Remembering When Detroit Styling was World Class

I’ve been living in Los Angeles for 31 years. L.A. isn’t just a great big freeway – it has long been a passionate car culture bent on being seen in traffic…in style… Cruising downtown – profiling in front of store windows watching yourself go by. L.A. is an enormous ego trip if you’re driving something cool. Then – there’s the rest of the mundane masses driving nothing to be seen in.

Today, Los Angeles is a sea of uninspiring imports and domestic economy cars, which has been the trend since the 1970s. The vastness of Los Angeles calls for economical transportation, especially since the fuel shortages of the seventies. These econoboxes line the streets and driveways of the L.A. Megalopolis from North Los Angeles County to the Tijuana border.

Los Angeles has changed a lot since the post-war years. Stylish Detroit rides of steel have become mundane boilerplate boring transportation. Can’t tell one brand or model from the other. I’ve been a car enthusiast all of my life and have earned a living writing about automobiles, and how to fix and restore them. Yet, I cannot tell them apart in traffic except for their emblems and markings. Pickup trucks have become so common where I cannot tell a Chevy from a Ford from a Ram.

How pathetic is that?

Trucks used to be distinctive to each brand name. Dodge RAM trucks, especially, were standalone with an unmatched masculinity. Do you remember the 1990s when Dodge trucks underwent a massive redesign to where they resembled a Mack truck? That brute styling remained with RAM for a long time. The latest offering blends right in with every other truck out there.

With very few exceptions, automotive styling has become mundane though I am bound to get arguments on that one – especially if you just bought a new car or truck. Creature comforts have vastly improved though I wonder what happened to the driving experience – actually driving a motor vehicle and enjoying the excitement it yields. Buyers want the comforts of home during the morning commute – features that also distract and cause accidents. To protect drivers from themselves, automakers have had to dial in safety features – like automatic braking, perimeter protection alerts, steering correction, flashing brake lights, and the rest of it to prevent accidents.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

We’ve gotten so far away from the human factor of driving and vehicle personalization that the driving experience is not enjoyable anymore. What about that? Not sure automakers or society will opt for this – but what about the distinctive nature of automotive styling we could actually recognize? Styling has become so homogenized that it reminds me of NASCAR where everything has to be the same right down to the body, chassis, and powertrain. Whatever happened to competitiveness where “you run what you brung…” and may the best man win? We need that on the freeway.

Those of you who read Boomer Journey remember a different time on the American road. Some of you have opted to continue driving your classic car while others have chosen to roll with the flow.