Many of you here are old enough like me to remember the great days of Fiat in the 60's and 70's when very desirable, properly sorted cars emerged from Turin.
Think of the 500, 850 Sport, 124, 125, 128, 130 Coupe and Dino series - most of which I have owned (with exception of the 125, 130 & Dino) and would gladly own even today - all of them still well up to the job of daily use. Will such an all star line up ever return ?

I doubt it. Cars are becoming white goods for many people and the magic is going. Plus, they are being increasingly vilified by too many sectors of society. I think the confidence in the future that existed then has departed, and for many people the future looks a bit frightening, rightly so.
And developing cars seems to cost too much money

Manufacturers play it safe these days, catering more for the masses, rather than being bold,different, daring, taking a risk? Styling seems to only work in your favor in modern cars if your pockets are bulging with more than 20k in your pocket?
As commented before too much money to risk plus r&d,man hrs yadda-yadda, even the Japs seem to have gone a bit soft on styling, focus seems more on fuel economy (nothing wrong with that) and how many toys are crammed inside, modern consumers?

Maybe some day companies like Fiat will 'grow some' again then only to be taken to the knackers yard again lol

how long before we get 1 choice?
look at the modern euro boxes and the styling is all but identical..especially with so many manufacturers reducing tooling costs by producing 1 vehicle with 2 or 3 badges on the bonnet..
Even Jaguar are producing an Aston look-a-like..and the horrid x type mondeo executive..
also even 'small' cars are now getting bigger.
place any modern car next to its 1st generation and look at the size difference.

Emphasis these days is on 'user friendliness' power steering, electric everything..what was wrong with a good non powered steering set up, manual windows cant fail in a second..
Manufacturers must realise the backlash is coming, which is why we get the 'retro' models now..the new 500, the mini, both 'good' models in their own right but playing on the retro Kitch of the originals..
when was the last time you saw a mini city?? or even an Austin metro? all i ever seem to see are cooper mini's and MG metro's .. no one cares for the day to day vehicles..you mention Sierra and everyone thinks Cosworth..but what happened to the thousands of 'rep mobiles'????
The only manufacturer I can think of that makes a 'bog basic' car is Dacia...everyone else has gone for 'toy' over load...
As for making an outstanding vehicle, no one will..it's too dangerous..money comes from sales...and anything wacky or outlandish is doomed to failure!!!
Think in 20 years or so we'll all be driving a CAR or a ESTATE..no names, no manufacturer just generic vehicles churned out to fulfill a duty!!!!
RIP The gift of choice!!!

The Citroen Cactus arrives soon

tend to agree with all of that.. well 90%,


somebody mentioned Japan AND Styling in the same sentence:shakehead:

TBH I'm well impressed by the twinair,
not because it does 100mpg ( it's half of that),

but because it IS DIFFERENT, AND puts a smile on yer face,

all the people who sell it for a VW You pee! are missing the point :bang:

Small cheap cars have been legislated out of existence what with emissions, safety for occupants and pedestrians.

Gone are the days when cars could be thrown together and models short lived if they didn't sell.

Also the days of unreliable, rusty and miserable spec cars are over - that's why I drive a Panda

I think manufacturers are making all their most interesting stuff at the small end of their ranges, the family and exec stuff is all business as usual but the little cars are the ones getting the interesting engines and designs.

But as much as we may dislike the current line-up, e.g. Panda, New 500 and Barchetta, they WILL become the classics of future generations.

panda panda said:

Also the days of unreliable, rusty and miserable spec cars are over - that's why I drive a Panda

Click to expand...

70's and 80's cars come to mind. Rust starting to show after 4 years, screws missing from new, checkered car interiors, browns, gold and dark green colours all the rage. Basic spec was just that- basic, a shell with wheels.. one thing good with old cars was they were simple to work on, no need to plug your motor into a computer, all you needed was a screw driver and socket set but hey the good old days are no more.