Retro Cars, Bewildered; Maybe

It amazes me that there are times when some vehicles make their way to the marketplace while others that seem to fit the needs we have perfectly never leave the concept form. Sometimes we know this to be the fault of leaders of these automotive companies who want to relive their glory days of driving in a retro vehicle, but there certainly have been better throwback style vehicles that should have made their way to the market over those we have seen in a few cases; here are some examples that make my point perfectly.

Retro Cars That Shouldn’t Have Been Built

2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird – This car had the right engine and the right chassis with a rear-drive setup, but it looked like a throwback that should have been tossed away and forgotten about. Not only that, it wasn’t built to give you a performance that would excite you, instead it was made to be a relaxed ride which made it built completely wrong.

2003-2006 Chevrolet SSR – Although the engine was great in this vehicle as well the fact that this was supposed to be a nod to the 1950s Chevrolet pickup trucks has left us confused. This was a vehicle that was built as a conglomeration of a truck, muscle car and convertible to be too many things all at once and nothing certain at all.

1997-2002 Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler – The open wheel look of this car was cool and as a retro car that had the style and beauty you would want to enjoy on the road it should have been a hit. That is until you took a look under the hood and realized it only offered a V6 and 215 horsepower which made it one of the worst performing cars to ever come down the line.

2005-2001 Chevrolet HHR – Its awful when a company copies something else and its more than obvious. The HHR was nothing more than a PT Cruiser and by the time the HHR came to the market the PT Cruiser style was already waning and was not what it once had been. There was no cult following for this copied version of what Chrysler had already done.

2004-2006 Pontiac GTO – The original GTO was a beast to be reckoned with, this one wouldn’t scare off a mouse. There was not edge to the car as it looked more like a blown up Cavalier which wasn’t going to put the passion or imagination into anyone’s mind at all. There was plenty of power for this car, but it just didn’t give us the feeling of a car that we wanted to drive.

Concepts that Should Have Come to Market

2004 Ford Bronco Concept – The new version of the SUV we had loved for generations came to the stage as an off road beast that should have been built to take on the Jeep Wrangler. For years this was the only name the could challenge the Wrangler; thankfully Ford has announced it will finally bring us the Bronco again, but this should have been done long ago.

2008 BMW M1 Homage – Paying homage to the car that started the M division would have made a lot of sense from BMW. This concept car looked the part and offered an aggressive sports car style that would have been perfect and certainly could have asked for a high price and following but it wasn’t to be.

2002 Lincoln Continental Concept – The Continental has finally come back, but this was a version that could have been built with a look that gave us a thought of those Lincoln modes from the 1960s but one that would be able to take on other luxury cars and beat them in many different ways.

2001 VW Microbus Concept – Nothing could have brought the fun and travel back to the American landscape like the VW Microbus that had been one of the favorites during the 1960s and 1970s, but VW chose to wait several years before ever considering a rebirth.

2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept – This one is obvious. The throwback style coupled with modern technology would have been a home run for this lauded Italian brand, but alas it wasn’t.