In my recent COAL, I mentioned that our 1993 Corolla still seems like a contemporary car when I look at its design and specifications from today’s perspecctive.
A 16V DOHC transverse engine with EFI, front wheel drive with standard rack and pinion power steering, airbag (though only one), a fairly aerodynamic body style that doesn’t look that different from today’s Corolla … etc. On the other hand, the 1993 Corolla had no electronic traction or stability features, let alone ABS, no infotainment, and still came standard with rollup windows, no air conditioning, and “manual” door locks. Nevertheless, it still seems quite modern to me, 25 years later, compared to a 1968 Corolla when judged by the standards of 1993.
Or look at the recently featured Morris Minor. Over 40 years before my Corolla, it had unibody construction and rack and pinion steering. Perhaps 1948, with the Minor, and the US launch of the ‘49 Ford, which said farewell to transverse leaf springs, and the Jeepster, which heralded Jeep’s later success with lifestyle vehicles. was the start of the modern era of automobiles. Or was it 1994, when the RAV4 popularized the current architecture for crossovers, or 2011, when the last US-made rear wheel drive V8 Ford sedan, a Crown Victoria, rolled off the production line? Perhaps it was 2010, when the Nissan Leaf became the first widely available all-electric car.
What do you think … when did the automobile reach conformity with the current design norm, and what car best represents that? Hint: there is no wrong answer!
As far as aerodynamics are concerned, the Citroën CX was among the first “aero”-styled production cars since the streamlining efforts of the 1930s (i.e. Lincoln Zephyr V12). The Fox-Body Mustang wasn’t far behind. The CX was also one of the most mechanically advanced vehicles of the 1970s & 80s, combining Citroën’s self-leveling suspension, speed-adjustable power steering, & an interior not requiring a steering column stalk (all controls could be reached while keeping both hands on the steering wheel). Unfortunately, the car was so advanced that the US Government banned it from it being sold in North America, & Citroën sold no more cars in the US after that debacle. The Ford Fox-Body was equally unique in that more than 1 or 2 distinct cars shared the same platform: Fairmont/Zephyr (compact), Mustang/Capri (sports car), Thunderbird/Cougar (personal luxury car), Granada/LTD/Marquis/Continental (mid-size), & Lincoln Mark VII. Never before 1978 had there been so many different vehicles sharing the same basic platform. A notable example of this practice today is with the Focus (sedan/hatchback/wagon), Escape/Kuga (SUV), & Transit Connect (van).
The C-Max Hybrid shares the Focus platform too.
Modern design
For me it was when steering wheels went from bus like to more vertical. Back when, the ’57 Lincoln was “old”, the ’58 was “new”. It had a more contemporary driving position. Probably makes no sense, but there it is!
Lots of interesting answers reading through the all the comments. To me, there are a few era’s that could be considered cutoffs.
Late 2000’s – This is about when the whole “infotainment” thing really became mainstream, changing cars from being about transportation to more of an electronic gadget. One of the defining thing is the presence of a LCD screen on the dash. With the mandate for all cars having a backup camera now, the transformation is complete and you can’t get a new car without a LCD screen anymore.
Mid 1990’s – Mandating things like OBD-II and can-bus means draws a pretty big line between cars with standardized electronics and computer interfaces compared to the prior cars where everyone was doing their own thing. For someone who works on cars this makes a pretty big difference.
Mid 1980’s – A lot going on here – FWD becomes mainstream, fully electronically engine controls, fuel injection, as well as big styling changes such as with the Taurus. The difference between a 1985 can and a 1975 car is quite dramatic to me (much more so than a 1995 to a 1985, or even a 1975 to a 1965 car).
This is really my cutoff, as a mid-late 80’s car is still a lot like today’s cars, but an early 80’s car seems to be quite different. Of course, I am a bit biased because these were the cars we all drove in high school, and for those of us with the late 80’s cars, our cars were just like our parent’s cars (90’s vehicles) except a bit older. But those with older cars with their carburated engines, mechanical distributors, and vacuum lines running everywhere had something quite different in my eyes. Incidentally these are about the oldest non-restored daily drivers I still see on the road.
I have to skip the 1970’s. There are things going on here. The biggest change is government regulations really dictating what can be designed and built. But in terms of moderness not a lot changes.
Early 1960’s – About the oldest you can still reasonably drive in modern traffic on modern roads on the original equipment. The poor performance (by today’s standards) of things like the brakes, tires, handling at high speeds for cars before the early 60’s will make driving one in modern traffic challenging.
Late 1940’s – Cars take the basic shape that they still have today. Control layouts are standardized. The difference between pre-WWII and post-WWII designed cars is significant. This is about the earliest you can go and still feasibly drive on modern roads and in modern traffic so long as you are careful about the limitations of the vehicle. Things like brakes, tires, electrical systems etc. are easily upgradable to make the car suitable for driving in modern traffic so long as you don’t care about the car being 100% stock and original.
I re-read this post and it got me to think about the new cars of model years 1980-81 and the cars that were put on sale by 1988-89 . . . I reckon an ’81 Ford Escort seems very quaint compared to 1989 model-year FORDs.
How ’bout the differences between a 1980 Chevy Citation and 1989 Chevy Beretta? I consider Berettas a modern car, but not Citations — all 10 of them that are left on the road in 2018.
I tend to go along with the mid ’80’s line of thinking, my ’86 Jetta still seems safe to drive in modern traffic FWD, 4 wheel independent suspension, transverse engine, FI, electronic ignition, disc brakes, crumple zones, door beams, four 3 point belts, power rack&pinion, AC, 5 speed MT. Only 90 HP for around 2400 lbs, so you can drive it like you stole it, and all your doing us keeping up with traffic! And big windows with no blind spots. Want modern electronics? Bring your smart phone.
1955 marked a huge sea change in automotive history. This year brought wrap around windshields, the end of the straight 8, powerful overhead valve V-8’s, the Forward Look, ubiquitous fully automatic transmissions, two-tone paint, surging popularity of hardtops, widespread acceptance of power steering and brakes, availability of integrated A/C. All of a sudden everything else seemed 10 years older. The difference between say, a ’54 and ’55 Plymouth or Chevy is startling.
For me a modern car would need electronic engine management giving high levels of reliability in all conditions, passive and active safety (passenger safety cell, an airbag and ABS) and the high standards of fit and finish that comes with robot construction. No doubt the degree and sophistication to which these things are present has increased over time (a driver’s airbag to multiple airbags, for example) but that’s refinement.
My pick is the Lexus LS400 of 1990.
In the back of my mind, I always considered the early 70’s the sea-change because of electronic spark control, safety bumpers/dash/steering column and the like. Then maybe the advent of OBDII. But I realize that is just based on my observable lifetime and quite narrow scoped. I agree with all of the above comments, and there is so much to absorb there. As always, I learn a lot and expand my knowledge here.
+1 There’s a mountain-load of cogent analyses to read through on this thread. And its far more intelligent than my paltry contributions.
I’m in agreement with a lot of what is said already. I’d say that (roughly) late-50s cars are about as old as you would want to go for being able to drive in modern traffic at all (earlier for higher-end cars), then late-60’s or so for being able to drive in traffic in a more relaxed manner thanks to better brakes and handling generally.
Most mid 80’s cars are perfectly functional in modern traffic, but are going to need more attention or be more difficult to repair because the technology wasn’t fully mature yet.
Mid 90’s cars have that part mastered for the most part, while cars introduced in the early-mid 00’s cars are going to provide a massive leap in body strength over those.
Getting into the 2010’s you are still seeing the sort of improvements that will make a long drive less tiring, and that will improve your prospects dramatically in an emergency like stability control and brake-force distribution. More recent additions that make allowances for distracted driving are almost getting to be counter-productive in my opinion, but nobody is forcing any one to rely on them. There is a lot of potentially dangerous middle ground between ‘driver 100% responsible’ and ‘completely autonomous car’ in my opinion.
I’d summarise it by saying that I’d be advising my sister who just wants a car for transport without spending more money than necessary, to buy a car in than the 5-8 year old range. Those are going to be very close to modern safety standards in the most important areas of body strength and secondary safety, as well has having very good refinement. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the same thing applied about 12 years ago when she bought her first car.
Call me a luddite if you wish but the modern period ended when the electronics took over the automobile. Current automobiles are Casio watches with wheels.
Wow, a lot of interesting comments here, and I still feel a view hasn’t been fully voiced…
From the perspective of twenty years from now, what most resembles a electric semi-autonomous vehicle, relying on RFID built in the roadway to guide it through snow and sleet when the lidar doesn’t work, and which self-charges when it gets home? I think the Iphone is the closest, merged with the Tesla/Bolt and the samsung pad charging system…But NOTHING is modern enough…
In 1965 General Motors was the largest company in the world and provided the means to access to friends, love interests, and culture. Today Apple provides all of that in your pocket, and now they are the largest company in the world.
My grandkids are going to ask me – “you had to go to a special vendor to fill your car with flammable liquid?”. Why? What a waste of time! It can just charge at home – just like your I-phone or Galaxy note….
Say Frank excuse my lack of knowledge but what is an OBDII????