Bland cars, was: <VV> GTO (no Corvair)

[airvair]

GM has a history of taking their ball and going home. They pulled the
plug on the Caprice because it wasn't #1 in sales. Nevermind that they
handed the fleet market (cops and taxis), which they owned, over to Ford
on a silver platter.

The REAL problem with the GTO is that it's styling was not retro enough
for the purists, and not distinctive enough to set it apart from crowd.
It was otherwise a pleasant design that belied its real potential. GM
rushed it into production by sticking a Pontiac facia on the Monaro and
calling it a day, styling-wise. The Monaro in its own right is a good
car. It just isn't styled over the top.

Its interior IS one of the few that don't bore me to death. Most of
today's cars have cookie-cutter interiors and come in little more than
shades of black, gray (which I call Mortuary Gray), and brown. BLAND,
BLAND, BLAND! Maybe because I was raised on the cars of the 50's and
60's is why today's cars bore me. Back in the 50's and 60's you KNEW
every car had a different interior. Often the model's name was on the
dashboard, and the make and/or division logo was scattered about the
car. (Just look at the Corvair.) Today, you're lucky to find the make's
logo on the steering wheel hub, and the model name more than ONCE (if at
all) on the outside (usually the rear end.) Back then, most interiors
came in at least 4-5 color choices, often with tutone and patterned
cloth materials. Then there was the chrome and wood. Ok, so they overdid
that. But the interiors weren't boring!

All I can say is that today's designers need to put into production
designs that are colorful and stylish. They need to look at the cars of
the 50's and 60's and even some of their own present-day show cars, and
take them to heart.

-Mark

David V Clamp wrote:
> 
> snip-------------------------------------------------
> I think the GTO enthusiasts deserve to never have the GTO return again.
> 
> unsnip---------------------------------------------
> 
> I think it's a shame GM pulled the plug. The styling seems to generate a
> love it because it's a sleeper or hate it because it isn't retro/looks like
> other Pontiac reaction.
> 
> The interior was perhaps the best of and GM offering in decades, and it
> really is a good car. Instead of letting it evolve a little, they kill
> it....sound familiar? (Fiero, Corvair.....)
> 
> 
> David V Clamp
> 
> Member: CORSA, Heart of Georgia Corvairs (editor), Naders Raiders
> 
> 1966 Corsa convertible 140/4spd/posi/AC