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To be honest, I didn't take the time to read all the posts in this thread, but I do have something to say.
I believe that Detroit automakers built some of their most aerodynamic cars in the mid 90's. Take for example with Ford, they came up with the Probe, the 96 "jellybean" Taurus, and the mid-90's Thunderbird. Dodge introduced the Intrepid and the Caravan got a huge makeover. GM brought us a streamlined Sunfire and Firebird. Not to mention the muscle cars that were toned down and became much more aerodynamic, most noticeably the Mustang, as well as a nice change in the Corvette.
The problem lies in the new millenium. Everything is either becoming ridiculously different in an effort to invent a "new" style or trying to look too much like a Rolls Royce (see Chrysler Imperial concept). You can easily walk into the Auto Show, whether it be Detroit or LA and spot all the concepts that are so ridiculous that you almost ask yourself why the companies are spending all this money trying to imagine what the cars of the 2030's will look like when they obviously need to focus on the here and now, designing attractive, aerodynamic, fuel efficient cars.
Another issue is that "retro-chic" is becoming more and more popular in the US. The problem with the automakers is that they are focusing on the muscle cars of the 70's which were designed to look cool and accomodate a huge engine. They would be in a much better position if they would spend time trying to recreate a modern version of those little 70's hatchbacks that could squeeze 40 miles out of a gallon of gas without trying.
They are too afraid to take the risk and plunge into the timeframe of some of their worst decisions of the past profit-wise and bring back some of their best decisions design-wise. If you pay close enough attention you can spy retro hints in the design of modern cars but they are from the late 80's and early 90's. Right inbetween their most fuel efficient times and thee most aerodynamic times. The most obvious example is the new Caravan which brought back the boxyness of the original model with it's full frontal grille and simple rectangle taillights. Even the body lines hint at the wood paneling that came on some of them.
Wow, I typed a lot... I wish I was this motivated when it came to term papers.
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