Sure, but in 1964 there was no nostalgia for the Mustang, but it sold.
In 1954 there was no nostalgia for the Corvette--and the car went through a dramatic change in the 1960s, but remains the thing of dreams. Same for the Thunderbird, except that Ford's direction ended up killing that car.
It's curious what makes these things catch on.
The Jeep Cherokee caught on in a big way and changed the auto industry. The Prius, too.
Other cars of the late 80s/early 90s that were fun: the Pontiac Fiero died a quick death, despite out-selling the Toyota MR2, which lingered past its wearout date, but the Mazda Miata keeps going...
I think there are "golden eras" to certain things. The conditions are just right, inertia builds to a head, and a product or idea-- or sport-- captures the public's attention in a way that it didn't before, and that it might not ever again.
I think the "golden era" for cars is past. That's not to say that great cars aren't being made or can't be made, it's just that the general public's ability to fall in love with a car, is more limited now, than it was in the 1950s and 1960s. There are a lot of reasons for that. There's more diversity in the marketplace now than ever before, more niche products that satisfy niche consumers. But that diversity also means there are fewer people available to fall in love with just ONE car, or just ONE classification of cars.
I also think that the love people feel for cars in general, has waned. They were once a symbol of freedom and hope for a better life. Especially sports cars and pony cars-- these played directly into the idea of the "open range." But people have a more cynical and jaded view of cars now. Many curse them for using precious resources frivolously. Many believe they should not be fun, but take a more utilitarian view. Gas isn't cheap anymore, oil is a finite resource, space is becoming more limited, and the idea of the single-driver car is being attacked from multiple sides now.
All of that to say, I think the "golden era" of the auto is past. We're not going to see automobiles capture a wide portion of the public's opinion in such an optimistic and breathtaking way. You bring up the Cherokee and the Prius, which are both disruptive to be certain, but they did so based on their function, their utility-- not because they captured the imagination of drivers across the globe.
Just my $0.02 anyway. I have similar views (but for different reasons of course) on the golden era of college football, and why the teams that rose to prominence in that era are still the helmets of today-- even if they struggle for decades-- and breaking into the helmets is extremely difficult and rare.
