Remember When Supercars Didn't Have Stripes?

[LT7A]

Right off the bat, I'll say this is a nonsense topic to me. I'm not an aficionado of supercars but have no judgement for someone who is. Some of them have amazing performance and some of them are beautifully styled. I just don't have much interest in something that I could never afford and wouldn't buy if I could. But I was in "that" part of town for a meeting and saw a McLaren and a Ferrari, both with stripes all over and I laughed both times. The need to be noticed is so extreme. Driving a supercar with its outlandish styling isn't enough. "Just letting you know I would have noticed your car without the stripes". I'm an automotive enthusiast which means that I can find reason to pay attention to almost any segment of the market at some level. But as time goes by I have less and less interest in these cars. I see a widening gap between people who own specialty vehicles of any type because they enjoy them, and people who buy them to draw attention to themselves. I'm all for tasteful enhancement of any automobile, including stripes. If it wasn't for the stripes back in the 60s and 70s, how would people know you weren't driving your father's Oldsmobile, haha. But stripes all over a supercar? The McLaren is a legitimate super high performance automobile. But do the panels around the exhaust pipes really need an orange stripe? Nevermind the rear spoiler/wing that looks like you left your trunk open. I feel lucky to be happy driving a pickup truck.

[Keith Seymore]

At first I thought you meant this:

Unrestored 70 Chevelle SS LS6

[Keith Seymore]

-but - If you are thinking of something like this, well - I see stripes on there.

K

[special-K]

Yep, I remember. And although I like all the GM muscle cars, my main interest is in '67-back. I could condense that down to 61-65. I've also always been big on sleepers. When did stripes begin, on Camaros and Firebirds in '67? I'm focused on GM here.

The "racing stripe" has been a Euro styling theme based on track vehicles since the '50s or earlier. I like a clean body with no distractions just I like blackwall tires. Racing stripes are body equivalent to white letter tires. A supercar with no stripes is a playboy gal-getter. One with racing stripes says ready to rip

[Boog]

And how many times have guys applied stripes to their plain jane car and it made him feel like he's in a real race car? Yeah, you all remember the guy who put stripes on his mom's 4 door maverick with a 6 cylinder, right?

[Stocker]

Stripes -- or a single stripe -- down the hood in front of the driver, made sense on a race car, by helping the driver instantly recognize which direction the car was going. Now they seem to be mostly a popular styling statement -- some tasteful, some overdone. As Keith points out, some cars wouldn't look right without stripes.

[LT7A]

Thanks for playin, but y'all have missed the point, haha. I'm guessing you guys don't see these cars, or see them in the media. I'll find a couple of pictures. For the record, I'm not talking about historical cars, race cars, road cars patterned after race cars, or muscle cars (which I cited as good) which covers all of the pictures posted so far (all of which look good and are tasteful and/or appropriate, IMO). I must not be as clear of a writer as I think I am, haha, or maybe the post was just too long. My post was about SUPERCARS. Or in the case of the McLaren, probably actually a hypercar. But to follow what I'm talking about, you would need to have some familiarity with modern-day supercars, like Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and the like. So maybe I'm completely missing my audience here, haha. The title of the thread was not Stripes Are Bad.

[LT7A]

Here's a mild version. Compared to what I saw, this would be tasteful. The point being, if you drive this car, do you really need orange stripes on it?

[LT7A]

Or maybe it works better the other way. So this is your car. Can you imagine thinking, "hmm, you know, I really need something to set this car off from all of the others... Let's see... Stripes! Stripes would do it." Haha.

That's what I saw yesterday. One of these, that somebody put stripes on. Only taking away from what was already there.

[special-K]

I always figured either people went the wrong way with my thread because I wasn't clear or an awful lot of people have poor comprehension skills. I can't speak for the others, but that would be me. You say Supercar and I think muscle car. Let me start again now that I'm on track.

Hey, what's the matter with y'all? Got poor comprehension skills?

I guess the term supercar wasn't even used in the days of classics. They were all just sports cars. I don't think of racing stripes fitting in on these modern supercars. I've never seen that. I don't really see supercars anywhere, though. So you are talking more of accent stripes or just accent paint. Those cars are so about the money they cost I figure it's added opulence. They are also all about the design studio, so...........

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by special-K

I always figured either people went the wrong way with my thread because I wasn't clear or an awful lot of people have poor comprehension skills. I can't speak for the others, but that would be me. You say Supercar and I think muscle car. Let me start again now that I'm on track.

Hey, what's the matter with y'all? Got poor comprehension skills?

I guess the term supercar wasn't even used in the days of classics. They were all just sports cars. I don't think of racing stripes fitting in on these modern supercars. I've never seen that. I don't really see supercars anywhere, though. So you are talking more of accent stripes or just accent paint. Those cars are so about the money they cost I figure it's added opulence. They are also all about the design studio, so...........

Yep, now you're with me. These cars are not common here, but you do see them on occasion. The styling is already over the top, and then add stripes? Haha.

You mentioned the design studio, and if you look at how the light hits those cars, I bet the designers hate seeing them all striped up. Occasionally they are dressed out in Formula 1 livery and I suppose that serves a purpose. But still literally blurs the lines on a very striking car.

[lousyflyer]

I remember when guitars didn't have stripes. Then this happened.

[dieseldawg142]

i remember back in the day people did call musclecars supercars, no one had heard of or coined the term musclecar yet...

[truckster]

Originally Posted by dieseldawg142

i remember back in the day people did call musclecars supercars, no one had heard of or coined the term musclecar yet...

You must be even older than me. I was messing around with muscle cars in the mid 70s.

[dieseldawg142]

Originally Posted by truckster

You must be even older than me. I was messing around with muscle cars in the mid 70s.

a wise man never reveals his age...

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by LT7A

Here's a mild version. Compared to what I saw, this would be tasteful. The point being, if you drive this car, do you really need orange stripes on it?

Oh ya I do!

[lousyflyer]

I was dining at the Bar in an Applebees restaurant and this guy drives up in a brand new Corvette and starts drinking and bragging about how fast it would go and how it outhandled everything on the road, blah blah blah.

He starts talking about how much it cost and then he asks everybody at the bar "You really want to know why I drive that car?"

I didn't miss a beat - I blurted out "Because you have a small pencil?"

The entire restaurant exploded in laughter. People came over and shook my hand. "That's exactly what I wanted to say"

[Steeveedee]

Best post of the day!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by lousyflyer

I was dining at the Bar in an Applebees restaurant and this guy drives up in a brand new Corvette and starts drinking and bragging about how fast it would go and how it outhandled everything on the road, blah blah blah.

He starts talking about how much it cost and then he asks everybody at the bar "You really want to know why I drive that car?"

I didn't miss a beat - I blurted out "Because you have a small pencil?"

The entire restaurant exploded in laughter. People came over and shook my hand. "That's exactly what I wanted to say"

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by lousyflyer

I was dining at the Bar in an Applebees restaurant and this guy drives up in a brand new Corvette and starts drinking and bragging about how fast it would go and how it outhandled everything on the road, blah blah blah.

He starts talking about how much it cost and then he asks everybody at the bar "You really want to know why I drive that car?"

I didn't miss a beat - I blurted out "Because you have a small pencil?"

The entire restaurant exploded in laughter. People came over and shook my hand. "That's exactly what I wanted to say"

you must have gone to the same Applebee's that I went to. I was at the bar and two old farts started shooting off their mouths about their cars. One guy had a Corvette and the other guy had a Jaguar and they wanted to let everyone know.

I just smiled and didn't say a word.

And if you go to Applebee's try the wonton chicken taco's. I know they sound weird but they are really good and I usually don't even like chicken tacos.

[special-K]

Hit the nail on the head! I bet he was about to tell you about all the easy money he came into so he bought a Vette until he decides what to do with the rest

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by special-K

Hit the nail on the head! I bet he was about to tell you about all the easy money he came into so he bought a Vette until he decides what to do with the rest

Here's the kicker. I saw him leave. He was either driving a VW Beetle or the strangest Corvette that I've ever seen.

Just a lot of big talk at the bar.

The other guy really did have a nice Jaguar. But he sure made a lot of noise about it. And it was parked right out front where everyone could see it. Talk about being obvious.

[Steeveedee]

Some people rely on external objects like fancy or fast vehicles to make them look important. I ain't important except to some of my family or friends, and I drive a Kia Forte to deliver the message.

[Tom]

This post is a bit ridiculous.
Should the supercars all be black and silver only as well? Ya know, so the bright colors don't draw attention...
Perhaps they just like the way it looks? I sell these cars all the time. Most owners don't give two Sh*ts what other people think. They have the money and it makes them happy.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Tom

This post is a bit ridiculous.
Should the supercars all be black and silver only as well? Ya know, so the bright colors don't draw attention...
Perhaps they just like the way it looks? I sell these cars all the time. Most owners don't give two Sh*ts what other people think. They have the money and it makes them happy.

Yeah, but we are the ones that have to look at them going down the road
Actually, I don't care what others do. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion as well. So I don't care about rich people with bad taste.


LT7A, are you saying you don't find this paint becoming to the vehicle???