Classic Cars

A lot of classic or vintage cars on the road today have survived because ordinary folks could fix them.I am talking about carburetor cars with no E.C.U.units like the old Jags or M.G.s.etc.With the advent of a computer run car,what car do you think will be a future classic.Or will vintage cars from the twenty first century be to expensive to maintain in the future.I still think Ferrari etc will have classic vehicles but what about say the Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Astra.I cannot see people spending a fortune to keep these machines going.In the U.K.a lot of very ordinary type,not sports cars have been looked after by people who are nostalgic about old cars.I cannot see this happening in the future.What do you petrol heads think.

A lot of classic cars are in demand because of thier looks, not just repairability. Take the 60's GTO and early Mustangs for examples. Todays cars, mainly since the 80's, all look alike. About the only American made cars that constantly looked different than all the others were the Pontiac's. You could see one coming down the road and tell it was a Pontiac, everything else had to get close so you could read the name on the car.

American car makers are going back to that. The new style Mustang and Dodge Challenger look like updated versions of the 70's models.

Mechanics today learn how to do all the computer stuff, I hope, on the the new cars so I don't think that will affect the classic car craze. People pass down to thier kids how to fix them, and just like before, since computers are all over the place, people will figure out what to do..

a golf gti is a modern classic

no offence wildabeast but no american cars can be described as classics.theyre slow ugly and cant turn corners like european cars

Edited by trollocks, 20 September 2009 - 03:55 PM.

ok i am not a motorhead but i have a 98 acura tl with the 3.2 liter v6. in 99 they drastically changed the body lines of this model and people stare at this car because of its classic lines. acura owners ask if we will sell it. they say they have an 02 or 04 or whatever and they are looking for a 98.

theyre slow ugly and cant turn corners like european cars

If you ever drive there trollocks you'll see why the don't need to. Slow...are you kidding.

No offense taken trollocks, over here we have our classics. I'm sure you have some over there that we would not think of as classics, that's just the way it is where ever you're from.

a golf gti is a modern classic

no offence wildabeast but no american cars can be described as classics.theyre slow ugly and cant turn corners like european cars

HAH?!?! WHAT?!?!
69 Camaro with a 406 upwards of 800 horsepower off the bottle...right dude dont screw with that thing it pulls corners faster than you reach em..
Or the 70 chevelle with 1200 hp also off the bottle...
81 monte carlo capable of ridin on the bumper with only 600 horsepower...so much torque you can skid on your roof in first gear...
Dude..A golf GTI comes with v6 and around 211 horsepower..
Nearly any muscle car comes stock with 400+
when I say off bottle I mean WITHOUT NOS...imagine if we pushed the button lol..
Lol get real bro. I dont know anything about computers but try to talk about cars because I'll stay with ya there.

Edited by KingofDestruction, 20 September 2009 - 09:59 PM.

Interesting Thread Guys.

 I believe none of the current generation of Cars,will ever become a true Classic.

They are just heaps of plastic on wheels.Only got to have a touch and plastic is laying everywhere on the roadway.

They also only have a short lifespan,because who in their right mind would try and restore one of these "Plastic Fantastics"?

Real Men drive American Classics.

I have owned quite a few,and the favourites I owned, were a 1967 GTO Pontiac, and a '69 Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet. 

Give  me steel and Chrome,and a thumping V/8 any Day.

I'm gonna have to go with the heap "of plastic on wheels" in this case.

Head on collision test between 1959 Chevy and 2009 Chevy.


Wouldn't you?

The driver of the 2009 would have a better chance of living to be a "classic", and that just might be an important consideration.

Interesting Thread Guys.

 I believe none of the current generation of Cars,will ever become a true Classic.

They are just heaps of plastic on wheels.Only got to have a touch and plastic is laying everywhere on the roadway.

They also only have a short lifespan,because who in their right mind would try and restore one of these "Plastic Fantastics"?

Real Men drive American Classics.

I have owned quite a few,and the favourites I owned, were a 1967 GTO Pontiac, and a '69 Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet. 

Give  me steel and Chrome,and a thumping V/8 any Day.

I agree and disagree. While the V8 is a good engine. Any engine could be made fast. Ive got a 99 saturn sl2 that runs competition over all over town. Just saying.

Honestly, I'm an exotic car guy, so don't flame me because I have favoritism for Exotics. I do also like American Classics, and I want to drive a 70's Mustang one day =D

But, in today's world, there might be a few cars that are considered "Classics."
Maybe in 30 so years, the new Camero might be considered a "Classic".

I, myself, would say some of the Halo Models of Ferrari, Audi, and possibly Mercedes have a chance of "Classic", but everyone is entitled to their opinion..

(I'm pretty sure in 30 years, people will pay millions for a Ferrari Enzo..)

There will never be another "classic" car. Sure some may survive 25 years but the kids who drive them today will still covet the GTO, Chevelle, Falcon, Galaxy, Charger, and so on. Why? because you cannot buy a purely mechanical vehicle anymore unless is a Harley-Davidson. All cars and trucks have little computers that must be programed and are inherently flawed. A blown motor can be rebuilt or replaced, so can a damaged drive axle, but these computers once the dealers and salvage yards quit making them the new cars cannot run legally.

Todays cars are designed to break down and force you to buy a new one or have expensive repairs done to it. fact of life. The Classic car is dead! All hail the classic car!

If you look at it that way, WE'RE DOOMED!!

Okay, maybe not, but true. Most production cars today are cheaper then they once were (in Purchase Price Power) in the 70's. Why? The material used is now a lot more abundant is much more cheaper. The cars are no longer man made, they have robots producing them, such as in Honda and Toyota's case. Plus, have you seen a car crash? These car's get TORN apart. Literally.

There will never be another "classic" car. Sure some may survive 25 years but the kids who drive them today will still covet the GTO, Chevelle, Falcon, Galaxy, Charger, and so on. Why? because you cannot buy a purely mechanical vehicle anymore unless is a Harley-Davidson. All cars and trucks have little computers that must be programed and are inherently flawed. A blown motor can be rebuilt or replaced, so can a damaged drive axle, but these computers once the dealers and salvage yards quit making them the new cars cannot run legally.

Todays cars are designed to break down and force you to buy a new one or have expensive repairs done to it. fact of life. The Classic car is dead! All hail the classic car!

My Thoughts,Exactly, BlackSpyder.

A lot of interesting replies.But I think along the lines of BlackSpyder.When a car is no longer largely mechanical its days as a classic are numbered.I often repaired my own cars but on these computer controlled injection cars you cannot repair them.Even if it can make a million adjustments a second,if you feel no difference whats the point.I was in a Golf mkII a couple of years ago and a old lady run into the side of me at a roundabout and wrote it off.I was given a modern hire car with a few thousand on the clock while the claim was sorted and its acceleration was not as good as my mkII with 139,000 miles on it.I am saddened by the loss of the old carburettor cars that I could repair and tune myself.