Friday Fun Thread: Retro Wish List

After last week's list of Top Ten best American Retro cars, commenter Rick in NY had a simply brilliant idea:

Maybe you can do a list of old cars that should be brought back, and ones that definitely should not...

Well, the list of cars that should not be brought back is long and distinguished - hell, 90% or greater of the cars from the 1980s and 1990s should be left on the junk pile of history. So this week's Top Ten list will contain the top ten American vehicles we wish they'd bring back as retro cars.

1. 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. You'll notice that the '57 Chevy makes the top of many of my lists. That's for a good reason. The real danger of remaking the '57 is that Chevy, being a part of Government Motors, would screw it up six ways to Sunday (automatic transmission, V6, etc.)

2. Ford Model A. Especially if they put a really souped up Lincoln motor in it. Give it a high-output V6 or rumbly V8, market it like the Chevy HHR, and watch the sales of the other guy's retro-crossovers plummet.

3. Dodge Lil Red Express Truck. There's not a lot they'd have to do to bring this one to market except design the first stepside body for the Ram since the 1970s. Put in the 390+ HP Hemi, wood accents, and double stack exhaust in the bed and it's done.

4. Chevy Nomad. This one's a little trickier, because I'd like to see it based on the Dodge Magnum rather than anything offered by GM. Imagine a Magnum with two doors (off the Challenger, perhaps) and trim B & C pillars. Man, that's a sexy grocery-getter...

5. Studebaker Golden Hawk. Why? Because it's different. Because it's not the run-of-the-mill car from the 1950s or 60s. It's not a Bel Air, or a Fairlane, or even a 300. Put out one of these babies with modern accoutrements and the "What was THAT?" factor would be through the roof...

6. Willy's Jeepster. With the new four door Wrangler body, it seems like it would be pretty easy to recreate the Jeepster with a contemporary feel to it. It absolutely must have the spare tire on the back, too, otherwise it doesn't count.

7. Ford Torino GT. No, not the Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino, but the late 1960s/early 1970s Torino GT, particularly the Cobra edition. Since the Mustang and the Thunderbird have already received their retro-stylings, the Torino would be a worthy project for the puddinheads at Ford to try next...

8. Plymouth Business Coupe. Once again, I'll admit to a personal bias on this one - my grandfather had, up until the 1980s, a 1936 "Plymouth Brothers" Business Coupe that was sitting in a barn on the property. I can't begin to count the hours I spent behind the wheel of that car, driving across the country, if only in my mind...

9. Nash Metropolitan. Because, really, if we're going to have to deal with tiny little cars again, they can at least be cool-looking tiny little cars. Besides, I'd like to drive Mr. Incredible's car... Plus it would be interesting to see how they'd shoehorn a backseat into it...

10. El Camino. Man, I'll bet if you brought back the 1970s El Camino with modern updates it'd sell like crazy. Give it a hotrod V8, a hard tonneau cover, and a Borg-Warner six-speed, and MAN... And yes, I'm aware that there's rumors of a Pontiac version being bandied about...

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So there's my Top Ten List of cars I'd like to see brought back in modern form. Any one of these retro-builds would make a fine addition to any car maker's "boutique" line IMHO.

What cars would you like to see brought back with updated touches?

That is all.