Designers definitely miss the good old days, when a gallon of gasoline cost less than a liter of mineral water, when eating an apple while driving wasn't illegal, and when people used to speak to each other more than they type on keyboards. And since they cannot do anything about gas prices, regulations, or the technology invasion, they are now engaged in bringing back some of the former joys of living, re-launching some of the icons of the 20th century. Today's stylish clothes and accessories are largely inspired from the 70's and the 80's, while many music hits, TV series and movies blockbusters are re-makes from the same era. Even toasters have a retro look nowadays. Cars are no exception in this crazy 'neo-retro' fashion, and it was Volkswagen that took the first step, introducing ten years ago a contemporary re-interpretation of its legendary Beetle: The New Beetle. The resuscitation gave the Beetle a new skin, a new heart and a new target market, but amazingly, it kept its authentic spirit. And it was a huge success. With such a cute smiling face, rounded hips, and its flower holder on the dashboard, it looked like a funky teen's toy, and it was a very good car indeed. In the late 90's it was the only car that was fun, cool and affordable at $15,000-$22,000. This success gave other carmakers the necessary courage to do the same, and the market was far from being saturated - quite the contrary, people wanted more and more. And BMW did not disappoint them at all with the revival of the Mini. The German group had bought the British car manufacturer Rover a few years before and wanted to get rid of its complications and unpredictability, so they sold it to Ford. But they kept the Mini brand. And, Lord knows, it was a wise decision. The New Mini is a star, just like the mythic car from which it inherited the name. BMW gave the mission of re-styling it to a man who lived in a world of Minis, Frank Stephenson, whose father used to manage a Rover showroom in Casablanca. He confessed that drawing the successor of one of the most iconic cars in automotive history was far harder than designing a V16-engine-powered Ferrari. Nevertheless, he met the challenge, as witnessed by the more than one million units sold since July 2001. I cannot remember any negative reaction to its look. Everyone loved it; guys, girls, old people and youngsters, even people who worship the original Mini (like me) cannot resist its aura. Even Americans, who are known for preferring big 4x4s, began to adopt the small trendy city runabout. It invaded the streets of California, Florida and New York. It became the must-have trendy cool accessory; Madonna bought one, Sting too. Now every single carmaker is digging into its history to find any model that was special, trying to re-launch it and have its goldmine just like BMW and its baby Mini. Fiat is spending millions and millions of dollars to promote its new 5OO (designed by the same man who gave birth to the new Mini); the new Mustang is one of the very few profitable models Ford sells today; the Toyota FJ-Cruiser is a huge success; and the whole world is waiting impatiently for the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro and the Mercedes SLC (a remake of the mythic SL300 Gullwings). At this point in the article, to be completely honest, I have to highlight something very important: None of these remakes is actually a real remake. The original Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche on the order of Adolf Hitler to be the Volks Wagen - the "people's car . It was rudimentary, and cost less than one average yearly income, a car any average German family could afford, whereas the New Beetle is fashionable, cool and overpriced. The old Mini was famous for being the smallest on the outside and the most spacious in the inside, and again, any average guy with an average salary could afford to buy one. The New Mini, however, is an expensive car for what it really is. It's considered cool, luxurious and compact, and you will find in it all the luxury you find in any other BMW. It's the same for the new Fiat 500, while the new FJ-Cruiser is more a city car than the redoubtable off-roader its ancestor used to be, etc. In conclusion, they all inherited the names and some of the looks, but they all gained weight, and dimensions, trying to become cool and trendy and to target new publics who can afford the exclusive price, but none of them is serving its ancestor's mission.
