What retro car is selling well past it's time? Last time I heard, all the retro cars (Beetle, PT Cruiser, Thunderbird, can't think of the others) sales have nose dived after the first 1-2 years, or been cancelled.

And no, I do not understand the Mustang community.

 

Almost ALL NEW CARS that are mass produced have a sales dip after the first two years. There's nothing surprising there. The PT Cruiser is still selling more than DC thought it would. As for the Beetle: http://www.canadiandriver.com/articl...1newbeetle.htm VW sold about 55,000 Beetles in '02 and are expecting to sell several thousand more than that with the convertible Beetle. Even when the T-Bird goes away, it will still have been one of the top selling convertibles in North America while it was selling.

 

I think time will tell on this one. Most women I've shown the pictures to have loved it. Does anyone know the ratio of male to female buyers for the PT Cruiser and Beetle?

 

I guess it's where you get your info. What I had heard, and it's not really indepth articles, is that the beetle sales and Cruiser sales have been slipping hard the last few years, which is why VW and chysler are coming out with new models.

 

I guess my big point is that just about any car gets stale after a while and needs a facelift or a drop top added before a major overhaul is done. I'm still amazed the Mustang made it 25 years on the same platform. That's practically a military thing to do (you airplane guys know what I'm talking about ).

 

Thats what I'm betting on. Sure, the mustang community will/does love the new 'stang. Most of the mustang buyers that I see, however, aren't "Mustang Lovers". They just like the way the current mustang looks and picked one up. They have no clue what it looked like in the 60's or any of its heritage. I dont see the mass appeal with the new one that made the current one such a sales success.

 

We've been over this a billion times. Modernistics cars like the 3000GT, 300zx, Supra, Rx7, and now Camaro and firebird didn't sell either. Can we now conclude that modern designs don't sell?

The only reason this is reciving so much attention is due to the fact that retro is still somewhat rare and few. We have mini, TB, Bug, and Pt sales numbers and that's it. Just because those 4 models didn't sell in HUGE numbers, would it be right to assume tha retro automatically equals failure?

1 thing is certain, none of those cars have the mustang badging, following, iconic factor, or heritage.

 

You don't think these same people who have no clue about how it looked in the 60's or its heritage would buy one just because it looks good??? Quite frankly, I think the 2005 looks much better than the 94-2004 Mustangs. That's MHO. From what I'm hearing and seeing (NAIAS and other shows/magazines), just about everyone likes the way this 2005 Mustang looks. At every car show it's been to, it's had the biggest crowd. The car AND it's name will do just fine for the next few years.

 

Ithink a marketing person will tell you that's exactly what it says: retro doesn't sell in volumes.

Also no sports cars in the 90s sold well.

That is true about the Mustang's cult following. Do you think it's as loyal or big(er) than the Beetle's or Mini's following?

 

I like the style alot, I have when I first saw it in magazines and the more I look at the more the style grows on me. It's safe to say that I will be owning one of these in recent coming years .

 

Mustang followers are extremely loyal.

BTW, in regards to "retro" cars being a failure...

-Most sports cars spike in popularity at first, then drop off rapidly (hello, 4th Gen F-body??)

-The Beetle and PT cruiser sell at or above what was originally expected (it was the sudden rush at the beginning that wasn't expected).

-The Retro cars that have "failed" have tried to sell on looks alone and offer no real advantage over a more contemporary competitor (Ex: T-Bird). Mustang, and Mini are NOT merely "retro" bodies. Both have the goods to back up what the looks promise (Muscular performance or cheaky fun).

-For the record, the Mini is NOT RETRO.
A) The new model is a replacement for the previous model and only for a few months could you not buy a brand new Mini. To dispute this argument would mean that the Mini is "Retro" in the US while the Very same car is "Modern" in Europe.
B) The original Mini was never sold in this country in any kind of volume whatsoever.. so the question is... retro to what?

 

I like it for multiple reasons.

-it looks good, and could look really good with a few simple appearance mods.
-looks retro, yet obviously modernized.
-it has stayed true to its name
-it has a nice price tag
-It is one of the last American V8 sports cars... and I think THE last bang for the buck/cheap performance v8 rwd sports car.
-Most importantly: THEY ARE STILL MAKING THEM!!!

I hope they sell like hotcakes so GM sees what kind of market they bailed out of.

 

Can I interject a question?

Is there only one power outlet? The one I see is above the radio, and it's nice for, say, a radar detector. But what if you don't want the chord swining across the radio for a cell phone and such?


That said, it looks like an awesome car. I wouldn't be ashamed at all to drive around in a Mustang like that one. Still, I put enough time and money into my current car to hold off for now. We'll see how long she lasts.

 

The current mustang has an additional one in the Console. We'll see if it made it past the bean counters in the 2005..

 

"Retro" is in the eye of the beholder.

To many, this car looks as modern as a Colorado does in the pickup market.

They WILL sell. Bank on it.