Why do you like the classics you like?

--amadeus--

There are regular battles over what is and what isn't a classic car and it always amazes me the marques and models that people will defend, buy and restore (often long after good financial sense has left the garage!)

My current classic is a MK II Jag and I have dozens of reasons - love the shape and styling, great performance and a great history as getaway cars Before that I had a 911 (for me one of the ultimate drivers cars) but I'd like a Vauxhaul Viva becasue my Dad had one years ago...

So why are you passionate about the cars you're passionate about?

Dades

I've always disliked new cars with their generic looks and the scramble to have the latest model.

Also, my garden gets no sun.

Therefore I drive an old convertible.

3ps

i need mine to attract women

corktina

i need my Cortina to repel women..(you CAN have too much of a good thing...really you can...)

Max_Damage

As someone else said, I don't particularly like newer cars, too much electronic crap in them for my liking. Less is more!

In particular I like 1960's & 1970's American muscle cars, I guess its the idea of a ridiculously large V8 squeezed into a car makes them appealing.

For some reason, I also tend to like 1970's & 1980's everyday cars, especially the more rubbish ones (i.e. Austin Metro, Fiat Ritmo, etc.). These were the cars I remember seeing back when I was a young lad in the early '90's. Nostalgic memories!

peasant

For 17 years now, in one form or another, I've had one. currently I'm driving the 3rd re-incarnation.
The first two as daily driver/camper ...the current one as daily driver only ...and I still haven't figured out why, just that I can't be without one

And it's not even a proper classic yet, just a VW T3 van

Oh ...and I don't especially like VW's either

Dustpuppy

I drive a '67 beetle and i am working on my '72 VW squareback, because i think taht this cars are the best ever made. There is nothing you can't fix yourself. Not like modern computer-playstation-cars. Ask a young fellow with one of this ****-spoiler-scrap how an engine is working, or how to weld a hole in a car. They don't know anything. Owner of old cars know what they have and how it works.
The best way to find out the difference between a real car and a modern car is to sit in a Porsche 356 and in a new 911. Drive both and you feel it.

Alfasudcrazy

For me its about buying all the cars I wanted as a teenager but could not afford back then. I have ticked a good few off my list so far. A peugeot 504, Daimler series II, Alfa Gt Junior, which have been and gone and my current fleet made up of two Alfasuds, a Sprint, a TR6, Mk I Scirocco, MkII Golf Gti all cars I drooled over and collected brochures about. I loved to read about them in CAR magazine.

Of course I was hardly a teenager when the Mk II Golf came out so I am also reliving my dream cars from the 80's & 90's as my latest addition the Fiat Coupe attests.

Perhaps in 10 years time it will be the likes of the BMW Z4 coupe and BMW mini's I will be collecting - we will see. :rolleyes:

ds20prefecture

Good question. I fell in love with the DS for it's looks, but as soon as you get to know the car you realise how innovative and advanced it was. There's a sense of occasion every time you start the car.

Since then I've started to like other old Citroens, particularly the Traction Avant and GS. Each is clever, innovative and unusual.

Generally, I reckon older cars were more distinctive than the grey squeezed-from-a-tube blandsmobiles that pass for cars these days.

MercMad

I suppose modern cars have all become very refined and ergonomically correct that its very hard to find any character in any of the average range of cars. You have to spend huge money in order to "buy" excitement, which quickly diminishes when you get that first service invoice or reaslise how much it has depreciated in the last year.

The older cars all have their quirks and foibles and once you have fixed them up and made them reliable and serviceable you can then enjoy each journey far more than in a modern car, as though each journey is a treat!

The reason I picked my car, 280SE Coupe W111 and Pagoda SL, is that I ALMOST recall them when I was younger. they were rare and just dissapearing as newer, less unique looking, replacements started to appear. I had a fascination with 60's era Merc's and simply loved their style. The fact that they can perform as well as modern cars are are just as comfortable if not moreso is a huge bonus. I have regularly covered hundreds of miles in a day without ever feeling weary !

ds20prefecture

One other thing. I think there's a general perception that classics and old cars are intrisically unreliable and far too compromised in terms of day-to-day transport. I don't agree with this at all.

For example, I recently had to lend our day-to-day appliance to visiting friends, meaning my family of 4 had to use either the DS or GS. The 1979 1.1 GS coped admirably with a long journey on mixed motorway/rural roads with surpisingly good performance and economy. Plenty of boot space, The only areas that this 28 year old budget car (it cost me €750) was inferior to our everyday car was passive safety and noise suppression.

Blue850

In my case, my late father ran Triumph 2000s through the 70s and the last car he had was a Merc W114 280E. A granduncle of mine worked in a Fiat dealership in the 70s and 80s so a lot of relatives had 127s 131s Ritmos and Unos and then I worked in a couple of Fiat garages hence the 127 GT and 850

maidhc

ds20prefecture wrote:

One other thing. I think there's a general perception that classics and old cars are intrisically unreliable and far too compromised in terms of day-to-day transport. I don't agree with this at all.

I used to think the same... but I'm after putting 1000 miles on my 1974 Capri in the past 2 weeks, and all that has gone wrong is a broken exhaust hanger (€1 to repair...!).

I'll still keep my Focus diesel though.

My reason for buying a Capri? Cheap, reliable, good looking, parts are 10 a penny, and it is half decent to drive too.

RobAMerc

Cars I wanted my Dad didn't buy, cars he bought I liked, cars my brother and I used to get argue about ( Alfasud Cloverleaf vs Golf Gti vs Escort XR3i etc )

We used to spend quite a bit of time in Italy when I was young and there was always great excitement about when someone got a new Fiat, Lancia, Alfa or one Uncle who always bought French, all the family used to climb all over them and there would be great debate around the table over which was better and why, so I am nuts about anything Italian but have managed to keep my hand in my pocket most of the time except for the Fulvia which I still cry about stupid rust !

Traumadoc

Mid-life crisis- it was cheaper than a mistress and safer than a motorbike.

Lyre61

Citroens mainly, got to sit in a DS before I could read. And before someone says anything that was more than last week
Been hooked every since. I love looking at other Classics, and have driven a lot of other makes but keep coming back to the Citroens. Any real trouble I have had has been down to my own stupidy like " sure it`ll be OK I`ll tighten it up later"

chevyv8

I love 50s 60s and 70s yankee motors.there used to be a lot of yank metal around when i was a young un. just love the size of the old yanks and sound of a good old v8. i remember a black 59 chevy impala outside the fourcourts in the 60s, a 66 fastback mustang in stillorgan outside the old ok garage, a ford falcon outside the slender health in stillorgan, a couple of camaros as well,my dad had a standard 8 which i remember very well, i know where that car is today, he also had a few morris 1100s and other bits and pieces. as for modern cars, they all look the same, feel the same and you cant work on them cos of the amount of on board computers and electric gizmos. give me an oldie any day and a few tools.

tc20

Theres a couple of reasons why i drive what i drive (a 72 Merc W114). Ive always loved cars, and i guess part of the reason is driving the cars that were around when one was a kid. Altho were talking early 70s here, so there wasnt the amount of desirable or exotics that we see nowadays.
Another reason is for the styling and the lines of yesteryear cars. I do notice chrome is making a comeback on a lot of modern cars, but for me it doesnt have the 'look' as it did on classics.
Also there's the 'character' factor. Not just another blandobox motor, and also the quirks and foibles, the smell,mechanical involvement, and as already posted, the lack of gizmos.

My dad had quite a variety of cars, tho all were humdrum motors, i do recognise their aesthetic qualities. My fave car of the old mans was a Mk1 Escort, id love to have one at some stage. My merc is my first classic, and altho ideally id love a stable full of classics, money and herself :rolleyes: , wont allow for this. So i'll just change now and then. Apart from the Escort, i fancy the DS, an Alfa or two, a 911, some more Mercs, and thats just being realistic. American muscle cars will come when my 6 numbers come up!

G Luxel

I like Rootes cars like Humber Sceptres, Hillman Minx and Hunters. I also like the large Ford Zodiac Executive Mark 4. Dont seem to see them around anymore. Have they all been scrapped? come to think of it, I dont even see Granadas or Scorpios either....:( Yank tanks I like too such as pre 76 Cadillac Fleetwoods or Oldsmobiles.

macplaxton

Technical quirks / ease of maintenance / cheap running costs / easy to find in a big car park

DAF - Variomatic transmission
Reliants (Economy) - GRP body, aluminium alloy engine, good mpg, dodgy handling
Austin 1100 - Hydrolastic suspension
Austin 1800 - same as above, HUGE inside, very rigid body design
Hillman Imp - rear aluminium alloy engine, sweet shifting transaxle
Citroën Dyane/2CV - linked suspension

Eric318

- Driving a fully depreciated car is the most environmentally friendly form of transport, regardless of its fuel economy as it saves the environmental costs of building a new one and destroying an old one (explain this to your kids when they talk about global warming, of course the argument is half moot if you ALSO buy a new car...).

- The Jaguar XJC is for me the most beautiful car within my affordability band and beyond. Hands down. Nothing beats it ever!

- I can repair my classics myself at low cost (but quite a bit of time): simple mechanics and cheap parts.

- When I (rarely) breakdown, I quickly meet somebody who will help me and sometimes make a new friend in the process.

- Wanting to be different from the crowd.

My first classic, a white Traction Avant was the best choice on all dimensions. I took it out of its many year sleep a few weeks and it all came clear again!

highlydebased

Mk IV Cortina's, Granadas, Sierras. Almost certainly not chic-magnets though!