Nostalgia brings back fond memories. Sometimes we want to see updated versions of old models and concept cars. Even flashy names bring back visions of excitement zooming across the open road despite daily drives being filled with crawling along in bumper to bumper traffic.

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Who can forget the incredible ornate script on the tailfin and rear quarter of a '57 Bel Air, or the fine detail on a woody-wagon from yesteryear? How about putting the visuals with a name as exciting as a truck series named the SpeedWagon—does that not sound a thousand times faster than a K1500?

Some cars that were actually cool back in the day were actually sales flops, while other models that were slapped together without much love or quality control sold in the millions. We've put together a list of 15 vehicles that should return in the 21st century as updated models.

15 Chevrolet Bel Air

Let's start with a favorite everyone loves the looks of: the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. Talk about one of the cleanest looking designs with incredible finish and detail for a production medium-priced car.

Imagine a freshened up 2021 model that had some of the styling cues from the original including the turned metal script on the rear quarter panels and tail fins from the original? Make it a true intermediate-sized car with lots of trunk space and a choice of turbo-diesel, hybrid-electric six-cylinder gas engine or a C7 Corvette Powertrain for enthusiasts. Imagine a convertible option just like the original had. Balance the front engine with a rear-mounted transaxle for weight distribution. Keep the rear seats full size.

14 Oldsmobile Jetfire

The original 1962 model was interesting but was largely a sales flop. The main reason for that was nobody understood the future significance of having a turbocharger aboard a car. People thought the novel idea of a small lightweight turbocharged V8-powered sedan and convertible just wasn't worth it when the price of a bigger, more powerful car was equal to or just a few dollars more. However, in the last 60 years, lots of marques have sold millions of supercars based on similar concepts. It was just the timing of the launch that was a failure, not the car itself.

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The Kia Stinger or Buick Grand National or Gran Sport were simply better executions of similar concepts as was the Ford Interceptor or Taurus SHO. GM could call this car half a dozen names—it might be a good idea to bring back the Ransom E. Olds brand, which was the precursor to the Oldsmobile division.

13 REO Speedwagon

With so many medium-sized truck models available for purchase, spread across several brands, GM might as well bring back the name of the original light truck for sale to non-commercial and commercial buyers. Long ago, GM shifted its truck-making from Olds to Chevrolet and GMC with occasional Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Buick SUV and crossover models available.

If you are trying to get the buyer's attention you might as well go for the long-shot and bring back a model that inspired two brands and two names of music groups, REO Speedwagon and Diamond REO/Diamond T respectively. Think about a sleek swoopy truck done as a two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive sports truck. This one wouldn't be good with a lift kit in the boonies—this baby is for high-speed cruising and hauling. You would want plenty of power. Gasoline turbo engine capable of quick acceleration and at a price point under $30,000, who doesn't want that?

12 Chevrolet M1009 CUCV

This is a proper K-5 Blazer. The civilian model completely missed the mark, but the military model came with an economical 6.2 and later 6.5 diesel engines. They also came with reinforced frames and better rust protection than the civilian models. Not exactly life in the fast lane, but they were never designed for that purpose, as they were intended to plod through thick mud and snow, and were geared for such.

Let's offer something heavy-duty and easy on the wallet as well as reliable for 2021. Chevy/GMC really did pick a turd up by the clean end with this model because it was a vast improvement over the civilian counterpart. Offer a nice Duramax Diesel with a six-speed automatic convert the civilian model to a regular 12-volt electrical system with a new body style, and you'd have a winner.

11 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

Props to TransAm Depot or whatever their corporate charter name is this year. They are building what Pontiac should be building, albeit in small batches, but you do see a few here and there at the better GMC dealers. Talk about gorgeous, Pontiac could be brought back and be profitable again if they sold these things.

Granted, not everyone needs to run 9-second quarter miles, but the top option model has been clocked through the traps doing exactly that. The top option on this tuner special has a custom 455 cubic inch (7.5 liter) V8 with a 2.3-liter Roots blower on top. That's around 1,000 hp. Even the 2.3-liter turbo four-cylinder available in the 1LE Camaro would be fine at 275 hp. These things could put the fun back in what was GM's number two division for 40 years.

10 Buick Electra Estate Faux Woody Wagon

Unlike the real Woody Wagons that started to decay rapidly in snow or rain, these incredible looking faux finished steel-bodied wagons carry class and last many years. Completely different from the tacky looking faux-finished wagons of the '70s, these things are gorgeous. The OEMs need to take these out of the car show circuit and offer them to the public.

You can leave the interior and the drivetrain as standard, just offer this as an exterior finish. Maybe offer a period look interior to match as an option. Hide the ugly plastic bits with nice cloth and leather and watch the orders pile up. You could offer some retro-look wheels made in polished chrome finish to complete the look.

9 Buick Regal GS or GNX

This one has come close to being produced and more than a few have been fielded for testing. Unfortunately, Buick is dropping almost all cars and going to (yuck) SUVs. They have called the concept vehicles different names in various trials, but if it ever sees the light of day it would most likely be called a Regal or Skylark. You could power it with half a dozen choices and all would be just dandy.

Honestly, Buick did away with making pokey engines by the mid-'80s. There really isn't anything they offer that isn't quick. Maybe some aren't exactly thrilling, but you'd hardly call them slow either. You might as well put one of their premium top-shelf performance jobs in it as an option. Maybe even a direct injection V6 with a turbo or supercharger and 300 plus horsepower. These things would steal from the Lexus market hugely.

8 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442

The Cutlass offerings from the '70s and '80s became a call sign for what was going wrong at GM. That's really tragic as the early ones were among the best looking and best performing muscle-cars of their era. Plenty of power, good handling, snappy trim—all the things you wanted in a muscle car. So what if you took some of the styling cues from their best years and put them in a clean sheet design?

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Instead of offering badge engineering with sleepy small-block V8s like the last few 442s that were produced, you could offer some really nice options such as a Turbo-Quad 4 direct injection hybrid all-wheel drive, maybe a 6.2-liter ls series V8 from Chevrolet mated to a 6 or eight-speed transmission with rear-wheel drive. You could dust off that Cadillac Northstar series engine, which Oldsmobile also used a variant of, and make the improvements for 21st-century power, and make it transversely mounted front-wheel-drive "rocket V8."

7 Chevrolet Impala SS

This is another model name that has been used and abused ad nauseam. Some of the cars that came with this name were beautiful and swift, while others looked like refrigerators flipped on their backs riding on wheels. Get away from the ugly variants, forget about the four doors as well, go back to basics, make it a convertible with nice options, air conditioning, good handling; offer a turbo-diesel to compete with the European cars. How about a 6-cylinder Duramax from an Isuzu truck hooked to an eight-speed transmission?

Absolutely do not under any circumstances build the new version with the garish front end that came on some of the bigger '70s years. Stick to smooth svelte and fast. Maybe make this one an exception and offer it with a six-speed stick along with an eight-speed automatic. The so-called animal in Africa is fast, swift, and able to evade predators twice its size. The 21st century two-door convertible should also be equally as quick.

6 Cadillac XLR

This one may or may not make the cut. It's a wait and see situation as they have been sending test vehicles out to see if people were receptive to the concept. Hopefully, it would be based on the C7 Corvette platform the way the previous XLR was. Really, you couldn't make a practical convertible with a mid-engine C8 platform, but a C7 is more than fast enough. You'd want an honest rear seat to allow four people to ride, as this would again be a flagship model for Cadillac.

Please make it a performance model again. No mush-mobiles—nobody likes them and that part of the buying public is resting comfortably waiting for a diaper change. These are sports convertibles that can compete with the best Europe and Asia have to offer. Really, it wouldn't be a good idea to even bother with a sedan version—make all of them a convertible and make them in large numbers. They will sell.

5 Buick Wildcat

A large convertible to compete with the 21st century Impala. Make it from the same basic chassis and powerplants you'd use in the Impala. The differences would be in the styling. Chevrolet has had its styling cues, as did Buick.

Make two styles of the same car. Lots of chrome, a high-tech dashboard with the latest fashions in interior styling. Use chromed exhaust splitters in either two or four tubes sticking out the back. Use the four-hole Buick fender badges that were a Buick hallmark for 30 years. Make sure the fender wells have the chrome trim surrounding the tires on all four sides. Bring back the hideaway wipers that were on most GM models 50 years ago, where the wipers tucked out of the way when not in use.

Be different and offer an integrated hood-tach as a secondary tachometer. What could really set this car off in style, would be to offer a "big and little" tire setup. Give the rear end that classic fat look.

4 Pontiac LeMans Tempest Convertible

Most people would ask, why wasn't the GTO included? The short answer is there's nothing particularly interesting about them. Just a big engine in a medium-sized car. The retro-Tempest Le Mans should be modeled after the original 1962 model which used a front-mounted engine and a transaxle in the back. Hmmm, what other car does that? Ah yes, the C7 Corvette does that! Ok so it's not a 326, 389, 400 or 455 Pontiac. Well, how about an LS engine kicked up from 6.2 to 6.5? Oh yeah, that's a 389! Now use that manual transmission transaxle and independent rear suspension that was used in the Vette and the G8 and vroom!

Another one that could share parts with the XLR, but this one could have chrome bumperettes for style. Use the space normally reserved for a longitudinal transmission and you can use a combination catalytic converter/muffler combination and flare the exhaust pipes right out the side with four chrome splitters straight out each side. Make sure to have checkered flags in the emblem.

3 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier

The original didn't sell in large numbers as it was married to the same bad publicity of the ill-fated first-generation Corvair sedan. That's too bad because the idea of tucking the engine cleanly under the bed just makes sense.So what if you did it right? Interestingly, it seems there was a German van series that used a flat engine mounted under the bed. Volks-something, what was it? It seems they got along with two fewer cylinders as well.

How about an ultra-efficiency three-cylinder/six piston 2 cycle diesel? Use the 125 hp made by the "supercharged" diesel and mate it ahead, not behind the six-speed automatic transaxle under the bed. Offer it with a great interior with good comfort, excellent air conditioning, easy maintenance, and both a half-ton and 3/4 ton suspension.

2 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

Just like the original ill-conceived Rampside this one was a never was. Let's make it a can be. Tesla just made integrated ramps cool again. Corvair did it 60 years ago. Make it the same as the van, but utilize the access features of having a loading ramp on the side and a conventional fold-down lift-gate on the back. You could even have the rear liftgate swing out to the side as well as fold down to the back like the station wagons used to offer.

Unlike the vans from the '60s, make this one well-balanced front to back by having the flat 3 diesel mounted mid-ship under the bed. Offer the standard supercharged 125-hp diesel as standard with an optional 150-hp unit with a fourth cylinder bank. Eliminate the shifter altogether, and shift the automatic transmission with buttons. design it to have a flat 350 lb-ft of torque curve from idle to 4,000 rpm.

1 Saturn Sky

This was a fine car introduced at a bad time in the economy. Not a whole lot to change from the 2006 introduction, just update the bodywork a little. Make sure there is a leather interior option that can withstand direct contact with rainwater when the top is open. Eliminate any stupid features that may prevent the top from opening and closing when the car is in gear, and make a control module that allows the top to close while the vehicle is underway, but limit it to 5 mph when changing position.

Offer the optional engines such as the 290-hp turbo Sky Redline model. You could be the one manufacturer who dares to eliminate the ever-popular shift console and center shifter. Go with a paddle shifter on the new version. Enjoy the extra space.