I was thinking about this today and was wondering if it is just me...wondering what you guys think. When I see a camaro or T/A from 98-02, I don't think "hey..there's a 4 or 5 or 9 year old car" (whichever applies). To me, the design, as far as it's outter appearance, still looks modern. Atleast as modern as most new cars you see on the road today. Some people have asked me why I bought a 8 model year old car when the time for a new purchase rolled around. The answer to that is because I like it and nothing else compares. Others who don't know any better ask "is that an 05 model?"... What do you think? Was it ahead of it's time? Has the current changes in automobiles just not progressed much since? Was it right on time? Curious to hear some opinions.

 

I think they were ahead of there time look and performance wise. I mean ford just now caught up to LT1's with their 05 mustang, thats like 15 year old technology still keeping up with new cars. I couldn't even imagine what people thought of these things back when they first came out, being so sleek and streamlined. I was only like 6 back then so I don't really remember seeing them on the road. I showed one of my oldtimer friends my car all cleaned up for a show and he couldn't believe it was a 96. He said that he really liked the lines of the car, and I take that as a huge compliment, I have alot of respect for this guy and he's got the cleanest Jeep i've seen in my life.

 

What's cool about the 4th gens is that nothing else really does compare!

The last gen of Jaguar XK was basically the only car on the road that looked remotely similar, and the price of one is 3X more than an F-body.

 

I really feel the powertrains were ahead of their time, but the appearance,not so much.

 

I agree, and I think the only reason people think it was ahead of its time in apperance and still looks new, is because there has not been a 5th gen Camaro out yet, so they are still the newest looking

 

Just picture an '02 SS, a couple 06 or 07 SUV's, some 06 or 07 Sedans, and even some 06 or 07 sports cars all side by side. When I picture this, none of them look out of place to me. I don't know how much ahead of it's time the appearance may be though..I"m wondering if it's just that the automotive industry hasn't made such bold changes in the last few years to equal the change from the late 80's and early 90's models to the mid 90's models and up. There was a noticeable change in vehicles from those eras. I think maybe the changes are still subtle for now but maybe these newer retro-like designs are going to spawn a bigger change all across the board?

 

Compared to the looks of my car, I rarely see something that truly gets me excited. Lately the Saturn sky redline and the new Z06 have caught my attention. I would have to say a black Z06 would be the first car in the past 10 years that has better styling than my car. The new Camaro has potential, but I'll need to see the prod version in person and in Black!! The mid 90's did have an abundance of sleek sports coupes though:

Dodge Stealth/mitsu 3000gt
Mazda rx-7
Toyota supra
nissan 350z
Mustangs/probes
f-bodys/vette
Acura ns-x

what am I missing