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
Fuchs wheels and round taillights, especially in the Nissan Skyline style.
Of course, we can’t forget pop-up headlights…
I still love the back end of C4 Corvettes for that reason.
Halibrand kidney bean wheels
a fender line that peaks above the front wheel and arcs down towards the rear wheel, then kicks up to clear the rear wheel (see first generation Camaro, Ferrari 250 GT SWB, and the RAI Scarab for some of my favorite examples)
The cove around the headlights of the MGB/Renault Floride/Datsun roadster
those separate headlights of the 1961 Imperial (do you have to sclera snow from behind them?)
the round Ford Cortina taillights
Swindler II’s color
In the 70s and 80s, Mercedes Benzes always had corrugated taillight lenses—the shape supposedly had some kind of self-cleaning function. I still think they should bring that back.
The hood-mounted tachs that you’d see on some muscle cars in the 60s. Pointless but cool.
Benz still had that into the 99s
Not self cleaning so much as defensive against mud. It would take a massive amount of mud to cover both the inside and the outside of the ribs. A minor splash would likely cover the protruding bits and leave the innie bits visible.
That second one. Yes. I bought my Slate Blue 2012 Infiniti G37X in July 2023, and I bought it because it fulfilled my three requirements for my next vehicle:
1. No trucks, no SUVs, no CUVs, no “crossovers” – I want a car. A damn CAR. We did not set out to be an Infiniti family, but my wife already drove a 2008 QX56, purchased for the necessity of towing our camper and hauling around the dogs, so there’s already all the truck my house needs in my driveway.
2. Must have a minimum of four doors and comfortable seating for a minimum of four adults.
3. Must be a damn COLOR. No white, no black, no pale gold/champagne, absolutely NOT ANY of the fifty shades of gray cars come in these days. Must be in the same range of the color wheel as any of the rest of the eight colors in a basic Crayola box.
It took me nearly a year to find the car I own now, that met these three requirements. I suppose the fact that they don’t sound to me like too much to ask just tells you what an old fart I am. Remember when cars came in colors? Pepperidge Farm and I remember.
Also, I did list one want, not need in my requirements: hauling ass would be nice. As soon as I got behind the wheel and saw those sexy front fender flares, I realized that I had somehow forgotten that the G37 sedan is simply a 370Z/G37 coupe with two extra doors and a trunk. I was in love by the time I had driven about six blocks.
“Pepperidge Farm and I remember.”
Nice. [Nostalgia reference]^2.
2 ear wire wheel knock offs
wing windows
wheels with trim rings
round stacked headlights
I want to see black steelies with dog dish hubcaps and trim rings make a comeback.
Fenders! Not the tacked-on flares, those that are an integral part of overall design yet stands out from the body. They were common on cars a century ago (pontoon fenders, etc) but in recent decades they’ve been used either as nostalgia cues (New Beetle, PT Cruiser, etc) or hint at a different class of vehicles (Mid-1990s Dodge Ram pickup.)
It’s rare to see a design that gives us a modern take that stands on its own, which is why it was one of my favorite styling details on my Mazda RX-8. It’s subtle enough that it doesn’t really jump out in pictures, but walk around one paying attention to its curves and you’ll see its front fenders define the face of the car.
Round headlights always are fun.
I’ve always wanted a Bugeye Sprite, since I was a teenager reading Car & Driver, Road & Track, etc. Sat in one a couple of years ago, and I fit, so it’s definitely on the short list of “If I Ever Get the Chance” cars.
I’m biased, but I love the front end designs of the late 90s Toyota T100, Landcruiser, etc. Nice clean lines, utilitarian, but still friendly and not needlessly aggressive.
a green paint job ( or purple ) ( or yellow )
an entirely green interior ( or purple ) ( or yellow )
Safety yellow ftw.
Whitewalls
Wing windows. Specifically, ones that swing past 90 degrees, aka poor man’s A/C.
Your choices are definitely up there for me.
The Miata smile is a favorite of mine
The two tone paint on GM square bodies is a big one
Shaker hood scoops on any muscle car
Hidden headlights behind fake grill panels on 60’s and 70’s cars
The shark nose on the original 6 series, hell the whole original 6 is just classic.
Top snorkel air intake on the McLaren F1
And for a modern one, the large twin oval exhausts on Audi RS models. When everybody else does quad exhausts for high performance, it’s cool to have somebody be different.
I was behind a toyota xse with quad exhausts earlier. I gather that’s a Boy Racer mod but still. Fucking why.
One pipe per cylinder?
Nope, Quad exhausts are standard on V6 XSE Camrys. I agree it’s kinda ridiculous. There’s a guy in my neighborhood with a straight piped 2021 Camry LE, it’s so absurd that it ends up entertaining.
And when they get a few miles on them, the deposits thereon show that only one exhaust outlet on each side is in actual use. They pull the same BS with a dual outlet on single-sided exhaust system.
Two tone, paint, absolutely.
A three- spoke sports car steering wheel with cutouts and only a horn button.
Round headlights.
A hatchback.
A convertible top.
A normal rear-view mirror (no electronic auto-dimming).
Reclining front seats.
Proper sidewalls.
Five or six-spoke silver aluminum wheels.
Manual transmission.
Real fenders – what happened to them?
Manual handbrake with a cable.
Presets on the car radio.
Manual window crank levers.
Chrome front grille, real front and rear bumpers.
The Japanese have a name for when something has a face specifically happy face I think. I’ve always thought that was nice. Most people do. Like your frog eye sprite or Miatas. Rivian has adopted that and so many kei cars do it. I think little cars generally make people happy to see them. You might not fit in it but it’s fun to see the little cars doing their thing. Rounded car like the 60s Saabs and Volvos are also kind of fun to see.
“I think little cars generally make people happy to see them.”
Who wouldn’t be happy to see a car not designed to intimidate or kill them?
Quad-round headlights, especially on squared-off cars
Box or Sebring-style fender flares (integrated, not added on)
Kamm tails
Factory stripe packages
Pretty much all ’70s European alloy wheels
The grille shape on the Mk1 Ford Escort
The roof line of the MGB GT
Any car that looks better when you remove the bumpers
Rearview mirrors on the fenders.
Tach on the hood.
Integrated fog lights
Pop-up headlights
80’s wedgemobiles
Classic VW bus paint scheme with white on top coming down to a V along the front.
80’s trucks with roll bars and KC Daylighter’s
Oh, that last one. Give me a short bed square body GMC or Chevy stepside from the late 70s or early 80s, with the two-tone paint treatment, and all the pretend off-road toys bolted to it.
Basically, give me either Rocky’s truck from “The Rockford Files”: https://jimsuva.typepad.com/.a/6a0133f3b4d1c3970b0147e17d3157970b-pi
…or Jon’s truck from “CHiPs.”
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=1133503&stc=1&d=1373945883
For me the first picture nails it. Back in the day, I had a Bugeye Sprite and i am sure that my fondness for their looks came from my enjoyment of that car. I also liked the Daimler SP250. Bulging headlights can be. beautiful.
Its gotta be the Gandini Arch.
Truthfully I care very little for styling. I’ll take function over form 99.99% of the time.
Username checks out.
Honestly my Username is mostly ironic nowadays. It was my dream car as a kid, I made the username when I was a kid, stuck with the same username for the most part since, even after I got to drive an LM002 a decent amount and realized it was the biggest POS I’ve ever driven, and you couldn’t pay me enough to drive one again. I’m currently a big fan of small cars, BEVs, etc.
Never meet your heroes!
Yup.
Better yet don’t heroize people and or things. You can like all the ingredients that go into a sandwich, and people will still find a way to make it taste awful.
FWIW I liked the LM002 too. As well as the VW Thing, which was, in some ways the same idea? Folded steel boxes that look like they mean rugged business. Maybe the Foghorn Leghorn and the Tweety Bird versions of the same idea.
I mean the LM002 is closer to a Trophy Truck than the Thing, at least as far as the production vehicle is concerned.
Chromoly tube frame, fiberglass panels, fat tires, 4WD, etc.
IMHO the VW Thing is Leagues better than the LM002
Dagmars! A pair of Very Large Dagmars!
Quad headlights where the top of the headlight is hidden a bit by the bodywork. Think Alfa Montreal, Lamborghini Jarama, even both generations of the Isuzu Impulse. As far as kinks go, it’s a pretty specific one.
For me, it’s:
-smooth/round headlight shapes with aerodynamic covers.
Examples: Ferrari 250GTO, Jaguar D-Type, Ford P68, Triumph Spitfire ADU1B
-long aero tails
Examples: Panhard CD Peugeot 66C, McClaren Speedtail
-kammbacks
Examples: Ferrari 250GTO Breadvan, Smart Roadster-Coupe, Saab Sonnet
-non-obtrusive mechanical door handles
Example: Ford Probe GT
-rear wheel skirts
Example: GM EV1, 1st gen Honda Insight, Citroen SM
-round tail lights
Examples: Corvette C3-C6, Lotus Elise
-flying buttresses
Example: Ford GT
-grille-less design
Examples: Tesla Model 3, Porsche 356
-aero wheels
Examples: Citroen BX, Saab EV-1
If the next-gen Miata took note, I’d be first in line to buy.
I love the whole look of the Jag e-type, curves of the Shelby cobra, and the 7 slot jeep grill on a body that still looks enough like it has not changed much in 80 years.
The strakes on the Testarossa, although I have to point out that they were on the Mondial first (and lived on in the 348). Now that you mention it, I love the NACA ducts on the BBs et al.
Okay, anything on the side of a Ferrari that isn’t an open body-colored hole.
Round headlights! I have it on 5 of my 6 cars.