Toy Cars Often Represent Real Car Choices by Doug Breithaupt |
Honda S800M, Tomica #23 |
Honda's baby roadster of the 1960's was the S800M. What it lacked in speed
it made up in open-top style, economy and value. The Honda S2000 is a modern
tribute to that same idea. It's faster and a bit more expensive. I would have to go with the S2000. I'm not sure I would feel safe in something as small as the S800M and it is very basic motoring. The S2000 is a world-class roadster. |
Honda S2000, AUTOArt |
Ford Mustang Cvt., Johnny Lightning #653 |
Ford's Mustang re-defined the automotive world and gave us the 'Pony Car'.
The convertible is now an icon of open-top motoring. The current Mustang
Convertible is a tribute to the original as well, It offers much the same
aura as the first Mustang. My choice here would be the original 1964 1/2 Mustang. It's not my favorite Mustang model but I prefer it to the new edge styling. |
Ford Mustang Convertible, Matchbox |
Mini Cooper, Siku #1031 |
The Mini was a revolutionary small-car package in 1959 and went on to great
sales success. The new Mini Cooper by BMW will clearly see sales success
of it's own. The retro styling is some of the best done to date. The new Mini Cooper would be my pick. It offers style rarely seen in today's new cars, especially for small cars. BMW quality would also be a big advantage over the original Mini's usual British gremlins. |
Mini Cooper, Maisto |
1960 Porsche 356B, Welly #2060 |
Porsche's 356B Cabriolet has style to spare and was an instant classic.
The recent 996 Cabriolet continues the simplicity of line and beauty of
a clean, original design. This would be a tough choice. The new Porsche is more user friendly but the older model is a beautiful ride. By the smallest margin, I would choose the new Porsche because it does everything well and could even make up for my driver short-comings. The older model was less forgiving. |
Porsche 996 Cabriolet, AUTOart |
Renault 5, Matchbox #21 |
Renault produced a modern economy car for the 1970's in the '5'. It had
it's faults but it also offered value and amazing economy with French flair.
The current Twingo does much the same with seating for four and 50 MPG,
while still carrying that 'je ne sais quoi' that only the French can offer. The Renault 5 is hardly a collector car and rust has sent many back to nature. I like the quirky look of the Twingo and would have to once again go with the modern car. |
Renault Twingo, Majorette #206 |
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, Hot Wheels |
The Ferrari 356 GTB/4 Daytona was a true supercar and a styling tour de
force by Pininfarina. The 456M Daytona is a better all-round car with hints
of the original in styling and with a front-engine V12, RWD configuration..
Curiously, the prices of either today are not far apart. We would all love to have this choice and it is certainly a win-win situation. I can not resist the lines of the original Daytona and would take the old over the new in this case. |
Ferrari 456M Daytona, Hot Wheels |