Initially, I liked the idea of new cars with retro-styling because I'm old enough to remember seeing the originals as a kid. But it has gotten to become so ubiquitous, cliched and hackneyed that it now just smells like a lack of design creativity. And now we get new-and-improved refreshed retro-styling for the original retro-styled cars that were copies the original originals. For me, it's become a snoozefest.
And 315 hp from a 4.6 liter V8? Now THAT'S retro!!
But, hey, last year's Hemi belched out 335 hp from 5.7 liters, or just under 60hp/liter, and that had people gooing in their pants.
Some people are easily impressed, I guess.
DenverMikeWhen was it ever a mystery? The Fairmont maybe, but only the 4-door "Futura" trim, that was distinctively upscale. The Citation and Volare didn't have competing trims, nor was there a base stripper Maxima at the time, if ever, crank windows, vinyl seats, 2-doors, etc. So it wasn't a "massacre", not even in spirit, just different market segments. It could be that the Maxima was intended to compete with those, but everything coming from Japan at the time had to take it up a notch, if not two.Thanks to the Japanese "voluntary" trade restriction, everything had extra options, if not hard loaded. The restriction limited how many vehicles were shipped, not what they retailed at. So Japanese automakers naturally raised the "price" (or stakes) without raising MSRP. What the dealers charged (gouged) was a different story.Realistically, the Maxima was going up against entry luxury sedans (except Cimarron lol), especially Euro/German, same as the Cressida. It definitely worked in Japanese automaker's favor, not to mention inspiring Lexus, Acura and Infiniti.
Ronnie SchreiberHydrocarbon based fuels have become unreliable? More expensive at the moment but I haven't seen any lines gathering around gas stations lately, have you? I'm old enough to remember actual gasoline shortages in 1973 and 1979 (of course, since then there have been many recoverable oil deposits discovered around the world plus the introduction of fracking). Consumers Power is still supplying me with natural gas. I recently went camping and had no problem buying propane.Texas had grid problems last winter because they replaced fossil fueled power plants with wind and solar, which didn't work in the cold weather. That's the definition of unreliable.I'm an "all of the above" guy when it comes to energy: fossil fuels, hydro, wind (where it makes sense), nuclear (including funding for fusion research), and possibly solar.Environmental activists, it seems to me, have no interest in energy diversity. Based on what's happened in Sri Lanka and the push against agriculture in Europe and Canada, I think it's safe to say that some folks want most of us to live like medieval peasants to save the planet for their own private jets.
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I think it's great, but I can't imagine buying this knowing an updated drivetrain is in the pipe for next year.
Initially, I liked the idea of new cars with retro-styling because I'm old enough to remember seeing the originals as a kid. But it has gotten to become so ubiquitous, cliched and hackneyed that it now just smells like a lack of design creativity. And now we get new-and-improved refreshed retro-styling for the original retro-styled cars that were copies the original originals. For me, it's become a snoozefest. And 315 hp from a 4.6 liter V8? Now THAT'S retro!! But, hey, last year's Hemi belched out 335 hp from 5.7 liters, or just under 60hp/liter, and that had people gooing in their pants. Some people are easily impressed, I guess.