The Appeal of Old-School Cars

I have no idea what this thread is about

In reply to Trent :

I know, right?

In reply to Keith Tanner :

That caddy is mega cool.

Keith Tanner said:

Well, the only other new car anything like the Miata at the time was the Alfa Spider/Graduate. You have to use "soul" to justify that choice against a car that just works :) The original NSX got the same complaints, remember. It wasn't prone to self-immolation so something of the driving experience was lost.

To be fair, the 348 and 355 that it competed against weren't the "randomly burst into flames" Ferraris.  They were the "take the engine out every 3 years/20K miles to change the timing belt" Ferraris. :)  And yeah, the early NSXes have definitely held their value better than 348s and 355s.

Not sure if this counts as old school or not, but production date is almost 30 years ago.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

While I wasn't bowled over by thier design I was bowled over by how they drive; the NSX just works. I've mostly driven them on track but the one time I drove one on the road it was so easy to live with.

Tom1200 said:

David S. Wallens said:

Yup, it's just a column about old cars--not a definitive list or anything. Cool that it's still relevant. 

And it is funny how newer cars transition to old cars. When the Miata came out, it was called too new to have soul. Now now mine wears an antique license plate....

I'm always puzzled by the Miata having been thought of as souless at the time of it's release.  I rode in one at an autocross school when they first came out an I instantly thought it was fantastic old school style car...........we even went to lunch in the car and I further fell in love with it.

I also had a similar reaction to the new Mini  and Cayman when those came out.

With that said there is something about 70s and 80s cars that really appeal to me.  For me 60s cars are just a bit to crude and 90s cars have a modern feel to me.  I think it comes down to you have to make certain adjustments / drive around some of the handling foibles of 70s & 80s cars. 

I sum up the Datsun by saying you have to drive it like you hate it and you're trying to break it...............that fact that it seldom breaks is why I love it. I never thought I'd own the car for 37 years.

 

That was my thought about the Miata. Soulless, imitation Lotus Elan. 
      I've come to accept that it's a good value sports car.   However as a Die Hard Anglophile. I'm just not excited by them. 

frenchyd said:

That was my thought about the Miata. Soulless, imitation Lotus Elan. 
      I've come to accept that it's a good value sports car.   However as a Die Hard Anglophile. I'm just not excited by them. 

Imatation,no, the Miata actaully works on so many levels. Note I've driven both.

I haven't had a cool old car since I gave my 86 GTi 8v to my son.

However, lately people have been giving me the thumbs up or stopping me to talk to me when I am driving my 1997 Jetta GT.  

Yes, I said my 1997 Jetta GT.  I don't get it.  My car is not old (um, right) and certainly not classic. 

But I do have to admit I like the simplicity of my Jetta.  This week the t-belt manual tensioner  failed and it stopped running at 65 mph.  I feared for the worst while someone at work replaced the tensioner and t-belt.  The car started up and ran.

Yes I have an old car.  Classic?  I guess it is not really my decision, is it.

Scott  (Who still wants an old car)

In reply to Noddaz :

When I got my now 50 year old "vintage" race car is was a 12 year old Japanese econobox. 

Tom1200 said:

In reply to Noddaz :

When I got my now 50 year old "vintage" race car is was a 12 year old Japanese econobox. 

Neat!

When I bought my now 54 year old race car (well street car that I made into a race car before vintage racing existed) it was also 12 years old.  Maybe we need a thread on who has owned a car the longest.

There's nothing like an Alfa Spider in the mountains with the top down.  

Noddaz said:

I haven't had a cool old car since I gave my 86 GTi 8v to my son.

However, lately people have been giving me the thumbs up or stopping me to talk to me when I am driving my 1997 Jetta GT.  

Yes, I said my 1997 Jetta GT.  I don't get it.  My car is not old (um, right) and certainly not classic. 

But I do have to admit I like the simplicity of my Jetta.  This week the t-belt manual tensioner  failed and it stopped running at 65 mph.  I feared for the worst while someone at work replaced the tensioner and t-belt.  The car started up and ran.

Yes I have an old car.  Classic?  I guess it is not really my decision, is it.

Scott  (Who still wants an old car)

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like the public has decided that, yes, it's a classic. 

wrenchklutz said:

There's nothing like an Alfa Spider in the mountains with the top down.  

Where exactly is this? ...I would dearly love to toss the "V" down that path.

wspohn said:

Tom1200 said:

In reply to Noddaz :

When I got my now 50 year old "vintage" race car is was a 12 year old Japanese econobox. 

Neat!

When I bought my now 54 year old race car (well street car that I made into a race car before vintage racing existed) it was also 12 years old.  Maybe we need a thread on who has owned a car the longest.

My 69 year old MGTD I've owned for 60 years is likely the longest.   
  Putting that in todays world  I  paid $300 for a 9 year old car with an engine that blew up in 23 miles after purchase.  Yes it was the cheapest sportscar available at the time. Sports cars were the hot market.   So I paid 1/8th of the selling price  for a 9 year old car that blew up its engine 23 miles later.   
And I still own it!!! Yeh now it runs  

My longest tenure: approaching 24 years with the Miata, with web updates going back to 2000.

I almost had a 911SC for free.  It was abandoned at my buddy's storage facility so he filed a lien on it so I could take it.  On the last day of the waiting period the owner showed up with a trailer and paid.

I also have a different take on "old school."  For me, that description doesn't start until about 1970 or earlier.

Most of our stuff is old. We enjoy the character of older vehicles very much. And most times enjoy working on them. Sometimes we dislike them wildly. All part of the program I suppose. On my way to the bank literally right now to get funds for the new trans for the old convertible... 

I didn't recognize the significance of this year until now. When we bought out Alfa back in '96, it was 23 years old, and very much a classic. My bought brand new Miata is now 23 years old. It's a classic, no doubt. 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I almost had a 911SC for free.  It was abandoned at my buddy's storage facility so he filed a lien on it so I could take it.  On the last day of the waiting period the owner showed up with a trailer and paid.

I also have a different take on "old school."  For me, that description doesn't start until about 1970 or earlier.

I'm the same way but given my age that's understandable. I actually grew up working on old Flatheads, straight 8 Buicks, and believe it or not an actual Duesenburg. 

In reply to alfadriver :

Funny how that happens, right? When I bought my Miata, it was a used car–literally purchased it from the used car side of an Orlando Chevy dealer. Today, it wears Antique plates. 

frenchyd said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I almost had a 911SC for free.  It was abandoned at my buddy's storage facility so he filed a lien on it so I could take it.  On the last day of the waiting period the owner showed up with a trailer and paid.

I also have a different take on "old school."  For me, that description doesn't start until about 1970 or earlier.

I'm the same way but given my age that's understandable. I actually grew up working on old Flatheads, straight 8 Buicks, and believe it or not an actual Duesenburg. 

Yeah, I'm 48 but growing up in the malaise era I gravitated toward classics and ended up working in the hot rodding world.  At one point the newest car in our shop was a 51 Bucktooth Merc.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Funny, indeed.  Time has flown, but what is a "classic" car doesn't seem to shift much.  Doesn't make that much sense.

Then again, I listen to a radio station that regularly plays 80's songs as well as brand new ones.  Which would be like listening to new Nirvana and Buddy Holly on the same station.  Or even some late 40's big band song just after Under Pressure by Queen.

alfadriver said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Funny, indeed.  Time has flown, but what is a "classic" car doesn't seem to shift much.  Doesn't make that much sense.

Then again, I listen to a radio station that regularly plays 80's songs as well as brand new ones.  Which would be like listening to new Nirvana and Buddy Holly on the same station.  Or even some late 40's big band song just after Under Pressure by Queen.

Back in the late 80s our local college radio station played Reggae, Blues, Punk & Alternative.  Some days the DJs would follow up the Dead Kennedys with Screamin Jay Hawkins " I Put a Spell on You". I love stations that do that type of thing.

Our 50 year old vintage car was a mere 12 years old when we bought it. In my mind it's still just an old used car we bought for $270.