The cars of today are so golf ball ugly

[The Shadow]

Most of the small and  midsized, midpriced,  cars look like a golf ball that was cut in half, and then had wheels put under it.  All in the name of aerodynamics.   They don't even make cars that look like the old camaros  and transams from the 70's.  I wish they did.

[newman]

America made great cars up until about 71-73.

The small block mustangs, corvettes and cudas were world class in dynamics and reasonably economical for their performance.

Even with regular family cars, the Valiants and Darts were economical, roomy, reliable and indestructable. They could be maintained by the average handyman, too.

Ford: Bring back the 300 ci L6 for the f series and the 289 V8.

Mopar: Bring back the Slant 6, the 273 4bbl.

GM: Just make good simple small blocks and don't complicate them with electronics that only the japs know how to do reliably.

[abdithefaithful]

There's some very good and compelling points brought up in this thread. Today's brand of "jelly bean" shaped compact cars definitely lack the style and lines of the cars produced during America's great automotive heyday. Of course today's designers and engineers use the importance of  "aerodynamics" as an excuse for their lack of design in their jellybean shaped, cookie cutter models. It's no secret that the cars produced in the "old days", while not always the most conservative in fuel consumption, still were far more pleasing to the eye. And of course America's love affair with the "muscle cars" of the 60's and 70's was a golden era in our nation's colorful history and culture. And back then at least the youth had the option of racing those cars on legal and sanctioned drag strips. Today the greedy real estate developers and corrupt municipal planners have pushed practically all the sanctioned drag strips out in favor of urban sprawl, so now we have the new generation of "kids" furiously racing their jellybean shaped compact cars on the streets and mowing down innocent pedestrians in record numbers. There was once a time when Long Island, New York had a total of four legally sanctioned organized drag strips for its youth to safely race their cars, now there's ZERO sanctioned drag strips on Long Island, making illegal street racing an epidemic, resulting in record numbers of severely injured and dead victims. 

[newman]

There's some very good and compelling points brought up in this thread. Today's brand of "jelly bean" shaped compact cars definitely lack the style and lines of the cars produced during America's great automotive heyday. Of course today's designers and engineers use the importance of  "aerodynamics" as an excuse for their lack of design in their jellybean shaped, cookie cutter models. It's no secret that the cars produced in the "old days", while not always the most conservative in fuel consumption, still were far more pleasing to the eye. And of course America's love affair with the "muscle cars" of the 60's and 70's was a golden era in our nation's colorful history and culture. And back then at least the youth had the option of racing those cars on legal and sanctioned drag strips. Today the greedy real estate developers and corrupt municipal planners have pushed practically all the sanctioned drag strips out in favor of urban sprawl, so now we have the new generation of "kids" furiously racing their jellybean shaped compact cars on the streets and mowing down innocent pedestrians in record numbers. There was once a time when Long Island, New York had a total of four legally sanctioned organized drag strips for its youth to safely race their cars, now there's ZERO sanctioned drag strips on Long Island, making illegal street racing an epidemic, resulting in record numbers of severely injured and dead victims. 

And the very worst those youngsters of the hot-rod era (starting in the early fifties going through to the beginning of the hippie era of the late sixties) got up to was drinking a few beers, 'necking' at the drive-in and a few traffic light drags. Not like the drugs and teenage pregnancies of today. The music was 1000% better then, too.

[JTFFan]

Yes, the cars of today are terrible

[Eliezer Ben Avraham]

Aww man, and I'm just gonna get my license soon 

[newman]

Aww man, and I'm just gonna get my license soon 

Buy any Plymouth Valiant or Dodge Dart with a 225 Slant six. They're cheap to buy and indestructable.

[Eliezer Ben Avraham]

Aww man, and I'm just gonna get my license soon 

Buy any Plymouth Valiant or Dodge Dart with a 225 Slant six. They're cheap to buy and indestructable.

yea i doubt im getting a car, not a rich kid 

[abdithefaithful]

There's some very good and compelling points brought up in this thread. Today's brand of "jelly bean" shaped compact cars definitely lack the style and lines of the cars produced during America's great automotive heyday. Of course today's designers and engineers use the importance of  "aerodynamics" as an excuse for their lack of design in their jellybean shaped, cookie cutter models. It's no secret that the cars produced in the "old days", while not always the most conservative in fuel consumption, still were far more pleasing to the eye. And of course America's love affair with the "muscle cars" of the 60's and 70's was a golden era in our nation's colorful history and culture. And back then at least the youth had the option of racing those cars on legal and sanctioned drag strips. Today the greedy real estate developers and corrupt municipal planners have pushed practically all the sanctioned drag strips out in favor of urban sprawl, so now we have the new generation of "kids" furiously racing their jellybean shaped compact cars on the streets and mowing down innocent pedestrians in record numbers. There was once a time when Long Island, New York had a total of four legally sanctioned organized drag strips for its youth to safely race their cars, now there's ZERO sanctioned drag strips on Long Island, making illegal street racing an epidemic, resulting in record numbers of severely injured and dead victims. 

And the very worst those youngsters of the hot-rod era (starting in the early fifties going through to the beginning of the hippie era of the late sixties) got up to was drinking a few beers, 'necking' at the drive-in and a few traffic light drags. Not like the drugs and teenage pregnancies of today. The music was 1000% better then, too.

Yes, although I certainly don't condone the irresponsible act of drinking and driving, an activity that was occasionally practiced by the hot rod enthusiasts of years gone bye, I firmly believe that today's generation of illegal street racers who "experiment" with such lethal and "mind altering" drugs as crystal meth, and then hop in their "jellybean" shaped compact cars to illegally race the streets do indeed pose far greater of a threat to society than the hot rodders of the past. The hot rodders of the past at least had a general knowledge of their cars and what they were capable of, they were also aware of the potential danger their cars were capable of if they were to get involved in a mishap... Today's "kids" simply take their lucrative "drug money" and dump thousands of dollars into their compact cars, greatly increasing their horsepower, and subsequently also increasing the threat they pose to innocent drivers and pedestrians who might "get in their way"--- these "kids" aren't even aware of the awesome power and danger their cars are capable of (or they're so darn "drugged up" that they simply DON'T CARE)... Combine that scenario with the fact that now municipalities throughout the nation are shutting down safe and organized drag strips that at least helped keep the "kids" from illegally racing the streets in favor of "urban $prawl" and development, and by golly-gee, we've now got a lethal combination of circumstances that absolutely  results in horrific grief and death on our city streets on a daily basis.