The VW Bug is no longer being manufactured and sales of muscle cars (Mustang, Camaro, Corvette, Challenger and Charger) fell 7 percent in 2016; 11 percent in 2017; and are down almost 10 percent for the first half of 2018. While at opposite ends of the performance & driving experience spectrum, this does not bode well for cars across the board. Ford has already pretty much killed its sedan line up and other manufacturers are moving toward electric only offerings. SUV sales continue to rise and its expected that they will make up 50% of all sales within another year or two. Sometimes change occurs behind the scenes; other times you can see it develop in front of you. Seems like parking lots will become very boring in the near future. I think the sales of antenna toppers will make a comeback; time to invest!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-09-13 06:04 PM by copernicus.

Sad but true..

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AC ACE rebody panels for the MGB



Every saint has a past..... every sinner a future.

I think all sedans have looked alike for at least the last 25 years. I call it the 'Accord Effect'. Take the badging off all these 4-door sedans, and I wonder how many of us could identify the manufacturer. Of course, a lot of the SUVs look alike, too.

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"We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane" - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Interested in Austin cars? Check out my Facebook page:
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Why cars look alike, nowadays, I think it's because when they are being designed, the parameters for minimum air resistrance will be the same and the computer spits out the same shape. Distinguishing features are only in the details.

Herb

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Questions about prostate cancer? Click here to join the discussion

I was nearly going to put this subject up in Off Topic ....and then found it here !1...I couldn't agree more .

I was driving out of a very large industrial place about 2 weeks ago and while passing the car park on a lower level , I couldn't help but think that in what seems all carparks ...colour is very minimal....it seemed that there is now predominately ...white , black , grey , silver , with just the odd splatter of a colour ....and I thought the same thing that it is now boring and a grey world ...
It is such a negative of the 50's and sixties to 70's where the was a whole spectrum of colours of cars , two tones etc , especially in the states and even MG had a wide choice of colour ...it seems that colour is only there now because of The hot rod world , the classic car environment and desires to stay true to original or a colour of that era ...
It was strange coming across this thread ..

Aerial toppers ....I would definitely would use one of the original fox tails

All new SUV's should have this badge:

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https://73-mgb.blogspot.com
https://71mgbgt.blogspot.com
https://67austinmini.blogspot.com
https://06minijcw.blogspot.com
https://60ramblerwagon.blogspot.com

IMHO, YMMV, and any other applicable acronyms apply...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-05 09:39 AM by noahvale.

When government and insurance mandate car design it is predictably plebeian. When kids born in 1990 are old enough to afford their "dream car" consider what that might be.

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Regards,
Robert Kirk

kirkbrit@yahoo.com
E-mail PLEASE for quote/questions/orders

Business phone 563 323 1017

http://kirks-auto.com/
Moss distributor/UK importer
Beat or match most retail/delivered quote

My 30's something son just walked by and I asked him that question. Dream car, but you still have to afford to keep and run it.

After some thinking, a high end Tesla or a late Aston M. DB#. But he also said "Ask me in 10 minutes and I'll probably say something else."

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The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

To the intelligent person, life appears infinitely mysterious, but the stupid have an answer for everything.

Day Dreamers, don't discourage them. That's where original thought comes from.

I get the sense that the whole idea of individual car ownership is starting to wain. Just look at the options out there today: Uber & Lyft, car sharing, ride sharing, and car rental. All chip away at the personal relationship that prior car buyers had with their cars. So with the advent of the vanilla SUV, we have the vanilla relationship as well!

Maybe in the Megalopolis of the East and West Coasts, but I doubt in the Heartland....and frankly in the intense populated areas, personal vehicles are as much a handicap as convenience by my observation. The east coast rail system is a marvel and its demise in the midwest is shameful. The Government subsidized systems of freight and personal transportation is something of a joke out here.

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Regards,
Robert Kirk

kirkbrit@yahoo.com
E-mail PLEASE for quote/questions/orders

Business phone 563 323 1017

http://kirks-auto.com/
Moss distributor/UK importer
Beat or match most retail/delivered quote

The Far East & Europe have marvels of rail systems; Northeast corridor U.S. rail is quite poor. I've taken the Acela to Washington on many occasions and average speed was about 60; many times I just drive and got there faster. I think you're right Robert, rail systems are generally quite poor in the U.S. If there's one long term infrastructure investment that this country could use is rain: long distance, high speed; and local light rail. This would touch every State help alleviate congestion on roads and at airports. Unfortunately, this will never come to fruition.