Is nostalgia worth the extra cost? | Column

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Love it.

I bought a retro Mongoose last year when they reintroduced the California GT........it's cool but not the same as the real thing.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Love it.

I bought a retro Mongoose last year when they reintroduced the California GT........it's cool but not the same as the real thing.

 

This is the real deal. Aside from one inner tube, it's a total time capsule. (No, I haven't ridden it.)

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I hope you didn't think I was implying your Mongoose wasn't the real deal. I knew it was.

It's wonderful that there is a personal history for the bike.......I confess that I'd have to ride it.

In reply to Tom1200 :

No, no, just saying that. Just saying that, like yours, it's the real deal.

But, kinda back to the original point, sometimes just the right graphics can scratch that nostalgic itch. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Those are cool graphics.

In reply to Tom1200 :

Very. Another sign that perhaps civilization will carry on for a few more years: the new Team Roskelley complete from GT, front Tuff Wheel standard. 

And maybe nostalgia isn't limited to those who grew up before the Internet of Things.

From a recent New York Times: The Hottest Gen Z Gadget Is a 20-Year-Old Digital Camera.

That respite is coming in part through compact point-and-shoot digital cameras, uncovered by Gen Z-ers who are digging through their parents’ junk drawers and shopping secondhand. Camera lines like the Canon Powershot and Kodak EasyShare are among their finds, popping up at parties and other social events.

My nostalgia subjects were crapcans because I was always broke. I'd be interested in driving/owning relatively cherry versions such as I could never afford in the day. So it wouldn't be a matter of revisiting my past (heaven forbid!) as it would be fulfilling dreams. 

It would be hard to get into paying a lot for a CRX, which was a wonderful car in its day because to me its design affinity is more in line with modern cars than what I like to consider vintage.  OTOH if I take a Volvo from mid 50s through mid 70s its clearly an entirely different animal from the present, and I'd get the sort of warm fuzzy feeling driving one that's partially the experience, partly the memories, and partly the idea of preserving something that deserves it.

As an aside, I'm always amazed by how many people feel an affinity for what I considered absolutely wretched cars like the Chevette, Pinto, Maverick and such. They called it the malaise era for a reason.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

That is cool. I was eyeballing the reintroduction of Mongoose Supergoose cuz I am a sucker for nostalgia.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

That is cool. I was eyeballing the reintroduction of Mongoose Supergoose cuz I am a sucker for nostalgia.

See, that's how they getcha.