if classic cars are so beautiful, why don't manufacturers just remake them?

[HarryLui]

http://www.factoryfive.com/

 

[440sixpack]

A lot of cars didn't have passenger side mirrors back then.

Yup, my '70 Challenger only has a driver's side mirror. Pretty sure passenger side was an option, though.

 

[Railgun]

To continue on dimensions...

'69 Camaro SS was 186"x74"X51 3,650 LBS
'12 Camaro SS is 190"x75"x54" 3,860LBS

I'm trying to find specs on the 69 GT500, but apparently I'm not looking hard enough...

Point is, they're all bigger and heavier. But they're also more powerful.

Saftey regulations and economy are probably the biggest factors in trying to reproduct a lot of things while maintaining the overall shape and/or weight. Though, there's a lot to be said with smaller power plants with forced induction. Just matters how wide spread manufacturers want to implement those kinds of power plants. But would you really want to buy a turbo'd V6 Mustang or Camaro? Might perform as well and get better mileage, but lacking that V8 rumble may turn a lot of people off.

 

[BlitzPuppet]

I'm sorry but the new camaros are hideous. Every time I see one I think "Transformers".

Those hideous wheels.....Gen 4 Camaros were badass . The only thing these new ones have in common with the old is the name.

Challengers on the other hand look freaking amazing...

I like the 05 Mustangs better, the 2011 redesign look awkward on the rearend, almost like they are trying to emulate the newer Camaros.

 

[CraigRT]

Thank you! I also hate all the chrome, especially the huge chrome grills some cars now have.

I am anti chrome too.
So much so that I removed it all from my Honda minus the emblem (which is pretty standard for all makes to have some chrome on the emblem)

I put a black SI grill on my car, and color matched rear license plate trim. (chrome on all 09-11 Civics)

I think the older SHO looks better than the new one FWIW. I saw an SHO 5 speed in the wreckers when I was there on the weekend. Sorta made me sad. Pretty rare car...

 

[Jeffg010]

There are kit cars for what you want.

http://www.kitcars.com/

 

[Jeff7]

I'd love to see the design process for a new car, from concept through to production. So many parts...such complex machines. The service manuals I've seen were interesting too - they even design custom tools to assemble the things. Neat stuff.
The engineery stuff where I work is typically sufficiently non-complex to the point that one person, maybe two, can do a project from start to finish.


Anyhow, that stuff aside, how does the design process go? Do they start with the outer appearance "shell" and then cram everything into that? If that's the case, I wonder how hard it'd really be to duplicate the cosmetics an old design and then squish in all the updated safety equipment and various other advances made over the years. The catch then is probably going to be, How much of a market is there for the new-old car?

 

[7window]

I'm sorry but the new camaros are hideous. Every time I see one I think "Transformers".

Those hideous wheels.....Gen 4 Camaros were badass . The only thing these new ones have in common with the old is the name.

Challengers on the other hand look freaking amazing...

I like the 05 Mustangs better, the 2011 redesign look awkward on the rearend, almost like they are trying to emulate the newer Camaros.

The newly redesign cars are not that bad but they build so many. I think it has a collector potential.

 

[IcePickFreak]

http://www.factoryfive.com/

Every time I see their 33 Coupe I want to build one even more. 2000lbs, V8, and a pretty impressive suspension setup all under the skin of a 30's era coupe? Yes please!

 

[alkemyst]

...did cars not have side view mirrors back then?

right side was an option a lot of the time.

 

[Throckmorton]

The original Taurus was revolutionary, and had a futuristic design (for its time) that changed the course of automotive styling.

Obviously whether you actually like it or not is totally subjective. I do, partly because it's not a bad looking car (especially given its age) and partly because I appreciate the impact it had.

Yeah, it's too bad they made it more frumpy in the early 90s, and then turned it into an alien fish, and then made it frumpy again, and then replaced it with the massive 500. The current one is pretty cool but why is it so big??

 

[A5]

Yeah, it's too bad they made it more frumpy in the early 90s, and then turned it into an alien fish, and then made it frumpy again, and then replaced it with the massive 500. The current one is pretty cool but why is it so big??

Because the Fusion took over the "mid-size" slot in the lineup and it had to share a platform with the Lincoln MKS to get into production.