There are certain things that are just plain wrong. Sometimes it’s a TV remote that has the most used buttons at the bottom, or that institutional toilet paper that’s strangely less wide than the stuff at home, and inevitably leaves you with a surprise finger painting opportunity. And with cars sometime it can be how they look. There’s been a bunch of car models that have been around so long that they have developed a general consensus as to how they should look, and its crazy-making when they don’t look quite right.
You know what a Mustang should look like, or a Beetle, or even a 911, and so the stylists, when refreshing or re-imagining the marque, must tread lightly while walking on such hallowed ground. Come up with something that’s too far off general expectations and expect to see aficionados storming the ramparts with pitchforks held high. Just ask the Ford folks who focus grouped the Probe when it was going to replace the Mustang.
Many a car has gone away only to reappear at a later date. And upon that rebirth after a long hiatus, it’s vitally necessary that they express visually certain iconic characteristics that are expected of the brand.  Those what was once old are new again cars are collectively referred to as Retromobiles. There have been a bunch, some have come and gone, while others make it to a second or third generation. The success of capturing that lightning in a bottle – the intrinsic identity of the brand- varies from effort to effort, some being more successful than others, and some waaay off. But one, in your mind must stand out above all the rest in best achieving that snapshot of visual character, and drawing the past into the present. Which one is it, what car gets retro right?
Image source: [theinspirationroom]