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12 new cars that will never go out of style

Some cars never go out of style. It’s rare, but it happens. They get old. They get depreciated. But they never stop looking cool.  Some might call them modern or instant classics. Within a few years theyÂ’re no longer the latest and greatest, no longer the flavor of the month, but they remain special. Eternally special. Timeless.  These cars arenÂ’t necessarily going to be worth a fortune someday. However, some may not depreciate as rapidly or as far as other models. But thatÂ’s not what weÂ’re talking about here. These are the cars that enthusiasts will always find desirable from the curbside. TheyÂ’re the cars you end up shopping on eBay late at night 10 years later because you canÂ’t get them out of your head. TheyÂ’re the cars that will forever excite you when you spot a clean one in traffic or in a parking lot.  There are plenty of recent examples over the past couple of decades that could count as instant design classics. But then we got to thinking, what 2021 models will be forever cool to stare at? Which new cars and trucks on sale today will we be shopping on eBay late at night in the 2030s? We kept supercars and other ultra-expensive cars off the list to keep things within the realm of attainability, and ended up with 12 total cars. Lexus LC WeÂ’re not applying a numerical ranking to any of the cars on this list, but if we were, the Lexus LC would be No. 1. There isnÂ’t another car design out there that can stir our emotions the way an LC can when itÂ’s just standing still. This car is a concept design come true in the most beautiful of ways, and itÂ’s a shoo-in winner for Concours events decades into the future. All of this heaping praise, and we havenÂ’t even gotten to the LC 500Â’s intoxicating 5.0-liter V8. It doesnÂ’t win drag races. It wonÂ’t be the fastest around the track against any similarly-priced competition. But none of that matters. ItÂ’s quite possibly the best car you can buy new, and that says it all when it comes to the LC. Chevrolet Corvette It might not be the stunner that the Lexus LC is, but the new C8 Corvette is and will always be a special vehicle. ItÂ’s the first mid-engine Corvette, which instantly cements it into an automotive hall of fame section of sorts. All of the performance stats and specs are there to back up its supercar-like looks, and it remains the best performance bargain on sale today.

IIHS gives good ratings to 4 of 8 midsize pickups in crash test

Versions of the Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Crew Cab earned top ratings in a new crash test of midsize pickup trucks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, while two versions of the Nissan Frontier earned marginal ratings. But the organization gave poor marks to all eight pickups tested for their dim headlights. Overall, four of the eight pickups evaluated earned good ratings for protecting occupants in all five crash test categories — the Tacoma double cab along with crew cab versions of the Colorado, Canyon and Tacoma. But the poor headlights and lack of an automatic emergency braking system blocked any of the pickups from qualifying for the IIHS's Top Safety Pick awards. The study looked at two pickup body styles using 2017 models: crew cabs, which have four full doors and two full rows of seating, and extended cabs, which have two full front doors, two smaller rear doors and compact second-row seats. It subjected each to five tests, and it evaluated the performance of front crash prevention systems and headlights. The Toyota Tacoma crew cab was the only pickup in that class that earned a good rating for structure in the small overlap test, which replicates what happens when a vehicle clips a tree, pole or another vehicle that has crossed the center line. The model's Access Cab extended-cab version was rated similarly, though its structure was rated acceptable. "This group of small pickups performed better in the small overlap front test than many of their larger pickup cousins," says David Zuby, the Institute's executive vice president and chief research officer. "The exception was the Nissan Frontier, which hasn't had a structural redesign since the 2005 model year." The extended-cab versions of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon earned acceptable ratings, while both the Nissan Frontier king-cab and crew-cab models were rated marginal. Toyota says its 2018 Tacoma will feature upgraded headlights and a standard autobraking system that can detect pedestrians. "Headlights are basic but vital safety equipment. Drivers shouldn't have to give up the ability to see the road at night when they choose a small pickup," Zuby said. Related Video: Auto News Chevrolet GMC Nissan Toyota Safety Truck Videos gmc canyon nissan frontier chevrolet colorado

Zombie cars: Discontinued vehicles that aren't dead yet

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.