The concept has been tried on a limited basis. Volkswagen 's New Beetle is a modest success. Ford will soon roll out a 2002 version of a 1950s Thunderbird, and BMW 's update of the original British Mini is on its way. But I don't see it happening on a big scale. Car designers hate retro.
Executives think retro is a fad.
Last year VW sold only 80,000 New Beetles here, and now sales are falling. Projected low volume. Yes, the PT Cruiser is an exception. That kind of sales volume, if it keeps up for a few years, might change some minds. With the foreign competition winning the sales war, a revival of some of the great designs of the past could be just the tonic that Detroit needs to make its cars special again and gain back market share.