When Cars Were Cars

The beauty of cars prior to the takeover of car design by federal bureaucrats

For a person of my generation it is depressing to drive in today’s black-white-gray sea of lookalike oversized SUVs and oversized trucks. The excuse is “safety.” But I wonder about the safety. On any non-choked Interstate or four lane highway, many are traveling 85-95 mph. The massive vehicles with airbags even in the headliners make people feel safe and encourage faster and more reckless driving.

Safety features reduce visibility, so cameras are used to compensate. The visibility offered by the cars of yesteryear surpasses that of camera-assisted vehicles today.

And what of the sacrifice to “safety” of beauty and esthetic design? Aren’t these worth some risk? Not to federal bureaucrats who have imposed the one-dimensional world of “safety.”

American Muscle
1973 Plymouth Duster 340

British Elegance Married to Speed
1966 Jaguar E-Type Roadster
“The most beautiful car ever made.” — Enzo Ferrari
“The greatest crumpet (British slang for sexually attractive woman) catcher known to man.”–Henry Manney, Road & Track

1955 Chevrolet BelAir Coup

1955 Ford Fairlane Convertible