The resurgence of vintage cars is upon us. This is not to say that love and popularity were never there, but, in recent years, vintage cars have become more popular on social media. These vintage cars have been shown off as chic, and classy, and some vintage car lovers argue that their look is far better than that of recent cars. Car brands such as Ferrari, Mustang, Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen (more notoriously known for their older beetle model) are at the top of the hierarchy for popular vintage cars. This is why, when Hyundai released news about their Heritage Series (most notably the Grandeur model), at least for me, I was enamored. This car led me to wonder, what could this new series of cars mean for the future of electric cars.
The Heritage Series Grandeur is “the original 1986 model and reimagined it for the 21st century and beyond” But this is not just a matter of copy and pasting. They have reimagined the car and have essentially reintroduced it, infusing it with the new modern technology of today. Hyundai’s head of interior group of the Hyundai design center, Hak-Soo Ha, has said, “As our designers conceive the future, it’s important to look back on what we’ve created in the past and find inspiration in it.” As someone who loves electric cars but also vintage cars, I see them as sort of a barrier. I don’t recall ever feeling like there was an overlap between the two, until now. The car keeps the pixilated headlights and taillights similar to the N 74. In Hyundai’s words, the car uses a “Newtro (newness + retro) concept theme to present a completely new interior” When I first read their article “The Heritage Series Grandeur: A Modern Take on the 1986 Flagship Sedan”, I was hit with a feeling of nostalgia just by looking at the car (I say as someone who never grew up with this car), but I feel like that’s the beauty of it. The beauty of the car and its design is that it’s so detailed with its modern and retro ideas/design, that it feels like something straight out of ‘Back to the Future’. To preface that is why my interest has peaked with this car. If there’s something to know about my interests it’s that one of my biggest interests is vintage things, clothes, cars, games, etc. So when I see this car I pick apart certain details like its interior and how its choices of materials not only serve a luxurious feeling but also just help to set the environment through a design point of view. In my opinion, the idea is great, but the execution is even better; it has made its own category of a car with this fusion of aesthetics and ideas.
In my mind, this beautiful execution raised a question. Will other car brands join in? The overall consensus of this release on social media has been that this is something car fans have been waiting for so, maybe. I think a big issue now, in the electric car world, is design and the thought put into the design. A BIG example of this is the notorious Tesla Cybertruck. This car has been sort of a joke, design-wise, and has impacted my idea of Testla’s brand as a whole. But, the reason the Grandeur and N 74 are so good is because of the designs, they honor the designs without becoming something completely new. This is so important when remaking something. Think of movie remakes, the same goes for cars, if you’re going to remake something, remake it, don’t just tear it apart and make it unrecognizable and forget the roots. There has to be a balance. I hope in the future we see these big car brands hop onto this idea, from the sound of it, it would be a big hit.
