Hyundai Grandeur Concept - the time seems right

We've seen carmakers successfully capitalize on childhood nostalgia, like VW did years ago with the New Beetle, and Chrysler with the PT Cruiser, and Ford with the '05 Mustang redesign. With 1980s kids heading into (some of us already in) their forties, I'm kind of surprised no automakers have tried to re-create something that harkens back to those years (maybe I'm missing something though)

Hyundai has started to, in the concept realm though, and I think it's fantastic. The Grandeur concept takes one of their straight-edged 1980s sedans, and uses new LED tech and materials to hit all the right 1980s notes while still feeling modern. Oh and it's an EV. I suppose you could also say the new Ioniq coming out is also a 1980s throwback. 

As a 1980s kid, I'm definitely on board.

There was also that killer Hyundai Pony that they resto-modded with EV power and retro-futuristic looks

The nixie tube gauges are my favorite part.

Erich said:

Taste is admittedly subjective, but are we serious?  That thing looks like a cross between a Plymouth K-car and a Lincoln Town Car.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It's a restomod of their sedan of that era, and yeah I'm serious. It looks sharp. I also think the Town Car would look pretty good and a couple of the K-Cars look great, so that's just me. 

Full disclosure: my first car was an 87 Caprice Brougham, so no, this is probably not rational. 

1988RedT2 said:

Erich said:

Taste is admittedly subjective, but are we serious?  That thing looks like a cross between a Plymouth K-car and a Lincoln Town Car.

Maybe that's what they were going for.

If so, they nailed it! 

BlueInGreen - Jon said:

1988RedT2 said:

Erich said:

Taste is admittedly subjective, but are we serious?  That thing looks like a cross between a Plymouth K-car and a Lincoln Town Car.

Maybe that's what they were going for.

If so, they nailed it! 

Here's the original 80s Grandeur:

edit: Even if these slab-sided sedans aren't your cup of tea, I think the '80s are ripe for a car company to plunder for nostalgia. The Cherokee, the full-size Bronco, the F-150, the Camaro, heck, I think even the funky Civic WagoVan would be cool to see reinvented. 

Lower that Pony an inch and a half, put some wide Watanabes on it, and I'd drive the hell out of it.

Call it me being a product of the 90s, but I am not a fan. It looks like a boring design from the 80s that they put LED lights on. Interior is kinda cool, but the exterior is... Well, it is there. 

In fact, my brother sent me this last night. My response was "well, it exists..."

Duke said:

Lower that Pony an inch and a half, put some wide Watanabes on it, and I'd drive the hell out of it.

I just want the nixie tube speedometer, or something that looks like it, in modern cars. All these digital displays today have a boring sameness. I want some creativity.

1988RedT2 said:

Taste is admittedly subjective, but are we serious?  That thing looks like a cross between a Plymouth K-car and a Lincoln Town Car.

Very K-car. To me it calls to mind the stretched K-cars of the later part of the decade, like the Dodge Dynasty:

I'm a child of the 80s, too, and cars like this were already outdated by mid-decade. And even when they were "in fashion", they didn't look good.

The crucial thing to these concepts is not the exterior, it's in the interior:

Whorehouse red interior; nice, just like my '79 LeBaron.

In reply to chandler :

Same as my 84 Ford Tempo

Erich said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It's a restomod of their sedan of that era, and yeah I'm serious. It looks sharp. I also think the Town Car would look pretty good and a couple of the K-Cars look great, so that's just me. 

Full disclosure: my first car was an 87 Caprice Brougham, so no, this is probably not rational. 

89 9C1 in dark blue. 

pheller said:

Those wheels were actually my first thought for the Pony.

I remember that car as a consolation prize on The Running Man.

NickD said:

There was also that killer Hyundai Pony that they resto-modded with EV power and retro-futuristic looks

The nixie tube gauges are my favorite part.

You had me at the first photo.

but NIXIE TUBES?  Shut up and take my money!

Erich said:

BlueInGreen - Jon said:

1988RedT2 said:

Erich said:

Taste is admittedly subjective, but are we serious?  That thing looks like a cross between a Plymouth K-car and a Lincoln Town Car.

Maybe that's what they were going for.

If so, they nailed it! 

Here's the original 80s Grandeur:

 

edit: Even if these slab-sided sedans aren't your cup of tea, I think the '80s are ripe for a car company to plunder for nostalgia. The Cherokee, the full-size Bronco, the F-150, the Camaro, heck, I think even the funky Civic WagoVan would be cool to see reinvented. 

It even had a AMG variant!

It's interesting that every single co-developed Mitsubishi/Hyundai sedan was a failure in Japan but a huge success in Korea.

Edit: Found a video

I mean, if we're going to venture into these waters, we need Toyota to bring back the rear-drive Cressida from 1989!

Not for me thanks. 

A bunch of friends (none of them car enthusiasts) texted me the link to the Grandeur today. One of them said it's "100% CyberPunk" which I think sums up the attraction - lowlife and high-tech.

I'm with ya on the Cressida but I prefer a generation earlier. 

The interior's nice, but they chose the worst kind of '80s car as inspiration for the exterior - an American malaisemobile. It might catch on with the Japanese "VIP" tuners though.

1988RedT2 said:

Erich said:

Taste is admittedly subjective, but are we serious?  That thing looks like a cross between a Plymouth K-car and a Lincoln Town Car.

And I'd absolutely buy one(used, when it's about a decade old, of course)!

No one (me included) has ever wished we had our old Kcar back.