Ugly Cars

With everything, so serious, going on in the world, today, such as the NYC Subway problem, the bombs at OU and Georgis Tech, the stolen aircraft, from Florida, turning up in Georgia, the Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court... and a host of other serious subjects, I thought I'd take time out today to look at something that has been bugging me. Maybe... only me. Ugly cars! So here goes:

Is it just me, or, are cars (automobiles) getting uglier?

Have I missed something, or is there, indeed, a worldwide conspiracy to make, and sell, ugly cars?

I have seen cars on the roads, and streets, of America, in the last two years, that people, of my generation, would have been ashamed to be seen in… let alone own!

What’s with the small boxy look? I have seen a few lately that actually look like a box on wheels. Ugly. I mean bad ugly.

Then, some of America’s carmakers are turning out cars, which look as if the designer had been smoking some crazy weed when he drew the darned thing! They look like rolling boxes on wheels! My grand son, who is 3 years old, could have designed a better looking automobile. And worse, people are buying them!

I saw one, a while back, that actually looked like a remake of the old AMC Gremlin. Remember the Gremlin? Uh huh! Well, it’s back, but with a foreign carmaker’s name on it.

Look, I know I’m and old fogie. A cranky old man, perhaps, but... I know beauty when I see it. I haven’t seen any beautiful automobiles lately.

I grew up in the 40’s and 50’s. Those were cars, man. Each car was new and different and had a personality. People would actually name their cars, or their trucks, like a pet.

The fifties actual began the “chrome” styling of cars. The shiner the better. Those cars would sparkle. Then came the sixties, and muscle cars, with speed and huge engines. About the mid sixties the American carmakers married beauty to muscle and speed and gave us classic cars that will forever stand alone as pieces of automotive art.

Would if be so difficult for American automakers to give us some vehicles with style and grace as in days past. Not these clunky, style less, piles of nuts and bolts and four corners.

I yearn for the likes of the ’56 T-Bird. The 65 Mustang. Those cars had style, panache. The Cougar, the Barracuda, the Duster, the Charger, the Hawk, all cars, which made statements as you drove them down the street. Sleek, futuristic looking, and designed with grace and fluidity built in. Rolling art, that’s what they were.

No longer. The car is just a functional tool now. No longer does it make a statement about the person driving it. They have no class. There’s no sparkle, no, and I keep coming back to the word… style. None. Just a lump of metal. Cold, characterless, and uninviting. Except for one car I have seen this season that, to me, boasts of style and grace and muscle. The Dodge Charger. It is a stand-alone. Nothing can come near it in the latest crop of autos. It looks sculpted. Low slung and sleek. It speaks of speed and beauty. Of elegance, even. That’s my kind of car. Why aren’t there more? Why?

Isn’t it about time for a carmaker in the US to break out of the mold and produce a car we can be proud to drive?

In my day we could hardly wait for the fall to roll around because the new cars would be unveiled… usually in October. The whole town took on a festive air as the dealerships rolled out their latest offerings wrapped in gleaming chrome, all angles and swept-winged as though it was in flight... even as it sat in the driveway. Those were cars!

I used to broadcast from the showrooms of the car dealerships on the day the new cars were put on display. Free soft drinks, and hotdogs, were served to all comers. Many new cars were sold on that day. Many.

US automakers have made a lot of mistakes in the past 30 years. Not the least of which was to produce a lackluster automobile, which looked like every other carmakers product. You can hardly tell them part except by reading the logo, if you can find it.

Look, even with gasoline prices at all time highs... carmakers have the ability to produce attractive automobiles. Whay aren't they doing it?

Come on, Detroit! You can do better than this!

“Longstreet”