27th Oct 2012, 14:30
If you were to actually get into a big Ford or Chevy sedan from the mid 70s (not to even mention a Cadillac or Lincoln) and then directly compare to a 1980s K-Car, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. A 1976 Caprice was 79.5 inches wide, and a 1981 Dodge Aries was 68.6 inches wide. Unless the doors on that Dodge were paper thin, which would not be very safe, you are going to have significantly less shoulder and hip room.
31st Oct 2012, 20:07
I think it's to deceive people into thinking they're still getting their money's worth when they pay up the wazoo for their new cars, when in reality they're being ripped off. The quality of the exterior and interior materials in cars has fallen steadily since the early-1980s in almost all cars (foreign and domestic). The only cars that still remain true to their origins are Bentley and Rolls-Royce, and they sell for at least $250,000, way beyond any of our price ranges. Back in the day, a fully loaded Cadillac or Lincoln was quite affordable by median wage standards, and they were well built, stylish, and reliable luxury cars on par with any Rolls of the same year. By God, how the standard of living has fallen over the decades.
27th Oct 2012, 09:05
I completely agree with you, some of the older, smaller, downsized Cadillac's of the late 70's had the same amount of interior space, if not more than the earlier bigger Cadillac's that preceded them. But even then, those downsized Cads are still huge compared to the modern car of today.
Sure, the modern egg shaped mid sized cars have alright interior dimensions, but look how huge the overhang is, and how there is hardly a hood and a trunk that sticks out like the old cars used to have. The rinky dink wheelbases don't help the design or ride quality either.
Back then, it was both about making a statement, being stylish, and providing loads of space and comfort for people to ride in. Engineers didn't have the struggles like they do now with tinier interior dimensions to work around, because they are trying so hard to squeeze every last inch of "car" they possibly can out of something so small, thus the styling is sacrificed for increased amounts of space, such as headroom, which is very generous even in the smallest of smallest of cars these days. This has been going on since the 90's, but it's gotten a lot worse in recent years, with more and more economy cars like the Nissan Versa and Sentra flooding the market. They look absolutely atrocious; it's comical really.
Mid size cars suffer from this reality as well. New cars are now sold and advertised based on 2 main things. #1. MPG's - who has the best numbers.... #2. Who has the most features and power. That's pretty much it. Car manufacturers know that their styling sucks, and they aren't as good looking as the classics of the past, when every ad on TV or in the mags, always emphasised heavily the car's styling, power, space and creature comfort; it was almost like a calling for you to dream and desire the car that you saw in the ad. This is not done anymore, if you ever notice while watching a car commercial on TV. We don't lust over the majority of the plastic cars made in the 21st century, like people did in the 50's and 60's. This is why classics rule, and will always dominate in the styling department for many years to come. Long live our big boats and Yank Tanks Baby!!