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30/12/2025 9:14 am
Oh man Geoff, did you ever nail it better than myself or anyone could have tried to explain it. Your photo of the modern day SUV'S says it all.
You've seen one, you've seen them all.
I rest my case on the beauty of those great old Station Wagons. THANKS!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/506373551851194493/
If these where all painted white, they would all pretty much look the same.
John Bono
North Jersey
30/12/2025 9:22 am
And why not the '70s and '80s too?And why not the '60s? All the GM muscle cars for the most part look the same as most are built on the same platform. Same goes for Ford and Chrysler too.
John Bono
North Jersey
Topic starter
30/12/2025 11:20 am
Of course your point is made about 1950's cars looking alike, as in your GM example of their '58's, but what was different in those years is that each car company had their specific styling and variations of their cars...BUT, none of the cars from the Big Three (and the independents too, for that matter) looked the same as do all of the couple of dozen SUV's of modern day as shown in Geoff's example. Today, literally as I said, "You see one SUV, you've seen them all". It's nearly impossible to tell one from the other unless you find some small insignia or badge on it. Where as those '58 grills you shared shots of, each one is different, and it's the same for the rest of car too.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
30/12/2025 11:48 am
"Whereas those '58 grills you shared shots of each one is different, and it's the same for the rest of car too."
I understand your point, of course - again, I love the 1950's!
But what YOU said about the GM-58's, is something that can be said of today's SUVs. There are no SUVs that share the same grill, "each one is different, and it's the same for the rest of the car too."
From the 1920's - 2000's, vehicles shared the same basic shapes. It was really only the brightwork and/or tu-tone paint schemes that differentiated many from a distance. Yes, of course, there were some wacko design themes - as there are today - but by & large "basic shapes" were commonplace.
Look at vintage stock car racing from the late 1940's - the 1980's. There might be 16 different MAKES on the track but strip away the colorful paint & decals and you'd be left with "basic shapes."
What's REALLY changed is consumer tastes.
How many white, black, silver, or gray cars do you own? How many have all black interiors? For two decades, no one seem to care about color, trim, individuality. Only in the last few years has "variety" become popular again.
30/12/2025 1:18 pm
@georgeschire I must say that I certainly don't see that the wagons (or any other body style) from the 50s and 60s looked pretty much the same. The Big Three may have used common platforms for their cars of course but I personally never found their styling to be generic or similar looking. This difference was what excited me most when each of the new cars were introduced each September.
Topic starter
30/12/2025 4:15 pm
@georgeschire I must say that I certainly don't see that the wagons (or any other body style) from the 50s and 60s looked pretty much the same. The Big Three may have used common platforms for their cars of course but I personally never found their styling to be generic or similar looking. This difference was what excited me most when each of the new cars were introduced each September.
Guess you and I are a minority, as we see cars of the 40's through the 70's being very different most years from the previous. For the last two decades, every SUV (and passenger cars too) are all but impossible to tell one from the other. But alas, to each their own opinion.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
Christopher Moroni reacted
30/12/2025 5:59 pm
@georgeschire I think that the various SUV marques are somewhat distinctive enough to be recognized (although with some I admit to having to see the grille or tailgate badge for help), it's more that they don't really grab my interest like the brands of post war through mid-70s cars did. I just don't really get excited about many of them so they don't imprint on my car freak brain like the old ones did.
30/12/2025 8:42 pm
@100ford2003 All minor, she pulled into the garage crooked and tried to back out straight, right rear quarter ouch.
31/12/2025 12:56 am
@brush .
That '72 Plymouth design, IMO, beats all GM and Ford designs. That is ONE beautiful wagon. Did it have a two or three way tailgate like some of the Fords had ?
Steve
John Kuvakas and Christopher Moroni reacted
31/12/2025 8:31 am
Here's my wife's Buick Envista, a compact SUV with a unique style that stands out among the generic, more boxy-looking ones:
Barry Levittan
Long Island, NY
31/12/2025 8:53 am
31/12/2025 9:26 am
31/12/2025 10:40 am
@100ford2003 Two way gate. 9 passenger. Looked nice, I don't care for the phony wood though, road great.
31/12/2025 11:31 am
In my opinion station wagons were the early minivans not SUV's.
Topic starter
31/12/2025 2:14 pm
In my opinion station wagons were the early minivans not SUV's.
I'll respectfully disagree. A mini-van is bigger that most SUV's, so the Station Wagons were (IMO) the first versions of the modern day SUV.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
Christopher Moroni reacted