Pick a random car from the post war era and there are high chances you’ll end up with some robust, simple and fun-to-drive machines. Perhaps it was the era of the mass market coming alive around the world. Be it the german “People’s car”(which is the literal translation of Volkswagen), the nice tiny little Fiat 500 or the revered Mr. Bean’s Austin Mini. These cars, which were considered fairly bland back during the days (while people looked and wowed upon the magnificent beauties from the likes of the Mercedes SL, Jaguar E type etc) are now so sought-after that it has pushed carmakers into making new, modern versions of these. This not only covers the likes of the Bug as it is so-called but even fairly utilitarian ones like the Mercedes G Wagon, which, once conceived for rough and tough military use are now the popular runabout of the Kardashians and a favourite of Gen-Z rappers.
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Why did this trend catch on? Simply because people loved the old cars(what a joke). The real reason we are seeing these today is because they’re style statements and companies can cash in on their heritage. Not saying its bad though, I mean the MINI still remains a proper go-kart (even if it became obese in the last few decades), the Mercedes G63 AMG is one knock-your-socks-off machine that still drops my jaw everytime I see one and the Renault Alpine A110 remains one of the best sportscars on sale right now IMO.
However, its not all rosy. We have seen some “retro” styled attempts becoming disasters. A popular one which receives plenty of hate among the car community worldwide is the Chrysler PT Cruiser. Won’t go on too much about this but just look at the damn thing! Then there’s the much lesser known Wiesmann GT MF5 which is a horrible attempt at sort-of a modern but “retro” styled sports-coupe.
Alas, you get some nice ones and you have to live with the ugly potatoes. But, I have been a fan of these revivals and continue to look forward for more of these. Afterall who wouldn’t like a dash of automotive history among their cars?
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