Over at Retro Scene, there's an interesting article in which the editor lists his five favorite automobile rear ends.
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His list includes the KPGC110 Skyline GT-R. The others are a Japanese hotrod called the Galaxian, the boat-tailed Riviera, Cadzilla and the Citroën DS. So what do you think are the five best auto rear ends?

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My JNC: 1983 Subaru GL wagon
My JNM: 1979 Yamaha XS Eleven

meh, all of those were hideous with the exception of the kenmary, lol. Especially the nasty nasty riviera

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'70 sl350, '86 spree, '88 cressida

K/Custom cars shouldn't count... especially that Galaxian. Hideous.

I couldn't agree more with the kenmeri.

I'd also pick the 2000GT (note the line that flows from the rear fenders to the trailing edge of the hatch)


Mazda Cosmo Sports


Pigbutt


A20 Celica coupe


Z32 300ZX


FD RX-7



Some non-Japanese:

1963 Corvette (love that split window)


1969 Corvette


1960 Pontiac


I'm sure I've missed some but theser are the first that popped to mind.

Also, as far as Citroens go, I prefer the SM to the DS. Not sayin it's one of the top 5, but it's cool.

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ben, I cannot argue with you on the '60 Pontiac! that was a gorgeous, clean design in a year of bizarre fins and too much chrome.

my two favorite Chevy rears end were the previous and following years:



1959^



^1961

I catch hell for liking two such very different rears but to me both are very clean. NOTE: both of these are Biscaynes. The Bel-Airs and Impalas of these vintage have a bit too much "gingerbread" and "golly gee" chrome bits for my taste.

On j-tin I love the early 1970s Toyota Crown wagons.



They are a bit "busy" but everything ties in well, the lines flow and it's henie can be mistaken for no other car in the world.

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http://www.cardomain.com/id/karkev

This shouldn't count as it's a blatant rip-off of the Mopars of the time.




The FD3S RX-7 is hands down, the sexiest thing to ever come out of Japan, possibly the world.

Even nearly 20 years after it was designed, it still holds up and doesn't look dated.

if that is the case, name a mopar that looks better

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Didn't say "better"...

in no particular order...

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gone: 82' datsun maxima
gone: 87' 300zx n/a 2-seater
gone: 87' cressida sedan
current project: 82' s11 200sx (ka24e swap)
current daily: 89' integra RS 5-door

1971 Volvo P1800. Beautiful lines with just enough detailing to make it stand out.


1966 Lancia Fulvia Zagato. Simple, elegant and sporty.


1968 Datsun 411 Bluebird. Despite the GM styling influences, it stands out on it's own.


1971 Jaguar E-Type. Is there another car that looks this beautiful from any angle?


1970 AMC Javelin. The forgotten pony car. Beautiful clean lines.

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My JNC: 1983 Subaru GL wagon
My JNM: 1979 Yamaha XS Eleven

Personally I love the rear end on a 67 charger.
That and a 69 bluebird.

1968 Dodge Charger.
Round Tail lights - tick
Chrome - tick
Racetrack inspired styling - tick

I'd gladly have a Laurel though.

an under-appreciated classic with clean, modern lines that have aged very well!

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http://www.cardomain.com/id/karkev

Let me give my reasons that these two do not make it into consideration for this in my opinion.

Both of these look like the design started out with more body length and something more flowing to follow, but someone made an arbitrary decision that the body of the vehicle would be exactly X number of inches long, and then hacked off the tail end of the car with a cleaver like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets.

Then to finish the car, in the case of the NSX, they took a paint roller, loaded it in red paint, and then rolled it over the newly cleaved face, and that was the pattern for the tail lights. Or, perhaps the tail lights are supposed to look like the scab from the dried blood that was bled by the car when the tail was cleaved off.

In the case of the CRX, they couldn't decide if they wanted a vertical rear window or a sloped rear window, so, in a true illustration of complete awkwardness, it gets a split rear window, partially sloped and partially vertical, with a horizontal blind spot directly through the middle. The vertical opening is not in the shape of the semi-circular outward shape of the glass pain, but rather a rectangle, with large blank quarter rounds on each end. Why is is like this? Because someone decided they wanted that shape, and it was originally intended only to have the sloped rear window with a solid tailgate. When they actually built the mock up, they discovered that the sloped rear window was totally worthless for seeing out the back of the vehicle, especially for backing up. The designers vision of the shape of the vehicle ignored the function of the vehicle. Instead of changing the shape of the vehicle to meet real world use of the vehicle, they slapped that little vertical port hole on the back. That is why it is truly awkward.


You might want to group some of these into typographies, because several of the good suggestions fit into groups.
The Laurel fits into the 60's Italian sports coupe, sort of shared by Alfa Romeo and others.
The Jaguar E-Type, Lancia Fulva, and 2000GT fit into another group that might be referenced as English/Italian coupe.

I know this thread is old, but I was looking at the later GTRs and Laurels and came across this image.

The Laurel is beautiful. It looks a LOT like a 1971 Plymouth GTX. It's funny though, I think the back of the Plymouth is the weak point, but it's the strong point of the Laurel. The Laurel did the look later and did it better IMO.

I can name a Mopar that has a better ass. 1968 Charger. One of the best ass ends of all time. It's strange because I have a 71 'Cuda instead, hah.

I like old Mopars.

I think he meant one that had a similar ass that was better.


And yes, best ass to come out of Detroit since Diana Ross...

I have to agree that the kenmari rear end is great, but unfortunately wouldn't be in my top five.

I also love the R32 (2 door) rear end:

Might also be because this was my Skyline and I put the two door rear end on it... no I just like the R32 2 door rear end... but still not in my top five.

Here would be my top five:
Five - R35 GTR:


Four - Spyker C8 Aileron:


Three - R34 Nismo Z-Tune:


Two - Noble M14:


One - Koenigsegg CCXR Edition:

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The 1970 Nissan Laurel photos
Artwork on shirts and things. More classic Japanese/automotive art to come...

I wish I could show my 'Cuda's ass right now, but the pics I have are old and are missing tail panel chrome and exhaust tips.

Instead, I'll post another 71 with no exhaust tips and no chrome.

My five include the 68 Charger, and these.

71 'Cuda (with 70 AAR spoiler and rubber bumpers)


Aston Martin V8 Vantage


Weismann MF5


1971 Celica. Koich's is particularly awesome with everything shaved and cleaned up. This is the Celica that drew me to vintage Japanese cars, though I'm leaning towards wanting a 71 Skyline coupe right now.