late 80s. Also half of them were built on modified sedan platforms just like today. Dedicated sports platforms have always been rare and that is not a new thing.
It isn't a matter of being "lazy" but pure economics, increased crash and emissions laws and changed buyer desires that lead to the modern day "sports cars".

Valid point. But I also get the sense that car companies are brainwashing us into thinking that horsepower = sport car which is not true. It turns sports cars into a measurable commodity which is certainly makes life easier for them in the one upsmanship marketing game.
Just curious as to which one on the list would you pick?

The "more horse power makes a car better" marketing ploy is not new either. It has always been a selling point.


https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....iyDyx%2B4L.jpg


I would be torn on that list. I always wanted a 91 3000GT but they were very rare and incredibly expensive around here so that was off the table.
I did have a 91 Talon AWD TSi for several years and it was probably my favorite sports/GT car until I got the FRS so I would probably just go that route again if looking for an older GT.


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dZlsPEKYu0E/maxresdefault.jpg

So. So.. damn ugly.

I suggest you just not think about things like that too hard - :D


humfrz

:slap: shame on you for talking about @Tcoat thatta way - he's a very sensitive guy.


humfrz

MK1 MR2 (red with black factory whale fin) for me.

https://bartman905.files.wordpress.c.../11/tms093.jpg

Meh it was the 90s. Much like the FRS they looked much better with a 1.5" or better drop and without those horrendous "tornado" wheels.


I still have a hard time considering 80s and 90s cars as "vintage" since I remember when they were the new cutting edge designs.


If I had my real choice I would find one of the two truly vintage cars I have been casually shopping for the last couple of years:


A boxer 6 with turbo


https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-.../08/581631.jpg


https://www.blackhawkengr.com/Black%...s/YH%20EFI.png
or


There is no replacement for displacement.
https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/d/d...dart_gts_7.jpg
https://www.detroit60.com/1e0e8ae80.jpg

Assuming a full engine rebuild, the Dart wouldn't be too bad. Still prefer the Chargers looks though.

https://carswithmuscles.com/wp-conte...12/dodc4rt.jpg

Nah. Later Chargers are butt ugly.


Need that massive roof of the first gen


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kJbB_qc8sx8/maxresdefault.jpg

If we are picking from that era, I'd have to go with these two.

A Dodge Polara 2 Door coupe, mostly because this was my first car. I'd want drop a new HEMI or an LS in it though.

https://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/6...0@2X.jpg?rev=1

I'd also have to go super-stereotypical and buy an Orange '69 RS/SS Camaro retromod.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8d/12/8c/8...9f3d9fc966.jpg

The Camaro is sleek, very nice. The Polara is one ugly ass car, and talk about chrome infested.

I feel like the persons that designed the Polara, probably had some kind of influence on the designers of the PT Cruiser or even Pontiac Aztek.

Yea, like I said, it was my first car ($300 cash, sold two years later for $450, after it had been dented in a drag race) so it's more of a "only an owner could love" kinda want.

Agreed. I can’t think of a retro car that was good. The Mustang was ok and evolved nicely.

Fiero anyone?

This seems to capture it pretty well....

https://www.fordgt500.com/cdn-cgi/im...88_A681809.jpg

Not the first years, but the later years were good cars once they had enough power, right before Pontiac killed it off.

I thought the 1990 prototype showed promise...

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...to_(Small).JPG

My father had a pristine '88 Formula, and it was actually a really nice driving car. Decent performance, comfortable, handled well enough, and didn't have all the ugly bodywork that came with the GT. Ultimately destroyed by consumer ignorance and unrealistic expectations set by automotive media.

Early Mustangs were complete and total crap. They were designed and built as a cheap throw away car to compete with the imports. About 95% of them built were under powered base models made with materials that were only expected to last 3 years. The higher powered and up trimmed versions that people held onto and are around today do not represent what the car actually was by any stretch.

Here's some of my shopping list of retro vehicles. These are all things I keep an eye open for deals on, just in case a good deal pops up.

https://barrettjacksoncdn.azureedge....nt_3-4_Web.jpg

https://dxsdcl7y7vn9x.cloudfront.net...3F049A85_1.jpg

https://ericpetersautos.com/wp-conte...sador-JPEG.jpg

https://ccmarketplace.azureedge.net/...-tr250-std.jpg

https://ccmarketplace.azureedge.net/...sprite-std.jpg

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/wp-con.../08/111355.jpg

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...-1-940x705.jpg

https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-...6-770-0@2X.jpg

https://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphot...ebay320070.jpg

https://midwestmilitary.com/news/wp-...-M422A1-01.jpg

https://assets.hemmings.com/blog/wp-.../08/270071.jpg

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...-2-940x636.jpg

https://www.legacyclassictrucks.com/...F145382232.jpg

https://s3-prod.autoweek.com/s3fs-public/100529845.jpg

https://cdn.carbuzz.com/gallery-imag...600/477601.jpg

https://content.autotrader.com/conte.../Beat/beat.jpg

https://car-from-uk.com/ebay/carphot...0141679350.jpg

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...70-940x636.jpg

https://hips.hearstapps.com/roa.h-cd...1-dscn1484.JPG

https://i.wheelsage.org/pictures/s/s...u_brat_57.jpeg

https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-con...71-940x705.jpg

And not that I'll ever be able to afford one of the seven of these in existence, but this is my dream car:

https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/OQ...-3-auction.jpg

I love how no one has mentioned an AC Cobra yet.

No interest at all in any of the sports cars there but would take any of the truck and jeeps.




Would buy this one tomorrow if a nice example was to come up and it didn't require a second mortgage to pay for.
https://dxsdcl7y7vn9x.cloudfront.net...3F049A85_1.jpg

I find it really amazing that certain cars that were a common sight just a few years ago (1990s) have completely disappeared.. no idea where they go..


https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/ima...pg?imwidth=450


https://carimages.com.au/OqDthHxe6em...t-in-12qt4.jpg


https://img.favcars.com/vauxhall/cal...images_2_b.jpg


http://home.bt.com/images/everyday-c...1020152128.jpg

Here they just rusted away


https://d323w7klwy72q3.cloudfront.ne...ires/H2617.JPG


Except for Pontiac Sunfires and Grand Ams. I think somehow there are more of them on the road now than when they were still being made.


https://cdn04.carsforsale.com/3/6709...1004155626.jpg

GM is particularly good at killing off their cars just as they get them right.
THey release a car with promise but it ends up sucking for a good portion of its lifetime. Then in the final year of production they finally fix all the issues, the car turns out to be quite good (or at least what it was supposed to be at the beginning), then its shitcanned for being a turd for most of its life.

And I think the Fiero prototype styling found its way to the last gen Firebird.

Don't forget this beauty. A high performance sleeper way ahead of its time. Isuzu Impulse RS. 1.6L turbo 4 with AWD and suspension by Lotus. Amazing handling for that era and even today.