I always get this feeling when I see old footage of years' past, and that feeling pertains to how the cars appeared for their time and the fan appeal. Cars always change in design on the track. Once a huge change occurs in design, after a few races.... heck a few LAPS some times..... I have automatically adjusted to the task at hand - that being the race itself.
Let's look at F1. Here is the Wiliams driven by Nigel Mansell in 1987:
Look at how far forward the driver sits compared to centerline. You can also see his entire helmet/head from the neck up. No lateral support or safety. Note how the nose of the car is turned down straight to the pavement and the wheelbase seems shorter than today. This car also had active suspension, which since has been banned/discontinued in F1. Computerized suspension control. Absolutely amazing technology.
Nelson Piquet won the driver's championship in the other Williams that year.
A decade later, here is the 1996 Williams. Jacques Villeneuve:
Note how the driver is further back and a tad lower. Still no major lateral head protection, but a little better safety wise. The "shark nose" of that era is evident in that era of car.
Uglier than the 1987 version? Perhaps..... but more sleek. I got used to that nose quickly, and the stretched out wheelbase.
Now here is the 2005 Williams of Nic Heidfeld:
The one thing to note is the continued large width of rear wing. This wing, although enhancing the slipstream, severely hindered the cars in cornering when following another car. The tires are also grooved to "hinder" road contact. Funny how they could have just made less grippier tires, but bear in mind, there were two tire manufacturers in F1 at this time. These tires were ALWAYS ugly and ridiculous. Also note the T-bar across the top of the air intake. All had to run them for in car camera purposes, whether they had a camera installed or not.
Nowadays, I believe all cars have cameras, but the mandatory installation back then was to even out aero advantages/disadvantages. I do not even notice these things on F1 or IndyCars anymore.
Also, when two compounds were introduced and required to be used, here was the softer compound, denoted by the white stripe:
Actually, it was easier to spot than today's softer compounds where sidewall colors are changed.
For 2009, F1 reduced the rear wing and actually increased the width of the front wing to hopefully remove the "dreaded aero push":
This aero change probably took me longer to get used to than any other change over the decades, but like I noted earlier about looking back, I now feel a wide rear wing in F1 now would appear odd looking.
We also have the first major move for lateral head protection:
And last but not least, the 2019 Williams:
Although a back marker every round, we now have the halo and lateral head padding/protection. Personally, I think the car looks very sleek, and I do not even notice the halo anymore.
Now, it it were painted day-glo pink, or something, sure. But I do not even notice.
Little by little seeing the driver operate has been removed, yes. But after three decades, I don't even think about it - until I see old, and still good, footage.
What might look ugly now, looking back, was top shelf aero and tech back then. Some might see retro as cooler, others might see it as a "what were they thinking?" moment. Either way, I seem to adjust to any changes quite quickly as the sport of motor racing moves on.