Classic Cars : Classic Nation

Retro style remakes and the rebirth of affordable sports cars.

After reading many entries on this website, I figured for my first blog entry that I would mix things up. This website is all about classic cars, but what about the “Retro Remakes”? So before I take the trip as a writer on this website and post my coverage from various classic shows, etc. I figured I would spice things up and dedicate this one post to the “Retro remakes and the rebirth of affordable sports cars.”

If you remember a couple years back, Ford had come out with the all new retro styled Thunderbird…. do you not remember? If you don’t, that would be due to the fact that they only lasted a short while as they were not as big of a hit as Ford had hoped. But Ford did not stop there, they wanted to push this retro style idea to the next level. So what car could Ford possibly choose that was iconic and had a cult following? If you guessed the Pinto, I am sorry as you are wrong. The correct answer would be the Mustang.

When Ford made the retro style Mustang, it sold like hotcakes and it is still selling well. But when other American companies noticed the type of money that could be obtained by this retro style market. They all decided to hop on board. Now, years later you have Dodge with the new Challenger hitting showroom floors and the Chevrolet Camaro soon to be on it’s way. What should be very interesting to see is that the competition between companies will be very reminiscent of the past when muscle cars used to be all the rave.

But back in the 60’s, muscle car sales were not at any real risk from automakers overseas. Upon the release of these new retro throwbacks, they will see competition not only from here in America but from all over the world. For example: Hyundai will soon have it’s Genesis Coupe hitting showroom floors. A korean car that is RWD and offered with a V8. Then there is Toyota who owns a big stake in Subaru (Fuji Industries) and so the two of them are working together on designing an affordable sports car to list with both brands.

So as you can see, both American and foreign companies are raising their interest in the affordable sports cars. Could this be due to the calling for smaller more fuel efficient cars, or just a repeat of the past with the muscle car wars. But my question for you the reader is that I want to hear your opinion. Do you think that these American auto makers had waited to long to hop on the “retro style” train, or are they entering at the right moment? Do you think the current gas price will drastically hinder the sales of these newly released vehicles? Will all the hype just be one big flop or will they sell sell sell?