Sure, innovations in the automotive industry have largely improved our driving experience, but we’ve never moved past these forgotten car trends.
If you think modern cars are boring, you are not alone. The always colorful Reddit community is happy to share, in no uncertain terms, that today’s automotive offerings stink. A common complaint centers around safety innovations removing the „feel“ of a car. Then there is the crossover, a vehicle type that anyone can see has inundated American roadways. These vehicles often share a remarkably similar profile that can increase the sense of boringness.
A sentiment that is further amplified by the simultaneous decrease of once-familiar automotive segments like the sedan, station wagon, convertible, and sports car that offered design variety. Ramming the blandness of this vehicular homogeneity home is that 80% of all cars sold in the Americas come finished in some version of black, gray, silver, or white paint. That’s a lot of boring cars on the road, which is a problem perhaps no one outside the enthusiast community is asking to be fixed.
But for those who prize cars with personality, vehicles with verve, and just the general excitement of a cool car, there is a solution. Well, many solutions. Specifically, five old-school automotive trends that could reverse this movement toward sameness. Trends that thumb their nose at dull paint jobs, disconnected driving experiences, and a lack of variety. These old-school car vibes could be the antidote to our modern problem of an uninspired automotive industry.Patterned cloth seats
Heck, forget the patterns, how about just plain old cloth seats? Not the cheap mouse fur fabric found in the likes of a stripped-out F-150, but the textured finesse of a fine Tartan. In fairness, the cloth seat is not entirely extinct. Volkswagen keeps the flame burning for mass-produced cars that offer excellent seat style with the GTI’s Clark plaid. Volvo is another fan of this approach, as evidenced by the Tailored Wool option on its XC90 SUV.
But outside that, you’re getting into high-dollar rarities like the Porsche 911 Sport Classic and its Pepita look. The far more common approach to modern car interiors is real leather or a synthetic version, usually ending in „Tex“. Subaru has StarTex, Kia has SynTex, and Mercedes has MB-Tex. Not only are we leaning back into the slippery slope of sameness, these materials can be hard and frigid in the winter or blazing hot in the summer. The obvious solution is old-school patterned cloth seats.
Porsche once offered a wacky Pasha pattern on its 928. Recaro was renowned for zany seats like those in the Mk3 VW GTI or the classic single-stripe units found in so many of Alpina’s BMW beauties. The Recaro Tomcat, with a sharp yellow and black pattern, embroidered branding, and manually inflatable lumbar support bladders, was in a whole different league.
