No one really knows when it happened, but it happened nonetheless. Cars have gone above and beyond mere modes of transportation to become fashion statements. And make no mistake, we’re not talking about American muscle cars and all the retro mods collectors love. We are talking about modern cars that people are buying because these look smart and trendy. These are cars such as the Vauxhall Adam, Fiat 500, and Ford KA.
But wait, you might say, have cars not always been linked to personal fashion somehow? Yes, that’s true to some extent. However, the styling of the past might have pushed an already good car to the next level among consumers who were concerned about good looks only after the performance question had been settled. It is different among today’s fashion cars. They go for looks and styling first, and then worry about performance and reliability.
It all started with the Smart car in the 1990s. If you are unaware, SMH CEO Nicolas Hayek founded Smart Automobile. SMH is the manufacturer behind the designer Swatch Brand. Hayek began tinkering with the idea of designer cars in the late 1980s in the hopes that he could replicate the success of Swatch in the automotive world. Daimler AG now owns his former company.
Vauxhall Adam
Let’s talk about some of today’s modern fashion cars, beginning with the Vauxhall Adam. The Adam is intended to be a classic city car made by Germany’s Opel. As a roundish three-door hatchback, the Adam looks a lot like a more sophisticated Volkswagen Beetle. Its sleek profile and contrasting roof color make for a unique visual appearance that any fashionista would love.
If you need more proof that the Adam is a fashion car, just consider the names of the three different choices: the JAM, the GLAM, and the SLAM. Need we say more?
Fiat 500
The original Fiat 500 was a super thrifty Italian city car made between 1957 and 1975. It was anything but a sleek and sexy fashion statement. In fact, some of the older models pushed the envelope on ugly. The new 500 is entirely different. Fiat gives a nod to the original 500 with a bit of retro styling in the body design, but the look is still very modern. It is available as both a coupe and convertible.
Ford KA
Ford introduced the KA as its entry into the city car market in 1996. Truth be told, the first generation of the KA did not create a lot of optimism among Ford loyalists in terms of styling. As with some of the early versions of the Fiat 500, the first-gen KAs were difficult to look at. Thankfully, the company that now dominates the UK market figured out how to make this cute little city car a lot more attractive.
Second and third generation KAs are as sleek and sexy as anything you will get from Vauxhall or Fiat. In a move of marketing genius, Ford produced a limited number of Sublime models in 2005 with a unique leather interior. If you have one of them, you have one of the most sought after KAs on the market.
That moment when cars became fashion statements was that moment that car shopping changed forever. If you are the kind of person who looks at styling above performance, there is no shortage of choices for you to consider. You might even find one that matches your shoes!
Do you buy your cars to make a fashion statement?
