Answer of the Week: Stop the presses! The classic car you wish was still made today is …
Every once in a while, we pose a question on Facebook and we’re surprised by the answers. We probably should have seen this one coming though. Asked which car you wish was still being made today – unchanged and just as it was way back when – you selected an icon, the 1957 Chevrolet. And nothing else came close.
You especially love the Bel Air… hardtop or convertible; red, black or Larkspur Blue – whatever turns your crank. And yet for all the love bestowed upon the ’57 Chevy, the vast majority of you who nominated the car didn’t opine eloquently. Perhaps that’s because so much has been said and written about it already. Whatever the reason, your answers were short and definitive. Boom, drop the mic.
Oddly enough, the fan who elaborated the most actually broke the rules by suggesting changes to the car. “Remake the ’57 Chevy Bel Air but with today’s advances and obviously not with a steel body,” Tyrus Wong wrote. “I guarantee if someone had the guts to remake that iconic car, it would be back-ordered for five years within five days! BRING BACK THE LINES AND THOSE AWESOME FINS!!!!” Wong is right. The ’57 Chevy reigns.
With that said, several other classics received significant representation, as well. The 1965-66 Pontiac GTO was the second-most nominated car, with the 1969 Chevy Camaro third and 1968-70 Plymouth Roadrunner fourth. Three cars tied for fifth, the 1963-65 Buick Riviera, ’62 Chevrolet Corvette and ’57 Ford. Among the models that received more than one vote were the Chevy Impala SS and Chevelle SS, Ford Mustang, Olds 4-4-2, Plymouth Belvedere and Hemi Cuda, Lincoln Mark II, Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz and Cord. There may have been others, but we stopped counting after Andrew Karayanis sent us into a tailspin by suggesting a 1986 Yugo. Everybody’s a comedian.
Although answers literally ranged from “all” to “none,” there were some opinions that immediately caught our attention. Dave Sanders got things started on a low note by writing, “Completely unchanged? I’d have to say none of them. While there were some great cars… I can’t think of a single one that could compete in today’s market for performance, reliability and economy without some upgrading.” Although Charlie Holmans backed Dave’s opinion, Ted Davis grabbed the wheel and quickly pulled a 180. “The Ford Torino, the Fairlane … I could go on and on. Screw these new computerized pieces of …” (You’re welcome to use your imagination after that, but you get the gist.)
Matthew Abela, David Latham and Robby McCrary wholeheartedly agreed that the 1962 Corvette, the last of the C1 generation, should immediately go back into production. Abela confessed it was his “dream car,” and McCrary joined the love fest by writing, “Amen, brother!”
Lou Willsea cleverly nominated the old-school Morgan Plus 8, which actually is still being hand-built in England (production began again in 2012 after an eight-year hiatus). “Wait,” Willsea wrote, “they DO make it just like they did way back when!”
Among the most unusual (but certainly way cool) nominations were the 1948 Tucker, 1950-51 “bullet-nose” Studebaker, 1954 Kaiser Darrin, 1960 Dodge Polara and ‘60s Amphicar.
Biggest surprise? One person – one! (thank you, Jeff Bodi) – mentioned the 1963 Corvette, one of today’s most sought after classics. What gives? The next thing you know, someone will be clamoring for a Yugo.
