What car to go with your flight jackets?

[rocketeer]

As maybe the starter of this little controversy, basically saying I'm not bothered what I wear or drive I suppose I had better get it out of my system.
As I am not Stephen King(Christine) or Steven Spielberg(Duel) or even whoever wrote that awful script for The CAR, I cannot understand any piece of machinery having a so called soul or character, other than it producing such characteristics through different maintenance and lifestyle regimes. Were 10 cars or motorcycles of exactly the same make fitted with exactly the same finished parts using the same fuels etc, they should all perform exactly the same. It is when some care for their steeds and others thrash and abuse them that all the things we call soul come into play. That rusty old leaky vehicle will only get better if all those faults are fixed by man rather than sending it off to a retirement home on the Isle of Capri.
And that word 'Classic' is it really a classic if it has nothing classic to define it other than being old? Being so many years old does not really define a classic, just maybe a nice old car

 

[scottyrocks]

Uh-oh. Someone is trying to mix logic in with auto love. haha

 

[Edward]

Hi Edward. A while back I had a copy of Motor Trend from 1957, sorry I cannot remember the month but the first line in the editorial read like this ' Have you noticed that all cars these days look the same'. That may not be a word for word quote but it says just the same as your 'wind tunnel' theory. Many folks go on about these cars having character, a style of their own etc, but in actual fact we are saying what many motoring journalists were saying 60 years ago. But after all that, I kind of agree with you that the PT was pleasingly different for a modern car..

People often say these days that all cars look the same. But yes, that has almost always been so.

In any given era, cars looked the same. It's when you compare a classic/vintage/antique to today's offerings that today's cars look the same, in comparison to the older car(s), of which there are not (as) many left, magnifying their uniqueness.

To an extent, I'd agree there were always certain similarities, or commonalities of car design in any given era. From about the early 90s onwards, though, at least here in the UK, there have been precious few new models that could be identifiable by any distinctive brand quirks like an Austin Grille or whatever. There are very few cars on the UK roads these days where I could even tell you the brand without seeing the logo. Homogeneity was definitely on the rise for years, though in this last three or four I seem to see more distinctive design features returning, at least in cars aimed at city-driving, like the Fiat 500s, or the Smart range.

Red 1958 MGA. I didn't choose the car to go with my flight jacket (nylon) as I had the car before the jacket. This was the mid 60s and the car was already a classic. Wish I had kept it. Last I heard, years ago, it was in Kansas.

View attachment 155251

This is a stock image, not a picture of my car. Unfortunately, no pictures of my old MG exist. Time has taken its toll.

Lovely motors. My dad restored one of these some years ago.

 

[rocketeer]

I could easily tell a Nissan Juke by squinting with my eys shut. The absolute ugliest vehicle on the road today

 

[Edward]

I could easily tell a Nissan Juke by squinting with my eys shut. The absolute ugliest vehicle on the road today

I had to google that! Not my preferred aesthetic, but it at least has some individuality to it.

 

[beckster]

I think "Blueberry Pie" is a good candidate for "what car" check out those other jackets. I think this is early 1960's

 

[scottyrocks]

I could easily tell a Nissan Juke by squinting with my eys shut. The absolute ugliest vehicle on the road today

The Scion XB is a close second. Well, maybe not so close.

 

[GHT]

I could easily tell a Nissan Juke by squinting with my eys shut. The absolute ugliest vehicle on the road today

If you say so, but I wouldn't say that Nissan had the monopoly on the ugliest title.

 

[Big J]

@GHT, the Benz 300SL was a gorgeous car, and I photo I saw of Yul Brynner with a silver one years ago that has imprinted upon me that all Mercedes should be silver. The SLS AMG has done a good job of invoking its style. I'd love one of those.

@rocketeer, the Nissan Joke is just about the ugliest car I have ever seen. I can only imagine a group of managers sat around looking at the concept, and were too busy chocking back their own vomit to be able to say how ugly it was, and the protracted silence was mistaken for approval. Don't get me wrong, there are other ugly cars out there, but their ugliness can be put down to some design requirement; load carrying or terrain crossing capability, or just plain cost reduction, but the Nissan Joke seems to have been deliberately designed to include as many ugly features of no utility as possible. It looks like it was made from the imaginary parts bin of every design Nissan rejected. What really offends me about it here in Japan is that it's hood and body stripe option is always aligned with the passenger seat, not the drivers seat. Clearly the machine that applies this is set up for the US market, and even though Nissan is pouring money into producing its hodge-podge of bulges and curves all over the car, they can't be bothered to put the hood stripe on the drivers side in their home market. Lazy. Cheap.

 

[rocketeer]

If you say so, but I wouldn't say that Nissan had the monopoly on the ugliest title.
View attachment 155396

Yes thats an ugly bitch, I didn't think they still made them though.

@GHT, the Benz 300SL was a gorgeous car, and I photo I saw of Yul Brynner with a silver one years ago that has imprinted upon me that all Mercedes should be silver. The SLS AMG has done a good job of invoking its style. I'd love one of those.

I love 300SL's but the convertible and in cream with red leather trim rather than silver.

 

[rocketeer]

Ugliest old Yank Tank as we sometimes call them, 1961 Plymouth line up, especially the Fury(which I love by the way).
It looks vaugly like a VW Karmann ghia type 34 fed on radioactive steroids.
I don't know what would be suitable attire for the Fury though, maybe an original Godzilla suit

 

[GHT]

IMHO, the best suited car for a flight jacket is a 427 Shelby Cobra:
Other appropriate flight jacket cars include:
Corvette:

As a teenager, I remember getting a sour look just for admiring a girlfriend's brother's Corvette. It was a tad rude, or perhaps I was being too clever by half. I said: "I bet that gave you Vette dreams." Neither the girlfriend, nor her brother were amused.

Last year, my missus and I took a pleasure flight in a Dragon Rapide. Our pilot had an MGB GT the V8 version, (I think.) There's many a Lounger that's had one. The term: 'Pocket Rocket,' springs to mind.

 

[handymike]

1971 Lamborghini Miura...

 

[Big J]

@GHT, for some reason, the Corvette always stands out in my mind as THE car a 50's/60's fighter pilot 'should' drive. It's just an image thing in my mind I guess.
The V8 MG is an insane car. I'd love a convertible.

@handymike, Italian exotica! Yeah, there's a lot of good looking cars out there. I'm partial to the old Alfa Romeos and Fiat Spiders. I worry that if I drove a 70's Italian Supercar I'd feel more like Rod Stewart than Jack Swigert.
And I'd be constantly waiting for a tow truck or/and broke.
Are there any reliable classic Italian supercars? I honestly don't know.

 

[GHT]

@GHT, for some reason, the Corvette always stands out in my mind as THE car a 50's/60's fighter pilot 'should' drive. It's just an image thing in my mind I guess.
The V8 MG is an insane car. I'd love a convertible.

Let me see, you like the Corvette, the MG is insane and you would love a convertable. So how about a convertable MG with a Corvette engine? Click on the link and see a really insane MG, and how he did it.

http://www.britishv8.org/mg/daveplumley-mg-td.htm

 

[Big J]

@GHT, I even like the color

 

[scottyrocks]

This is the closest thing I've got that goes with my flight jackets.

 

[handymike]

@GHT, for some reason, the Corvette always stands out in my mind as THE car a 50's/60's fighter pilot 'should' drive. It's just an image thing in my mind I guess.
The V8 MG is an insane car. I'd love a convertible.

@handymike, Italian exotica! Yeah, there's a lot of good looking cars out there. I'm partial to the old Alfa Romeos and Fiat Spiders. I worry that if I drove a 70's Italian Supercar I'd feel more like Rod Stewart than Jack Swigert.
And I'd be constantly waiting for a tow truck or/and broke.
Are there any reliable classic Italian supercars? I honestly don't know.

@Big J The answer is simple. You need two! One for your garage, and one for the mechanic

 

[Big J]

@scortyrocks, that is a sweet Mach 1 and I'd buy one in a heartbeat! They look great with nylon flight jackets. But...everyone drives on the wrong side of the road here! It makes me crazy! I have to have a RHD car.

@handymike, maybe I can sell my kids organs to pay for it!

 

[scottyrocks]

@scortyrocks, that is a sweet Mach 1 and I'd buy one in a heartbeat! They look great with nylon flight jackets. But...everyone drives on the wrong side of the road here! It makes me crazy! I have to have a RHD car.

Thanks for the compliment! Too bad you're not closer because we are putting it up for sale.