Is it just me, or did a lot (not all but most) 80s cars look horribly boxy and not really 'cool' looking at all.
Like the cars of the 60s up to the mid 70s had a very sleek, stylish, almost classy look, but starting in the late 70s to the mid 90s, cars took on a very boxy, simply functional, look. No flair or stylishness, even the sports cars looked pretty boring.

Anyone agree?

Is it just me, or did a lot (not all but most) 80s cars look horribly boxy and not really 'cool' looking at all.
Like the cars of the 60s up to the mid 70s had a very sleek, stylish, almost classy look, but starting in the late 70s to the mid 90s, cars took on a very boxy, simply functional, look. No flair or stylishness, even the sports cars looked pretty boring.

Anyone agree?


I will 'Agree'

http://sharetv.org/images/the_new_hollywood_squares-show.jpg

No, I am sorry that's incorrect.  Circle gets your opponent that square!




80s cars not cool looking?

Mark McCormick would disagree with you ...
http://www.volocars.com/galleria_images/301/301_main_f.jpg

So would Michael Knight ...
http://images1.makefive.com/images/200906/1221ded49b485fc4.jpg

I was hoping this was a thread about Ric OKasek, Greg Hawkes, Ben Orr, and the other guys.  Oh well.
:-\\

Nothing was boxier than what my family had in the early 80s...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Isuzu_Trooper_%28first_generation%2C_first_facelift%29_%28front%29%2C_Serdang.jpg/250px-Isuzu_Trooper_%28first_generation%2C_first_facelift%29_%28front%29%2C_Serdang.jpg

Is it just me, or did a lot (not all but most) 80s cars look horribly boxy and not really 'cool' looking at all.
Like the cars of the 60s up to the mid 70s had a very sleek, stylish, almost classy look, but starting in the late 70s to the mid 90s, cars took on a very boxy, simply functional, look. No flair or stylishness, even the sports cars looked pretty boring.

Anyone agree?


Not only did most 80's cars look like crap, they were also poorly built and were horribly underpowered.

Probably the only American car of the 1980's that truly offered high performance and is highly sought after by collectors today is the 1987 Buick Grand National GNX.

http://wikicars.org/images/en/c/c7/1987_BUICK_REGAL_GNX.jpg

Is it just me, or did a lot (not all but most) 80s cars look horribly boxy and not really 'cool' looking at all.
Like the cars of the 60s up to the mid 70s had a very sleek, stylish, almost classy look, but starting in the late 70s to the mid 90s, cars took on a very boxy, simply functional, look. No flair or stylishness, even the sports cars looked pretty boring.

Anyone agree?

Um, no offense, but maybe it was too much crack you were smoking in the 80's to notice...70's cars sleek? What, prey tell was so sleek (or Classy) about the Pinto, Vega, or the monstrosity of malaise-era dinosaurs like the 1970's Cordoba, Thunderbird and Monte Carlo?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Chrysler_Cordoba_blue_front.jpg/250px-Chrysler_Cordoba_blue_front.jpg
Unique, I'll give you, but in retrospect, not exactly going to win any points in design thats for sure. :P

Actually, in contrast, the 80's T-Bird was pretty swoopy and NOT boxy in the least. Really when you think about the 80's, especially the mid to later years, companies like Ford went out of their way to introduce was called "jelly-bean" designs (Taurus & Probe anyone?)that were anything but "boxy".

http://www.albeedigital.com/supercoupe/images/85bird.jpg

Iconic cars like the Porsche 928, the 5 generation Corvettes, the Ferrari Testarossa were anything but "boxy".
http://trueslant.com/dallegro/files/2009/06/porsche928.jpg

But in hindsight, you are correct, most large mass produced "econoboxes" (i.e. Chevy Caviler, Chrysler K-car, etc) were indeed pretty lame looking, but keep in mind these designs were the result in mass downsizing due to fuel efficiency concerns and a reaction to the amorphous, big bumpered, vinyl-topped, over-sized behemoths we were driving in the 70's.
Crisp, folded straight-lined body panels are cheap to make steel molds for and to stamp out on the assembly line, its no wonder...

Still when one thinks initially of 80's cars the K-car, Yugo and DeLorean stand out, so I can see the stamp of boxy cars for the 80's getting some play...


I was hoping this was a thread about Ric OKasek, Greg Hawkes, Ben Orr, and the other guys.  Oh well.
:-\\

Well, its not as if Ric Okasek wasn't boxy (read scary coffin-like) looking...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/Nissan_Stanza.jpg
My folks' first new car in the 80's was an '82 Nissan Stanza. It replaced a '76 Ford Granada.
http://www3.sympatico.ca/bkeevil/mercurymonarch/mercpics/1976_granada_estrada_colorado.jpg
Neither one was anything to rave about in the fashion department, but they were dependable.

I will agree that some early 80's models were "boxy", but that changed significantly by the middle of the decade. The best example I can think of is the first Ford Taurus, which was a harbinger of the sleek designs that many automakers would begin latching onto a few years later.

As a fan of Mustangs...I found that the Mustangs of the 80s and early 90s were horribly boxy and plain looking...they looked like a typical Toyota or Dodge or whatnot...It wasnt until the mid-90s that the Mustang started getting its shape back again!  I know there are fans of the "street" Mustangs of the 80s..but not me.  Its not about speed anyway...Im more into the style of the car.