What Was the Best Year for Car Design?
Perhaps it can be seen in the decadent tail fins of a 1957 Chevrolet. Or the streamlined modernity of the 1936-37 Cord. There’s even a case for the over-the-top engineering of the 2019 McLaren Senna, as beauty comes in many forms. So its now time for us to ask you, member of the Hagerty Community, what was the best year for car design?
I have a curveball to throw you, and here’s my rationale for doing so: Cars can be beautiful, functional, and affordable. Sometimes we get really lucky and one car hits the trifecta, becoming a combination of all three.
Yes, my suggestion is initially half-hearted, but becomes stronger the more I marinate on the concept. Cars in the 1990s came in unique sizes, shapes, and colors (i.e. not just black, white, silver, gray, and the occasional red and blue), and their implementation of computer-assisted design and plastics ensured better performance and superior reliability.
The Dodge Neon is one of those sweet spots that covered the aforementioned trifecta. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the Neon was able to appeal to a variety of needs in a fun-to-drive package. The last bit is actually an understatement, as the Neon’s career in SCCA races should not be summed up in just a handful of words.
And the Neon was awfully functional, with plenty of room with its cab-forward design. The $12,000 starting price meant it was great design available to every motorist, but 15 grand got you a Neon that provided performance (ABS brakes, fully independent suspensions) and luxuries (power everything, sport bucket seats with multi-function console, etc.) that vehicles from previous generations would absolutely kill to possess.
With the debut of the Neon and its successful execution of a truly holistic automotive offering, 1995 is the year I’ve chosen for this thought experiment. There are other, perhaps less dark-horse choices (just about any year in the 1960s, for example), though there are plenty of moments across the history of the automobile that could make a good case. With that, what say you, and why?
What Was The Best Year For Car Design?
1967 in my opinion was the best year for car designs! The ‘67 Ford Mustang Fastback was the last and best looking year for those early models. Can’t forget the Corvette and most other Chevrolet models for that matter. Oh, yeah and great year for the Volkswagen Beetle that finally got a 12 volt system and retained its classic look. Best and last year for the VW microbus too! The list goes on….
1937, kind of the peak of art-deco design. 1936, 1938 for close second place options. Also like the late 50s to early 60s jet age designs. But the art deco period of late 30s it seemed that every mfr had their designs all looking good.
Reading a Rod and Custom Mag at the drug store in 1969, 37 and 38 Fords were called ugly. I never forgot that and tried to fight it but give me a 36,39,40.
1937, it was kind of the peak of art-deco design. 1936, 1938 for close second place options. Also like the late 50s to early 60s jet age designs. But the art deco period of late 30s it seemed that every mfr had their designs all looking good.
When I was a newly licensed teenager in the late 90s, my Dad had a 1995 Neon Sport 4dr with the 2L DOHC Mitsubishi engine pared with a 5spd. That car was an absolute blast – I have great memories of it looking back. I didn’t go easy on it either and it never missed a beat. It was a cool color too.
One of my favorite memories, I was driving it with my parents and sister in the car. I was at a red and a 2nd gen Charger came up beside me that I could tell was going to try to get ahead on green before his light changed. Well to the surprise of everyone in the car, I launched pretty hard on on green and took off and as suspected, he did too – but to his surprise, that little Neon roasted him. The look on his face – I’ll never forget it!
And full disclaimer – I’m a much more sensible driver as an adult – still fun to think back on though.
this one is easy – rarely is there a specific year where it seems all the designers get it right, the right proportions, the right look, the right amount of ‘class’. 1958 and 1966 are the tope two, followed by 1964 and 2004. In 1958 Detroit took a cue from Cadillac and began lowering rooflines and lengthening bodies, resulting in some stunning top-of-the-line cars from Chevy, Ford, and even Edsel. In 1966, the juvenile experimentations of the previous year come together with softer lines and better ‘flow’ – 1966 Impala or Galaxie.
1964 is a close third when the new compact designs brought some fresh perspective to many cars. Next is 2004 when unadulterated versions of classic Italian designs were marketing, before the pencil-pushers came in and messed things up in the following year.
sanjeev, you must’ve fallen outta your desk chair a dozen times from laughing at all the reponses to your ‘silly’ question. “party on, garth!” your next question? ask everyone’s political opinion about the ’24 elections (i will join you in the festivities).
and to add to your laughter, i’ll bite & give my opinion.
1972. it’s possibly datsun’s (nissan’s) best year in the us. the 240z, 510, 1200, and 521 & 620 series trucks…clean designs w/o the gaudy design & body tack-ons of the next few years. all of the domestics were also putting out some rather sweet designs, what with chevelle, vega, caprice, torino, ltd, challenger, coronet, imperial, coupe deville & brougham, small bumper boattail riviera, etc etc. did this year have my ultimate favorite car of design? no, but the best year for all makes overall.
again, IMHO and i respect the opinions of everyone else!
1967 is my favorite year. Styling was great. Only emissions was a pcv valve. With that said I think 1969/1970 was the peak of the muscle car era but I like the 67 simplicity of styling.
A long time friend sold me a 67 Chev last year that i didn’t think i needed. OK SS 396 Impala turbo 400 12 bolt posi AM-FM Air PS PB. This is a driver. GM built 400 SS Impala’s in 67 with a 250 how cool is that?
67 to 70, all the big 3, GM at the top
I agree with most — can’t narrow it down to one year! I’m going to say the 61-65 time frame. AMC had the Rambler Classic/Ambassador introduced in 63 (and American in 64 — the 63s were Motor Trend’s “Car of the Year”, but the 63 American was very dated!). It was still presentable in the 70s, and doesn’t look that to awfully dated even now. The Ford T-bird of 61- was subtly graceful, even the big 61-63 Continentals were! 62-64 Chevies were the same. I just like subtle, graceful lines! I’m a big AMC fan, and prefer the 68-70 Javelin over the more aggressive look of the 71-74 “hump fender” model. The Corvair looked best in it’s 65 form, the earlier models were a bit too boxy. Chrysler didn’t hit the “subtly graceful” look until 65, but I’m not fond of the Valiant until 67. Don’t care for the Exner years at all… first gen Valiants are a little “funky” looking, but I’d rather have that than the very plain looking second gen.
as someone noted, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and this is just my opinion. I do handyman work. People ask me about colors and such all the time. My response: “I can’t see it from my house.” I get some puzzled looks, some laughs. The jist is please yourself, not me or anyone else — I don’t have to look at it all day!
Of course the answer is the year and the specific car pictured at the beginning of this article.
I agree with 67/68. Everything looked just right. The U.S and Europe were producing some of the most beautiful cars ever. Muscle from Detroit and sleek sex machines from the Uk and Italy.
Hard to beat 1955,,, All makes had breakthrough styling and some true classics from Lincoln’s Mk II to ford’s new look. Chrysler had their Imperial and 300 series start and GM style took over US auto design with many features and the Corvette took on it’s character with a V8 and refining the look of the cars. Studebaker was still making Hawks and sadly Packard was dying.
There are standout individual cars every so often over time but seldom is there a revolution across the whole industry. My vote is for 55 although my favorite car of all time is a 57 Facel Vega HK 500 that I had in the early 60’s. Style, 392 Hemi power and the car just reeked of class….. I will always regret totally the car when the French power steering died and even in Los Angeles we couldn’t find anyone to fabricate a replacement.
Interesting that you chose the Neon to represent the 90s. The FD RX-7 and the Mazda MX6 Mystere (and 929) were styling triumphs of that decade. Unfortunately, it also yielded the “New Beetle.” But I think if we ever solve the mystery of the best decade design wise it’s going to involve risks and some of those will fail and some succeed. I lean a bit more toward the 60s. The aforementioned Corvair is great but not alone. There are fantastically designed cars from the 60s. All of the best Ferraris, Alfas, Maseratis, nearly all of GM 2 doors by the late 60s, the Mustang, Lincoln, I think it’s a hard decade to top.
I view the support for 1967-70 as people liking clean styling. Styling with purpose. Chrome in the right places but not garish. And before add-on impact bumpers, tacky tape stripe packages and landau roof/opera window decoration.
Some have already mentioned 1965 which is the year I got out of high school and some great cars were designed and sold that year.
Another year that has always rung bells for me was 1941. It was the eve of WWII and America was recovering from the depression and industry was in full swing. In particular, I believe that some of the most beautiful cars GM had ever built came out in that year – Chevrolet (end of running boards), Buick, Cadillac, and to a lesser extent Pontiac and Oldsmobile. I always thought the 1940 Ford was one of the best looking Fords ever built. The 1941 was not as attractive but still pretty good. Also, the Lincolns and Continentals were beautiful cars. There were many independents that were attractive including Willys and Studebaker. Just my two cents…