One thing a lot of you younger guys missed out on was the huge fanfare every September when the new models came out. Speedtool's old enough to remember the secrecy which they actually snuck the new cars into the dealership with; I remember when the '69s came out. The dealership showroom windows were covered with wax so that no one could see in, and one day after school, I walked downtown to find that the wax had been wiped off and there was a dark green Z/28 and a red Impala convertible on display. The Pontiac dealer had a red LeMans convertible that I tried (unsuccessfully) to get my father to buy. People went to the dealerships in droves, free coffee, soda, and snacks were handed out....it was a big event. Today, I work in a dealership and don't even notice when the "new" models arrive--other than looking at the VIN, how can you tell whether they're an '06 or '07? Ever see those "promotional models" of '50s/'60s cars on Ebay going for $$$$$? They were $1.25 at the Chevy dealer when I was a kid, and came out at the same time that the real cars did. Who the hell wants a 1/24 scale model of an Aveo?
My Father thought a 1940 Ford coupe was cool ... so he bought one ... BRAND NEW ... Every male in my family has owned a 1940 Ford 1) My Dad ... new 2) Both uncles ... one new and one almost new 3) my brother in the early 90's 4) myself ... ( had a couple ) one that my brother had and a couple of others
Cool, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Every car that was ever built was new at one time and every buyer, at least for awhile, thought it was cool to have that new car. Now Super Cool? In the fall of1962 my neighbor pulled into his driveway in a brand new 1963 fuel injected 327 split window. I was 12 and to this day I don't think a car has ever made my heart race like that new StingRay did....... Terry
A 427 cobra was pretty cool. But thats why I think these "retro" cars are a bad idea. We should spend our time making new cars cool now. not looking back for designs that allready proved popular.
I'm 59 years old and up until 1973 every new car was "cool" and I used that word back in 1960 for the first time when I saw the new Impala convertible unloaded at our local Chevy dealer. Yeah,old cars have always been cool but in the 50's and 60's we couldn't wait for September to roll around so we could check out the new line up from all of the car companies. I knew I could never afford a new one when I was only making 95 cents an hour pumping gas,so I looked for the best solid used one I could find in my price range,but then I started adding and changing things to make it look like one of the new ones. Yep, new cars were once "cool".
They sure as hell were for me. I grew up in the 50s. Every year as a youngter we couldn't wait until the new cars came out in the fall. The whole point was that they were new. The magazines always had sneak peek articles about the up coming model change. Think about the difference between a 50 Chevy and a 59 Impala. Now think about the differences between a 96 whatever and a 2006 thing-a-ma-jig. Motor Trend and Hot Rod were full of road tests to up date us on the new engines and their options. All the manufacturers were building hot cars for the m***es. Fuel injection for the street??? are you ****tin' me? Dual quads, 3 deuces... All the way up into the sixtys. We had to watch the Bonanza season opener on TV just to see the new Chevys introduced. That 64 SS Impala on needle rock created quite a stir for me and my peers. (are the 2007s out yet?)(does anyone care?) Damn right new cars were cool back then. but that's just me.
As a "****" who bought a new "dinosaur," in 1957 I might not be qualified to offer an opinion, Boris, but my '57 Chevy 210 two-door was a very desirable ride when it was new, and the term "cool" was very much in common use for good things automotive. A new car that ran 14-second quarter miles at 100 mph on bias-ply street tires was indeed cool at the time. Earlier, new Olds 88s were very cool and desirable, followed by the Buick Century two-door hardtop in 1954, Ford Thunderbird and Chevy Corvette in 1955 (the PG sixes of the first two years of production were considered disappointing even though the looked rather smart). The cool factor was very closely tied to peformance in the circles in which I operated. It's good to see it back again, after the long "drought" we endured throughout much of the last three decades, with only a handful of cars that could be considered cool produced during that time. Mike
Mike, bein such a modest soul and all . . . left a couple of words out. 57 Chevy 210 two-door Black Widow....
sure. the styles changed every year and we loved it. that being said if you couldn't afford anew chev with a power pac or a ford with a 352 inteceptor maybe you could buy the engine out of a wreck and stuff it in a shoe-box ford . hot-rodding was a need for speed on a working man's wage. by the way primer was what you ran in until you could afford paint [sometimes for years]
Maybe that's it--hot-rodders back in the day couldn't afford new cars, so they took what they could get and made it cool. In the 60s, I read Road & Track Magazine and followed the careers of the great road racing champions of the day; I wanted to be a driver, not a mechanic. Why go really fast in a straight line for ten seconds when you could race through the winding streets of some tiny Italian village in a Porsche or a Ferrari or a Jaguar or a Mercedes-Benz? I'm lucky to be alive actually, all the reckless driving I did back then. Wouldn't trade the memories for anything, though. What was the question? Oh yeah. It's fascinating to me how many Europeans there are on this board, with good old American iron. European cars have cl***, but if you want "cool" ya gotta go to the source--the U.S. of A.
Just my opinion of course, but NOTHING m*** produced in a factory is "cool", and never was. They can be great cars or beautiful, or whatever, but not "cool". Cool is reserved for something that shows some individuality, and brand new m*** produced just doesn't cut it, look at the current Harley scene,-- pitiful.
When I was a youngster, I thought the 1958 Impalla with Tri-carbed 348 was the coolest car ever made. A guy in my neighborhood had a brand new one..shiny black and chrome.
That sounds kinda like jealousy to me. I think some of you guys have fallen out of touch with what hot rodding was (and to some still is) truly about - speed. Some of you talk about speed like it's a non-issue. To me it's a paramount issue. I like to drive fast, and I appreciate any car that will deliver that, especially one that I'm not in love with & is easily replaced. It's kind of like having *** with a girl you don't actually want to date - it's fun and uncomplicated. I had a 5.0 mustang for like a year when I was younger. I didn't really care for it all that much, but I loved it for what it offered - cheap speed, with no worries about destroying something I loved in the process. Having wrecked a cherry 65 Riviera, this is something I fully understand (it wasn't my fault - but it was still a very painful experience). Hey, traditional rods and customs are my favorite, by I don't have the "traditional blinders" on like some of you guys where everything else ****s. "It has no soul"??? Perfect! I won't be upset when she ends up in the trees or in a ditch upside down (where most cars that are DRIVEN end up - well, mine anyway). What is so bad about that? So my answer to original question - "Were newer cars ever cool?" "Yes, anything really fast for it's time"
When I was 5 years old I went with my dad to Hobbs Chevy in Moville Iowa to look at a new pickup. In the showroom, a brand new '65 Corvette. I will forever remember this moment as "priapatic ***** #1."
Repoguy has it right . . . sometimes the blinders are on here big time. I know I seen the posting about the fastest flathead . . . 12 something wasn't it? That's a really bad*** old engine in a light car, but I know of a guy's little four door Dodge Omni that could show it's *** to it and still have time at the end of the strip. Yea, not a cool car . . . never was . . . even when it was on the cover of Hot Rod whipping a Shelby GT 350 . . . (April 1986) . . . nowadays there's a lot of very fast cars that do everything, from go fast to take curves and stop . . . like now. I'm a car guy and also a performance guy . . . old stuff turns my crank, but don't discount anything . . . we're truly living in the best of times, whether you've got your "rockabilly" heart set to 40 years in the past . . . things wouldn't be this cool if it wasn't for the Internet. Ten years ago, the number of fast cars and the times they were running is nothing compared to what it's like now. I pull out the old magazines bragging on 14 second rides . . . . now 10 second rides are the norm (or so it seems). I wouldn't trade anything to go back in time . . .it's too cool living with what we have now. Tons of great magazines . . . the Internet . . . cars on TV . . . credibility . . .not just a bunch of wannabee's. Nice.
New cars and trucks have been cool before. The syclone and typhoon trucks from gmc were cool. So was the 454ss pick up. Then there was the Grand national, corvette, camaros and mustangs over the years. In high school i remember being excited about ford putting a holley carb on the Mustang gt. That was 1983 and I was a senior driving a 61 impala with a 348. Those new mustangs back then would give my old car a real run for the money. I thought they were cool.
Don't see myself being likely to own one, but I kinda think any new car even today, like the 2006 ZO6 Vette that can run 11.50s in the 1/4 mile is pretty cool. I love my old stuff but you gotta respect that.
In April of 1963 I was 19 years old and my brother bought a 340HP Corvette with 4.11 gears and a 4 speed. It was the first Sting Ray in town. What street racer it was. Zero to 60 in first gear . And you don't think new cars can't be cool? Believe me they can
or what about shelby cars or **** carroll prepared novas, or 409 impalas. I think it would be pretty cool if I could afford a brand new car right now...
Were they ever cool? Sure they were. Not all of em. But the ones with some thought to their design. I totally agree with the "Starbird" comment about what and how things were done. Customs were kind of a tribute to the coachbuilders before the war. What's ****ed up is that I look at new stuff ALL DAY LONG...zzzzzzzzzzz. Lately I been lookin at pieces that could be modified and used in a rod or custom. How bout them new retro lookin shifters, huh? Nice self contained box and easy to fit to nearly anything. Some of the gauge panels are lookin sweet too. I guess cool is not necessarily the whole car is it? How about droppin the whole engine/trans/cradle out of some of the newer cars for power racks and OHCs? Cool is a variable term to be interpreted by the individual. I think cool is how its been executed. But today's new stuff is being put out like sausages from a grinder by the same students of the same design teachers. I took an hour "try out" from a designer school at a show once. I designed a muscle car style wagon with stacked quad headlights but a similar shape to current trends of the time (late 80s, early 90s). He told me what I designed was wrong. Other than the lights the new Dodge Magnum is so ****in similar I almost felt ripped off when I saw the 1st one. I'm now sick of seeing them much like all new Mopar products, but I think I made my point. How wrong was it? I thought it was "cool" when i did it. Talk about blinders...
Yes they were "cool"!!!! My first new car was a 1960 Pontiac Ventura 2dr hardtop and since I knew some folks at the dealership, when I picked it up it had been lowered, '59 Cadillac taillight lens and dual exhaust. My second new car was a 1964 Fairlane 2dr hardtop with the Hi-Po 289, 4-speed and that little dude was BAD!!! My last new car was a 1965 Mustang 289. So , once again, YES, new cars were really cool and the best part is that none of them cost over $3000. Wolfie
I was over working on a remodel project for a hollywood producer client last week and he had a brand new ferrari in his garage. He had a bunch of pictures of porsches he'd raced etc, I like old cars and all, but i thought it was pretty cool
I can remember as a kid in the 60's and early 70's dad would drive by the new car lots and all the new musle cars were so neat.The first cars we learnt to reconize on sight were Mustangs and El Camino's.The Dodge dealers lot was always a thrill because of all the crazy colors and big painted artwork on the windows of the building.
I think some even now are cool the dodge magnum i have a thing for. 80's monte carlo's but then again i am only 26 so i can speak to much about anything before that
Well i can go back over 50 years ago.[ haha one of the old geeks]. The Deuce, was COOL, Buick Centuries,and the Hudson,s, were pretty fast, but 49 Olds 'Rocket 88', were definitely COOL when new. But most of us cudnt afford it.The 'COOLEST' WAS THE 55 CHEVY! And a lotta guys COULD afford that one! We had no idea it was gonna be a hit. It wasn't 'til the '57, '270' Chevy came out, and beat Hopkins fullhouse 3/8 by 3/8 Deuce roadster that,s when I realized, that something had changed. Dave Riv ca.
There were 3 cars I would have given my lefty for when I was growing up and saw the the 57 the 58 and the 59 Ford convertables and retractables with the back ward opening hoods. I really loved these cars from the get go and still do.
i truly believe that plastic has killed the coolness of any car you make a car out of steel agin and it will be cool
Some new cars were considered cool. Buick roadmasters , Vettes up to 62 (before they became girlie cars) , and 50s cars with fins were all cool when they arrived on the showroom floor.
I rember cars being very cool as a kid growing up in the 60's. Every year the cars would come out in Sept. Never earlier or later.but I would wait to see the new cars. The decline of "COOL" cars came when the 74 Mustang came out. I was saddend to see that boxy small thing...ewwww.creepy . And I love the Mustangs. But cool?..wel cool was a '68 Baracuda fastback that us kids were trying to convince Dad to buy..He thought it was too small for our family of 5..nawwww...we would have suffered..lol. All I saw was an opprotunity to be the coolest kid with a hip Dad and....long story short...he never baught it.instead he went for the 1969 Ford Galaxy 2 door with a 390. Automatic with floor shift. Damn. I dont see many of those around but...for me that was the last of the cool cars.....generally speaking. Mmmmmm I still dream about that Baracuda..... Later gang
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