Some automotive Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep years ago could wake up today and find a lot of familiar nameplates: the Chevy Camaro, the Dodge Dart, the Mini Cooper and the Volkswagen Beetle.
However, he wouldn't believe his eyes when he saw what kind of mileage and horsepower today's cars get, assuming he could accept that Americans even cared about gas mileage.
Some of today's retro cars, such as the recently announced revival of the Dodge Dart, bear no resemblance to their ancestors. The new Dodge Dart looks like a sexy Italian sports sedan, which it is, in a way, since it's on a platform shared with Fiat's Alfa Romeo brand. But it doesn't look at all like the squared-off Dodge Dart of the 1970s, with its long hood and long trunk.
Other retro cars, such as the unmistakable VW Beetle, Mini Cooper and Fiat 500, bear a strong family resemblance to their famous kin.
All of them have some retro touches, if only the name. They also have something modern about them, especially technology designed to get better gas mileage.