These seven Cars Have the Oldest Designs on the Market
Car Buying
Have you ever wondered which fresh vehicles have the oldest overall designs? Well, wonder no more, because I’ve compiled a list! I went automaker by automaker, car by car, attempting to figure out which fresh vehicles have the oldest designs, and these are the top seven. They most likely won’t surprise you, but if you’re anything like me, they may provoke a different reaction: You’ll very likely look at them and ask, “They still sell that fresh?” And while it may be surprising, the response here is yes. You can still buy a brand-new example of each one of these aging vehicles.
General Motors hasn’t kept up with the latest cargo-van renaissance. Even tho’ Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and RAM have each debuted fresh cargo vans in the last few years, General Motors is still soldiering along with the same vans it had all the way back in 1996: the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana. And even if the Express and the Savana have any defenders here who point to the vans’ last facelift as proof that these aren’t actually 20-year-old vehicles, it’s worth noting that the facelift happened in two thousand three — so any way you slice it, these vans are insanely old.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, also known as the G-Wagen, is a bit fortunate. It’s actually been in production using the same design since 1990, but it’s only been on sale here in the United States since 2002, so it doesn’t seem as old as it actually is. Regardless of how you slice it, tho’, the G-Wagen is ancient. Its original design debuted in 1979, and since then, it’s indeed only been updated, never fully redesigned. That said, some updates (like the one in 1990) have been significant. And trust me, you’ll instantly notice the difference inbetween a two thousand sixteen G-Wagen and a 1980s model when you climb inwards. On the road, however, it still feels relatively similar — unless, of course, you’re driving the one with six hundred four horsepower.
Albeit the Bentley Continental GT has been updated, facelifted, massaged and revised to suggest different engines, its basic design still hails from 2004. I’ve never indeed understood why this is, especially since the Continental GT’s sedan version — which debuted after the Continental GT Coupe, in two thousand six — was recently redesigned. Perhaps Bentley is attempting to set a record for sales of $150,000+ vehicles with aging designs.
Here’s something unbelievable: You can still purchase a fresh Rolls-Royce Phantom. It’s true. The car that blew everyone away when it debuted back in two thousand four because it has an umbrella in the door and a disappearing bondage mask ornament is still available, with the same design, the same umbrella and the same fetish mask ornament. The crazy thing here isn’t the age as much as it is the used market. You can purchase a used Phantom, one that looks very similar to a brand-new model, right now for harshly $150,000. Or you can buy a totally fresh Phantom for something like $440,000 plus tax, shipping and options. Personally, I’d save the $300,000 — but then again, I’m not the kind of person who buys a Phantom.
I admit this one is a little unfair to the Aston Martin DB9. Yes, it’s a decade old. And yes, if you go into a dealership to buy one, they’ll charge you something approaching $200,000 for a 10-year-old car. But the replacement for the DB9, dubbed the DB11, is very much on its way. In fact, it’ll likely reach showrooms in the next few months, rendering the DB9 obsolete. Nonetheless, it’s amazing the DB9 managed to soldier on for so many years, while rival exotics with similar price tags have all had one, two and even three fresh designs over the same time period.
Surely, you expected this one. The midsize-pickup segment doesn’t generate a lot of sales, so the few brands selling midsize trucks — right now, just Chevrolet, GMC, Nissan and Toyota — tend to let their vehicles languish for a while before major updates. For example, until its redesign earlier this year, the Toyota Tacoma hadn’t been updated since 2005. And the Nissan Frontier is the same age, hailing from all the way back in two thousand five and carrying through to two thousand sixteen with remarkably few switches. So yes, you can still buy a fresh Nissan Frontier. Presumably with an enormous discount.
My old Aston Martin earns its spot on this list after ten years without a significant redesign. Of course, like most of the cars on this list, there have been updates — including some major ones, like the addition of a convertible variant in 2007, a fresh interior in 2009, a fresh V12 model in two thousand eleven and a fresh transmission in 2012. Still, albeit the Vantage has seen a lot of switches, it remains the same basic car that came out way back in 2006, when we were amazed that Aston Martin had a competitor to the brand-new Porsche 911. But while that version of the nine hundred eleven was redesigned in 2012, the Vantage was left behind.
Albeit the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator were meticulously revised in two thousand seven and again in 2015, it’s worth noting that these two full-size SUVs still rail on the exact same chassis they did in 2003. For the last thirteen years, Ford has also carried over buttons, features, latches and design elements. So the Expedition and Navigator get an honorable mention, because their appearance on this list depends on exactly what you want to consider a redesign — and also because it’s amazing they’ve lasted this long with no major revisions, watching from the sidelines as their Chevy Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade rivals have been updated several times over the past decade.
Doug DeMuro is an automotive journalist who has written for many online and magazine publications. He once possessed a Nissan Cube and a Ferrari three hundred sixty Modena. At the same time.
These seven Cars Have the Oldest Designs on the Market
These seven Cars Have the Oldest Designs on the Market
Car Buying
Have you ever wondered which fresh vehicles have the oldest overall designs? Well, wonder no more, because I’ve compiled a list! I went automaker by automaker, car by car, attempting to figure out which fresh vehicles have the oldest designs, and these are the top seven. They most likely won’t surprise you, but if you’re anything like me, they may provoke a different reaction: You’ll very likely look at them and ask, “They still sell that fresh?” And while it may be surprising, the response here is yes. You can still buy a brand-new example of each one of these aging vehicles.
General Motors hasn’t kept up with the latest cargo-van renaissance. Even however Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and RAM have each debuted fresh cargo vans in the last few years, General Motors is still soldiering along with the same vans it had all the way back in 1996: the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana. And even if the Express and the Savana have any defenders here who point to the vans’ last facelift as proof that these aren’t actually 20-year-old vehicles, it’s worth noting that the facelift happened in two thousand three — so any way you slice it, these vans are insanely old.
The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, also known as the G-Wagen, is a bit fortunate. It’s actually been in production using the same design since 1990, but it’s only been on sale here in the United States since 2002, so it doesn’t seem as old as it actually is. Regardless of how you slice it, however, the G-Wagen is ancient. Its original design debuted in 1979, and since then, it’s indeed only been updated, never downright redesigned. That said, some updates (like the one in 1990) have been significant. And trust me, you’ll instantaneously notice the difference inbetween a two thousand sixteen G-Wagen and a 1980s model when you climb inwards. On the road, however, it still feels relatively similar — unless, of course, you’re driving the one with six hundred four horsepower.
Albeit the Bentley Continental GT has been updated, facelifted, massaged and revised to suggest different engines, its basic design still hails from 2004. I’ve never truly understood why this is, especially since the Continental GT’s sedan version — which debuted after the Continental GT Coupe, in two thousand six — was recently redesigned. Perhaps Bentley is attempting to set a record for sales of $150,000+ vehicles with aging designs.
Here’s something unbelievable: You can still purchase a fresh Rolls-Royce Phantom. It’s true. The car that blew everyone away when it debuted back in two thousand four because it has an umbrella in the door and a disappearing fetish mask ornament is still available, with the same design, the same umbrella and the same spandex hood ornament. The crazy thing here isn’t the age as much as it is the used market. You can purchase a used Phantom, one that looks very similar to a brand-new model, right now for harshly $150,000. Or you can buy a entirely fresh Phantom for something like $440,000 plus tax, shipping and options. Personally, I’d save the $300,000 — but then again, I’m not the kind of person who buys a Phantom.
I admit this one is a little unfair to the Aston Martin DB9. Yes, it’s a decade old. And yes, if you go into a dealership to buy one, they’ll charge you something approaching $200,000 for a 10-year-old car. But the replacement for the DB9, dubbed the DB11, is very much on its way. In fact, it’ll likely reach showrooms in the next few months, rendering the DB9 obsolete. Nonetheless, it’s amazing the DB9 managed to soldier on for so many years, while rival exotics with similar price tags have all had one, two and even three fresh designs over the same time period.
Surely, you expected this one. The midsize-pickup segment doesn’t generate a lot of sales, so the few brands selling midsize trucks — right now, just Chevrolet, GMC, Nissan and Toyota — tend to let their vehicles languish for a while before major updates. For example, until its redesign earlier this year, the Toyota Tacoma hadn’t been updated since 2005. And the Nissan Frontier is the same age, hailing from all the way back in two thousand five and carrying through to two thousand sixteen with remarkably few switches. So yes, you can still buy a fresh Nissan Frontier. Presumably with an enormous discount.
My old Aston Martin earns its spot on this list after ten years without a significant redesign. Of course, like most of the cars on this list, there have been updates — including some major ones, like the addition of a convertible variant in 2007, a fresh interior in 2009, a fresh V12 model in two thousand eleven and a fresh transmission in 2012. Still, albeit the Vantage has seen a lot of switches, it remains the same basic car that came out way back in 2006, when we were affected that Aston Martin had a competitor to the brand-new Porsche 911. But while that version of the nine hundred eleven was redesigned in 2012, the Vantage was left behind.
Albeit the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator were scrupulously revised in two thousand seven and again in 2015, it’s worth noting that these two full-size SUVs still rail on the exact same chassis they did in 2003. For the last thirteen years, Ford has also carried over buttons, features, latches and design elements. So the Expedition and Navigator get an honorable mention, because their appearance on this list depends on exactly what you want to consider a redesign — and also because it’s amazing they’ve lasted this long with no major revisions, watching from the sidelines as their Chevy Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade rivals have been updated several times over the past decade.
Doug DeMuro is an automotive journalist who has written for many online and magazine publications. He once wielded a Nissan Cube and a Ferrari three hundred sixty Modena. At the same time.