Among the many skills my Dad had, one that most impressed kid-me was his ability to identify any car on the road. Though not as impressive as karate-chopping an apple in half or lifting me over his head with one arm, effortlessly calling out makes and models as cars passed seemed like a magic trick to me. I got hip to the car-spotting game soon enough, and calling out cars by their signature features felt something like accessing a secret car-code.
Inevitably, certain cars and specific features became favorites, and I’m sure the same goes for many of you – hence, today’s Autopian Ask. As for me, I’ve always been partial to the mouth-agape look of the Shelby Cobra, and second-gen Camaro among others, but I especially like the smiling fish-face of the Austin Healey Sprite, bugeye edition, as seen in the top graphic.
I’ve always had a big soft spot for kitsch, which is why I’m a big, unironic fan of Pontiac’s infamous screaming chicken. The cars may be hot messes, but the goofball charm of the second-gen Firebird is as irresistible as its most famous driver (no, not Joe Biden, I’m talking about The Bandit).
Now, just because I have a taste for the automotive equivalent of cotton candy does not mean I am a stranger to the more subtle and refined iconic-feature flavors such as the well-known Hofmeister kink. I like the C-pillar’s jaunty little kick-out based on its own merits, but I also appreciate it as a slightly-snobbish, gate-keepy, secret-handshake thing. “Oh, you’re a big BMW fan? What’s a Hofmeister Kink?” Not that I would ever be a gate-keepy snob, but I’m prepared should I ever encounter one of the BMW variety.
Your turn: What Are Your Favorite Iconic Styling Features? The Autopian is asking!
Top graphic image: Bring a Trailer
I’m sure it’s been mentioned before, but I really dig pop-up headlights. I pretty much never put the ones on my NA Miata down, drag coefficient be damned.
Fender-mounted mirrors like in the 240 Z are a particular soft spot for me. In general, I like the low waistline that older cars had, like the Disco II.
The little bump on the driver’s side of the DOHC (non-VTEC) equipped 1988-92 CRX (and Civic hatchback) engine hood.
It was needed for the DOHC protrusion. The designers were so ashamed of it that avoided it like the plague on most promotional materials. Most broshures were under angles where it couldn’t be seen. Photo-lighting was made to make it less visible.
The SOHC models got a flat hood concave in the middle, the VTEC got a flat hood convex in the middle, the Wagon Shuttle had its separate hood as well. The DOHC’s hood injustice never made it to the land of & Justice for All, so this injustice was left. The DOHC’s hood was a SOHC hood with a bump, and I loved it – unlike Honda’s designers.
Buick’s “Port Holes”.
And, yes, I did despise the 00s when everyone started slapping fake ones on their non-Buick cars and trucks as styling decorations.
One that really got me, was a co-worker at the time who had a jacked-up Dodge 2500 with 2 port holes affixed to each side! Yes… only TWO! (For those that don’t know, the original port holes or ““Cruiser-Line Ventiports” were 3 per side for the “Lesser” Buicks like the Special (264ci V8), and 4 per side for the higher end models like the Roadmaster and Century (322 CID V8).)
So, seeing only 2 on a massive truck with a V8 was really jarring.
If we’re not going to have amber turn signals, the sequential signals in the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar. If not truly a styling choice in the purest physical sense, but I would qualify as an aesthetic choice.
The Bug Eye Sprite is my favorite 60’s car, I love it and want one, but the prices are stupid.
Two wide ranging ones from the General; the Olds split grille and the Pontiac bird beak, the fake side strakes on Mustangs, and my all time favorite, GM steel wheels that were painted to match the bodies (with chrome inserts, dress rings, and center caps).
Two big ones for me:
My 1968 4-4-2’s quad headlights that have turn signal lights in between.
The 1966’s Chevelle’s B-pillars that sweep past the rear window (A few other GM A-bodies did this in ’66 and ’67, but IMO the Chevelle did it best. Sorry, GTO, Cutlass and Skylark).
Given a bit of time to think about it, the lack of break in Chrysler Fuselage design cars and a lot of ’90s aero-organic cars. The body flows into the roof in a single surface with no shoulder line. It’s always felt “FUUUUUTUUUUUUURE” to me, because its the design overcoming the limitations of the materials and functions. Modern cars have all sorts of curved, beveled, creased, and ruffled surfaces in order to improve aerodynamics, increase rigidity, and reduce wind noise, and to be honest it just reminds me of Korean War era corvettes (the Flower class ships, not the cars) where a beautiful underlying shape was ruined by a bunch of shit being added onto it through years of engineering dictates. Hopefully just like halfway through the Korean War we’ll see these designs scuttled.
My other favourite is the Double Bar language of the Chevrolet/GMC C/K and Silverado/Sierra. It was functional and iconic, and really set GM trucks apart from everything else. It started with the ’82 C-series Rounded-Line trucks, was refined in 1989 with the last refresh of the Suburban, was reimagined and honestly perfected in 1988 with the GMT400 series C/Ks, properly adapted to the rounded ’90s with the 1999 GMT800s, degraded with the 2001 angry eyes Silverado, almost thrown out with the 2007 GMT900s, and went for one last hurrah with the 2014 K2s. Since then it’s been completely abandoned, and the trucks look all the worse for it.
A car that is styled such that it sits nicely on its haunches. Think BMW E46 or some Range Rovers. Chevy SS is another.
Pepita seats in 911s and plaid seats in GTIs
I’m such a sucker for Pepita, it looks fantastic. Mercedes also had a lovely houndstooth available in the 190E.
I’m not usually a fan of anything fake, but I’m a sucker for anything with vinyl “wood” paneling.
I liked the headlights and tail lights on my 89 Civic SI. The amber turn signals wrapped around the corners of the car so there was no ambiguity as to what was happening.
A well-styled Heckblende.