QOTD: Are You Feeling Retro Fatigue?

by Tim Healey

Published: October 8th, 2024

Automakers love to appeal to our nostalgia. Sometimes this is done via a paint color, or trim graphics, or an Easter egg. Sometimes an entire vehicle is designed to look "retro."

Personally, I've had mixed feelings about this -- sometimes these design choices work, sometimes it feels like a cynical marketing ploy.

Today's news about Ford releasing a new retro graphics package for the Bronco, and the response of some of you in the comments, has me wondering about your tolerance for retro design.

Personally, I don't mind it unless it's clearly a cynical cash grab. But some of you seem tired of it. On the other hand, I bet some of you can't get enough.

So, I want to hear from you.

Sound off below.

[Image: Ford]

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#Ford #QOTD #QuestionOfTheDay #Retro #RetroDesign

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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Comments

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3 of 7 comments

Jeff 26 minutes ago
Don't mind retro as long as they don't bring back leisure suits, unbuttoned shirts exposing hairy chests with gold chains, men's platform shoes, wide lapels, wide ties, big shirt collars, mood rings, shag carpet, disco, and appliances in burnt orange, harvest gold, and avocado green. Those items I never want to see again. I wouldn't mind more analog gauges and knobs and buttons. Add more cars and less suvs.

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Oberkanone 21 minutes ago
Retro is great when done right. Love it. If only 06 GTO would have looked like a 69 I'd own one. 2002 Thunderbird. Hate it. New Beetle I dislike. Current Bronco is fantastic. Challenger is very good.

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- Jeff 4 minutes ago
  Most retro vehicles lose popularity after a few years. I doubt I will ever get a retro vehicle I am more into vehicles with more utility.
  
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Recent Comments

Jeff Heard about this on You Tube. Not a fan of Stellantis but then there are those here who like them which is their prerogative.
Oberkanone Retro is great when done right. Love it. If only 06 GTO would have looked like a 69 I'd own one. 2002 Thunderbird. Hate it. New Beetle I dislike. Current Bronco is fantastic. Challenger is very good.
Jeff Don't mind retro as long as they don't bring back leisure suits, unbuttoned shirts exposing hairy chests with gold chains, men's platform shoes, wide lapels, wide ties, big shirt collars, mood rings, shag carpet, disco, and appliances in burnt orange, harvest gold, and avocado green. Those items I never want to see again. I wouldn't mind more analog gauges and knobs and buttons. Add more cars and less suvs.
Mic I have a '23 Limited Forester and I've learned that driving a CVT is different from an automatic slush box. I have no problems passing anyone on the highway as long as I gradually put the pedal to the metal over the course of about a second. I think it takes the computer a second to adjust the pulley ratios or something. If you just stomp on it I think it gets confused for more than a second lol. So, once you get the hang of it, it really doesn't lack torque at all. Look at CRs 45-65 acceleration times (which is a better metric than 0-60 times) and the Forester is quicker than a lot of other compact SUVs.
Jetcal Hmmm, a choice between a VW or syphilis?