I do think that there is a certain amount of possibility space created by new technologies which creates a big blank canvas for inspired people to create with and upon, but the space itself has some limits. The canvas never gets completely full, but the opportunities created by new wide-open vistas eventually fade.

The fusion of blues, gospel, jazz, etc. along with the arrival of electronic instruments of all kinds provided the great new playground upon which the great rock & rollers of the 1960s-1970s created some amazing new stuff. Now that field of endeveour has been largely consumed and a young person today with the same drive and talent as a 20 year old Roger Waters had in his day is faced with a much less interesting playing field upon which to do his thing.

It is the times, not just the person, which feed the possibility of genius.

I don’t mind if the new vehicles are larger to accommodate the required safety equipment. I don’t mind if a rear engined car must become front engined for pragmatic reasons.

Despite my flippant and cruel remarks toward the domestics I really think there are some great cars in their history that they could revive for “every man” to drive and make them a lot more efficient in the process. There are some nicely styled pre-’40 vehicles that could be reborn.

Aside from the PT Cruiser (a vehicle Chrysler actually got “right”) and maybe the Mustang, which domestic “retro” offerings were aimed at everyday driving and affordable to a broad audience? The SSR? No. The Prowler? No. The Thunderbird? No again.

Why can they delve into their past and deliver a nicely re-imagined version of a well received car from the past (or even a pedestrian model) and modernize it with a well crafted interior and reliable and *efficient* drivetrain?

The Nomad concept that was to ride on the same platform as the Solstice would have been a coup if they built and delivered it for under $20k. It was a really nice looking concept IMO. Imagine the Dodge Dart redone today. How about a new Chevy Vega or a Ford Falcon?

My buddy’s Miata is pretty green. 478whp in a car that light, he doesn’t even need to go beyond a quarter throttle to get up and moving to high way speeds, so he’s not on the throttle that much. And its painted green.

The throttle body make gasoline engines inefficient at part throttle and light loads.

Here is another idea: move away from 450 hp drivetrains towards reasonable, smaller engines and concentrate more on style. That is what I think some of the retro cars have over the more ordinary cars.

Here is another – lengthen a model’s lifespan by several years. Do more of what VW was doing with the early Beetle and fix a long list of details while leaving the basic car alone. Make it last. Move to a business model of upgrades.

Whatever the case I think the old saying about driving a slow car fast being more fun than driving a fast car slow really applies. With fuel going up maybe we’ll have to adopt that attitude.

That’s an interesting point of view. You really think there’s a finite amount of inspiration and at some point people just ran out? Be it music or autocars?

Well that’d be scary. I mean at which point do you actually accept that you reached the limit and stop trying to come up with something new?

I strongly disagree with that. I will go along with the idea that some things have their time after which for various reasons just run out of steam, but that’s different to saying that there’s nothing more to invent or create in this area.

Most people are happy to buy ugly cars anyway.

How much do aesthetically nice cars cost? Any under $25K?

Why do you think so little really great rock and roll has been created in the past ten years? Well, that is because much of the possibility of that area has already been taken up by the efforts which have gone before.

Ditto classical music. Has anyone every outdone Bach, Wagner, Beethoven, Mozart et. al.?

Brand new fields of endeavor create vast blank canvasses on which the hordes of hard working creative people who flock to the field do their thing. Over time, the canvas become filled up and the best the new artist can do is to paint over some of what has gone before.

There simply isn’t much new to be said.

Some of the best concept cars are recent times are re-dos. The Lincoln concept of five or so years ago comes to mind.

Toyota A-BAT.

Fix the styling a bit, and I’ll buy it.

Like the Smart Roadster? I had one as a rental again last week. Fun, fun, fun… If a Golf is parked next to you, it looks like a SUV. And we averaged 44 mpg driving it like we stole it.
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argentla: So, here’s a question for the group: what kind of green concepts would you find interesting and exciting?

A small roadster (nothing big and bloated like a Miata or Elise), successor to cars like the Honda Beat, Suzuki Cappucino, and Daihatsu Copen.

quasimondo: I’m not excited about any ‘green’ car, unless it’s British Racing Green.

An MG Midget is fine too.

Most people are happy to buy ugly cars anyway.

The original hummer was a diesel, and a great ride as well. The civilian model was ridiculous to have a gasoline engine.

At the same time, when I need to merge to freeway traffic, my 4-cylinder has enough oomph to get the job done.