American car styling ... where's your line in the sand?

yupididit said:

Appleseed said:

The 1965 Buick Riviera is the American automotive styling pinnacle. Everything after is a steady decline.

I agree this is the best looking American car ever. 

Crazy. I have a friend that had a super clean survivor that was a surprising tough sell.

Growing up, we had a family down the street with a ’63 and a ’65.

'63 or '64 Riviera with a '65 front swap. I've come so close to buying one a few different times, but it hasn't happened yet and prices seem to be on the rise now. Face lifted Corvairs are way up there for me too, there's just something right about them.

'64:

'65:

Gmt400 is the absolute pinnacle of pickup truck. Specifically the 88-94. Simple engines, great looks, and that interior is the last truly classic interior before gm figured out how to make curves in plastic. Absolutely perfect for all truck things, and reasonably sized.

also a 2 door 54 Belair with extra grill teeth, slammed on the ground with wire wheels and a windshield visor is better than a tri-5 6 days a week. 
 

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Oh, one other thing, Bill Mitchell was a god!

I'd say the same for Larry Shinoda.

I think this is the best looking American car, so far:

Aaron_King said:

I think this is the best looking American car, so far:

 

Non-pillar hardtop coupes for the win. 

Appleseed said:

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Oh, one other thing, Bill Mitchell was a god!

I'd say the same for Larry Shinoda.

Without Shinoda, Mitchell is less a god. He was the visionary, Shinoda the artist.

My line extends out to badge engineered copies of Japanese brands. 

Pic related.

Many cars have big wow factors at first which fade over time. The test for me is if, even after seeing the vehicle a thousand times it still elicits a positive response. Based on that criteria, the second generation Corvair still floats my boat the most.  

1963 was a great year for American car releases.  Aforementioned Riviera, Avanti, and Corvette are all appealing to me.  The bubble top GM products starting in 1959 from all brands were all cool as is the second gen Corvair.  I'm also a big fan of the 1961-1963 Thunderbirds and similar vintage Lincoln Continental.  I also really dig the Galaxie starting with the 1960.

Patrick said:

Gmt400 is the absolute pinnacle of pickup truck. Specifically the 88-94.

Close, but not quite. I think this is the ultimate pickup truck. 

I say this as a die hard Ford truck guy too.

In reply to ddavidv :

Nope. Gorgeous trucks, cab too small 

Appleseed said:

The 1965 Buick Riviera is the American automotive styling pinnacle. Everything after is a steady decline.

I am not a big fan of american cars.. or even chrome for that matter. I am sad to see chrome coming back on so many new vehicles. I will see your 65 and counter with a 71 Boat tail 

Patrick said:

Gmt400 is the absolute pinnacle of pickup truck. Specifically the 88-94. Simple engines, great looks, and that interior is the last truly classic interior before gm figured out how to make curves in plastic. Absolutely perfect for all truck things, and reasonably sized.

 

also a 2 door 54 Belair with extra grill teeth, slammed on the ground with wire wheels and a windshield visor is better than a tri-5 6 days a week. 
 

Having owned both a '71 stepside LWB and currently a GMT400 my vote goes to the GMT400 as the most natural progression of body architecture.....which subsequently has become lost in the current transformer wanna be look with the two foot tall grille....uck

Front blinkers got to be BELOW the headlights on a truck.

Back windows on sedans need to be convex. Even if just a little.

Speaking of sedans, gotta have a trunklid. A REAL trunklid - not a tiny strip across the back of the car. (looking at YOU, CT4 & CT5 Caddys).

Little bit of a bulge/flare to a fender is good.

Outer edge of wheels/tires even with the outer edge of the wheelwell. Not hiding a few inches in, not sticking out. EVEN.

If you're gonna put humongous diameter wheels on a car, upsize the rotor, too.

Classic trucks just look stupid with 22's and O rings. 15's, maybe 16's, that's about it.

Classics (50's,60's, etc) - just say no to LED headlights that look like magnified spider eyes. Same with "rows of LED's" taillights. It's just wrong.

C8 Corvettes...I mean, they try SO hard to look like Ferrari's, and don't pull it off. The "great wall of China" center console...why?

Pickups - please, no more 4 doors. Rear wheelwells need to be centered in the bedsides. Proportions, people - learn them.

Speaking of pickups - Maverick, no. You're not. You're a Ford Flex with part of the roof missing.

Bronco "Sport" - no. You're not a Bronco anything. You're an Escape having an identity crisis.

 4 cylinders don't belong in full size pickups or pony cars. 

earlybroncoguy1 said:

 

 

 

 

C8 Corvettes...I mean, they try SO hard to look like Ferrari's, and don't pull it off. The "great wall of China" center console...why?

 

The great wall center console is to absolutely prevent any sort of car sex.  It could happen in my C2 (I was much younger then), but there's no way for it to occur in a C8, even for a horney 19 year old.

       

The stuff GM was doing in the 1960's was truly phenomenal design-wise. The early 60's full size bubble-tops (especially the Pontiacs), the aforementioned 1965 Riviera, the 1964-66 A-bodies, the 1969 GTO... I could go on and on. One of my personal faves is the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. 

My great uncle had one of these when I was a kid. It was like the designers took everything cool about the Toronado and the '65 Riv and cranked it to 11. It just oozes style and class. I had an opportunity to buy his when he passed, but it needed roof repair under the vinyl top and I didn't have the skills/resources at the time. Would've loved to have that car.

stuart in mn said:

Duke said:

I'm going to say 1963-1969 was the high water mark of American cars - any manufacturer, any size.

I think GM designers were killing it from 1961 to 1967 or so.  In '61 they downsized from the excess of the late 1950s, and even the full size cars had a trim, athletic look.  I am biased as I've been a long time owner of 1961 Pontiacs.  There's no way they could still build cars with such minimal A and C pillars, you have nearly 360 degrees of visibility. 

 

I've heard the term "Buick drums" so many times in the hotrod world that I never realized Pontiac used them too.

That's a great looking car.

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

I think those are two different things-Buick drums and those Pontiac drums/wheels above.

For me personally... 

But then again I'm an idiot but I absolutely loved the folded rear glass and the way the rear panel slants inward.... 

Tony Sestito said:

The stuff GM was doing in the 1960's was truly phenomenal design-wise. The early 60's full size bubble-tops (especially the Pontiacs), the aforementioned 1965 Riviera, the 1964-66 A-bodies, the 1969 GTO... I could go on and on. One of my personal faves is the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. 

My great uncle had one of these when I was a kid. It was like the designers took everything cool about the Toronado and the '65 Riv and cranked it to 11. It just oozes style and class. I had an opportunity to buy his when he passed, but it needed roof repair under the vinyl top and I didn't have the skills/resources at the time. Would've loved to have that car.

That's the car you pull up to the casino and throw the valet a $100 tip, just because you can.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

stuart in mn said:

Duke said:

I'm going to say 1963-1969 was the high water mark of American cars - any manufacturer, any size.

I think GM designers were killing it from 1961 to 1967 or so.  In '61 they downsized from the excess of the late 1950s, and even the full size cars had a trim, athletic look.  I am biased as I've been a long time owner of 1961 Pontiacs.  There's no way they could still build cars with such minimal A and C pillars, you have nearly 360 degrees of visibility. 

 

I've heard the term "Buick drums" so many times in the hotrod world that I never realized Pontiac used them too.

That's a great looking car.

The full size Pontiacs used the "8-Lug" wheels as an option for 1960-68 cars. That's what you see here. 




They were all 14" and came in two styles: ones that protrude more (like the blue car has) and ones that are a bit flatter. What you see in the center is actually the cast iron brake drum! They looked great, but I would guess they are tough to source quality replacements for these days. 

Tony Sestito said:

The full size Pontiacs used the "8-Lug" wheels as an option for 1960-68 cars. That's what you see here. 




They were all 14" and came in two styles: ones that protrude more (like the blue car has) and ones that are a bit flatter. What you see in the center is actually the cast iron brake drum! They looked great, but I would guess they are tough to source quality replacements for these days. 

The big problem with 8 lugs is they eventually develop corrosion in between the aluminum outer and the cast iron inner liner.  However, there are a couple shops that can machine out the cast iron liner and install a new one (it involves a precision fit along with some sort of mystery adhesive.)  You can also get 15" or 16" replacement rims.  (I'm still running the original 14" rims on my car and the proper size tires are only available anymore from Coker or Diamondback.)

By the way I agree with your opinion of the first year Eldorados, they were stunning.