What car designs have aged the best?

Second-gen MR2 will always look good:

I believe both the Toyota Celica and the Ford Mustang have always looked really great in their time,

Some versions may look dated now, especially Mustangs, but during their specific times they were great-looking.

In reply to roninsoldier83 :

The problem with proposing the E46 as a timeless design is that the E36 looks better ;)

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to roninsoldier83 :

The problem with proposing the E46 as a timeless design is that the E36 looks better ;)

I share many opinions with you, Keith. This is NOT one of them. 

Keith Tanner said:

The problem with proposing the E46 as a timeless design is that the E36 looks better ;)

IMHO, the E39 is the best-looking BMW design.  There was a gradual transition from the square cars of the 80s to the wind tunnel/aero designs of the 2010s, and the E39 hit the peak on that.  I rank the E36 and E46 about the same -- both are good, but one came a little bit before the peak, the other a little bit after.

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to roninsoldier83 :

The problem with proposing the E46 as a timeless design is that the E36 looks better ;)

The e36 m3 and e46 m3 are both on par in my eyes but the dash design of the e36 was absolute trash.

There is a difference between cars that looked good for the period (FD, Volvo 240, Datsun 240) and cars that still look good today and defy what year they were build in.  

Longer model runs certainly helps - see the Tundra, 4Runner, and Super Duty for great examples of how running the same body for 10+ years just makes the vehicles look newer and more timeless.

But there are special cars that always will be in style, with features and design trends way ahead of the curve.   BMW 8 series, C5 Corvette, and the GMT400.  They always look modern and a perfect interpretation of that type of vehicle.  

93gsxturbo said:

There is a difference between cars that looked good for the period (FD, Volvo 240, Datsun 240) and cars that still look good today and defy what year they were built in.

I think all 3 of the cars you mention there still look good today.

In reply to dyintorace :

100%

I am going to go out on a limb and say this.

Keith Tanner said:

In reply to roninsoldier83 :

The problem with proposing the E46 as a timeless design is that the E36 looks better ;)

Lies and slander! ;) 

The E36 isn't a bad looking car, but it has certainly aged- and not necessarily in a "timeless" sense of the word. The E36 is a nice rough draft that certainly looks like a period-appropriate 90's car, whereas the E46 looks like the finished product. When I see an E46 (there are 2 of them that regularly park in the garage next to my work) I can't help but admire it in passing. 20+ years and 3 generations later, the E46 still looks like it could be a brand new car. That's my definition of timeless. I can't say the same about the E36, even if I would agree that it's still a good looking car. 

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Keith Tanner said:

The problem with proposing the E46 as a timeless design is that the E36 looks better ;)

IMHO, the E39 is the best-looking BMW design.  There was a gradual transition from the square cars of the 80s to the wind tunnel/aero designs of the 2010s, and the E39 hit the peak on that.  I rank the E36 and E46 about the same -- both are good, but one came a little bit before the peak, the other a little bit after.

 

 

I would agree that the E39 is a damn good looking machine. I might even agree that it's potentially the best looking sedan they've ever made... but the E36/46 came in a coupe body style. As good as I think the E39 looks, I've always put the E46 coupe a rung above it in the looks department. The proportions of the coupes are just about as perfect as they come in my eyes. 

Although I feel the same about the wagons. I love the E39 wagon, but the E46 Touring is probably my favorite looking wagon of all time:



^^^I can't help but admire the handsome front end of the E46! I prefer the way my E82 128i drives (even if it's a bit of an ugly duckling), but I can't deny the E46 was by far a better looking car (vs the E82/E90/92/93). 

You look at an FD, and its pretty apparent what era it was manufactured in.  Still good looking for the era;  just like bellbottoms, the swoopy loopys, the high rise wing, and the BBS look-alikes or rounded 5 spokes give it away.     Look at a GMT400 (debut 1988) or a BMW 8 series (debut in 1989), and its much more challenging to tell what year it was designed in and how old the chassis is.  

Saturday night at the Taco truck getting dinner I had several folks remarking how nice looking E39s are and none of them could believe it was almost 25 years old.

NSX

93gsxturbo said:

You look at an FD, and its pretty apparent what era it was manufactured in.  Still good looking for the era;  just like bellbottoms, the swoopy loopys, the high rise wing, and the BBS look-alikes or rounded 5 spokes give it away.     Look at a GMT400 (debut 1988) or a BMW 8 series (debut in 1989), and its much more challenging to tell what year it was designed in and how old the chassis is.  

While I like the design of the E31, it's very apparent when it was designed.  A big coupe with squared-off body lines and pop-up lights screams late 80s.  Park one next to an A70 Supra and it's really obvious.

IMO there are no "timeless" car designs.  A car is a piece of technology that is required to be functional, and that means that the technology of the day heavily influences the external design.  Tire tech, materials science, manufacturing techniques, safety requirements, and aerodynamic knowledge have all had massive impacts on the external design characteristics of cars, with the end result being that you can usually judge the decade of the design within just a few seconds of looking at the vehicle.  I say design, rather than manufacture, because there are a few models that have stubbornly held on for more than a decade (original Beetle, 911, a few others).

What most people seem to mean when they use the word "timeless" as applied to a car design is one that still looks good today -- one that has avoided the "flash in the pan" trends and stuck to long-established principles of design.  Look at the proportions on an FD (or an E31) and you'll see that there.

Somewhere in the late 90s/early aughts is perfect for "timeless." As much as I prefer the styling cues of the E32/34/36, the next gen cars E38/39/46 are more "timeless." The E46 is ugly, but it could be 15 years old, not 25. The 80s BMWs to me look really dated, almost worse than the 70s cars. I think it's the big ugly bumpers. I can say the same about the big Japanese cars of the era: FD, MkIV Supra, 2G 3000GT and Z33 are all more timeless but ugglier than the gen before them.

My vote is therefore GMT800

 

Ahem...(minus the front plate)

When JG threw out this piece of "discussion bait", I'll bet he did not expect so many submissions for a blobby, stylistically unremarkable GM truck :)

I have said before that I think the E39 was the peak of BMW styling, but my earlier comment was aimed specifically at the 3-series. The E36 has more of a delicacy in its design than the E46. Those little panels under the E46 headlights, for example, look like a restyling job and not one that was penned on a fresh sheet of paper. The sills on the E46 M3 are chunky and heavy instead of graceful and is that a fake grille on the fender? Nobody with functioning eyesight would claim that later 3 series came even close, though.

But yeah, you want a great looking BMW? It's either going to be a black E24 or a black E39 M5. Both are just so cohesive in their styling.

The FD still looks good today because, other than the occasional detail like a dated wheel choice, it is outside of whatever else is going on at the time. It's just too swoopy, too small, too shrinkwrapped - it has always looked like it was beamed down from an alien planet and that has only become more obvious as everything else has swelled.

For me at least, it's gotta be an M5 for me to get excited about an e39 styling-wise. Otherwise the e39's my least favorite of the BMW sedans of that era behind the e38 and e46 

As well as the BMW E39 has aged, I have always thought it looked a bit frumpy next to the X300/X308 Jaguar XJ...

This thread is interesting in that the results are so conservative. No Mazda Furai, nothing from Bangle, and with one exception, nothing Italian. And those are just three examples of thousands. I'd suggest that there are a bunch of handsome cars here, but few pulse-quickening ones. 

In reply to Slippery :

Its sibling the 500SL-R107 is, IMHO, one of the most beautiful cars ever made.