Pictures of my 2001 Ford Taurus SES are available on www.CarDomain.com
Pictures I have taken at local car shows are available at www.cardatabase.net. Enter "jon morris" in the "Photographer" box.
Supercars.net: Photo of the Day
06-01-25 (Originally posted on my MySpace blog)
Let me start by stating the fact that I really like the retro direction that the auto makers are taking, especially in the muscle car market. Muscle cars and other iconic models such as the Beetle and the Mini Cooper are the most qualified cars for retro styling. I might have to change my position on the matter if a retro Dodge Aspen or Chevy Celebrity were produced. However, I believe that the revival of the muscle car is going to be one of the defining elements of the 2000-2009 decade.
Volkswagen is, undeniably, the instigator of this retro movement. The 1994 Concept 1 was one of, if not the first, modern retro cars introduced. It was officially named the "New Beetle" when production commenced in 1998.
Ford joined the retro movement early. The 1995 GT90 Concept was an artistic reinterpretation of the classic Le Mans winning GT40s from the 1960s. However, this concept was strictly an attempt to produce a supercar concept, and was not retro, save in the name.
Chrysler introduced its retro offerings, the Plymouth (later Chrysler) Prowler and Chrysler PT Cruiser in 1997 and 2001, respectively. While the PT Cruiser is loosely based on the mid-1930s Chrysler Airflow, the Prowler was a modern hot rod, with inspiration drawn from several sources.
Ford unveiled two retro cars in 2002, the GT40 Concept and the Thunderbird. Unlike the GT90, the GT40 was a go-back-to-the-original style concept car. Modernizations had been made, but all the critical and defining lines were retained. Beginning in 2004, the car was put into production as the GT. The Thunderbird, after a four year haitus, was back, based on the 1955 original roadster.
BMW aquired Mini in 2000 after the final production of the original Mini Cooper. The retro Mini Cooper was introduced in 2002. The sleeker model retains many styling cues from the iconic original.
In 2003, Ford reinvented the pony car. The Mustang GT Concept brought back the aggressive styling from the oringinal 1964 model and bulked it up a bit. The new Mustang was unveiled to the public in 2004 for the 2005 model year. Several companies, including Shelby, have offered upgrade packages.
Just like in the late 60s, these quick actions by Ford, and the public's enthusiastic response have left GM and Chrysler scrambling to field a retro muscle car. The Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac Firebird have been out of production since 2002. Chrysler's only current sports cars are the 17-year old Dodge Viper and the newer Chrysler Crossfire.
Chrysler followed the 1999-2000 300M with a 2003 300 Concept, which, while not based on any previous 300 model, certainly provided Chrysler with the platform, the LX, that they needed to launch the passenger-car HEMI engine. In 2005 Chrysler revived the Charger nameplate for the 2006 model year with a LX-based sedan. Again, the design shared little with previous Chargers.
GM decided to import a modern muscle car from its Australian subsidiary, Holden. The Holden Monaro, in production from 2001-2005 (sold in the UK as a Vauxhall) was simply produced in left-hand drive, given non-functional hood scoops and re-badged "Pontiac GTO".
Both Chrysler and GM introduced concept muscle cars early in 2006. The Dodge Challenger Concept, based on the original 1970 model, is designed around a modified LX platform and has been given a brutish stance with the HEMI muscle to back it up. Chevrolet's Camaro Concept, slated to share platforms with a future GTO, is a rather angular reinterpretation of the 1967 classic. Still, it is recongnizable, unless you happen to be thinking of the Chevy Citation at the moment. Ford has a substantial lead over the competition, with the Challenger's and Camaro's expected release in 2008.
Other more ambitious and exotic manufacturers have produced other concept cars. Maybach and a possibly-revived Duesenberg have presented concepts based on 1930s sedans. Lamborghini revealed a Miura Concept in January 2006.
dates checked against Wikipedia