Is it just me or does pretty much any older car look good to you now?

[Brock Samson]

  Yeah thanks bob, good to know someone agrees with me.. even if it's just you, 

Hey about those headlights,.. priced a headlight recently?.. what's an 'ol fashioned round sealed beam going for these days?..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-Truck-Parts-Accessories__SEALED-BEAM-ford-MUSTANG-65-73-headlight-lamp-round-70_W0QQitemZ370090665618QQadiZ2865QQadnZCarQ20Q26Q20TruckQ20PartsQ20Q26Q20AccessoriesQQcmdZViewItem?hash=item370090665618&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A543%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


and the price of the protruding ones off a new camery?..   

  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts-Accessories_Car-Truck-Parts-Accessories__2007-2008-TOYOTA-CAMRY-LEFT-HEADLIGHT_W0QQitemZ250312297397QQddnZPartsQ20Q26Q20AccessoriesQQadiZ2865QQddiZ2811QQadnZCarQ20Q26Q20TruckQ20PartsQ20Q26Q20AccessoriesQQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250312297397&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A543%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

[The70RT]

Like I was stating  The one for the Mustang fits a thousand others too.....and the Camry....just the Camry

[bull]

My money says that in about 30 years bull will be searching Hemmings for an '06 Charger because he loves the styling.   

In 30 years I'll be crapping my Depends and trying to eat the salt shaker.

[Brock Samson]

 

[SFRT]

also..I have new vehicles and they lack...'romance' or perhaps 'possibility'.

a new vehicle is just like a sealed box, you cant really  enlarge on it or really 'connect' somehow. an older car, every old car I see, I start to imagine fixing it up, customizing it, hot rodding it..because, well you actually can. Like, theres no limits on 'old cars'.

[Mike DC]

This whole issue makes me want a '69 Camaro or a '70 Chevelle or '68 Mustang sometimes, just for a cruiser if nothing else. 

They're still so common, so heavily reproduction supported . . . I'd be doing snow-donuts with it during the winter instead of worrying about a rainstorm in the middle of the summer with a Mopar.





Keep the repro Charger parts coming, that's all I've got to say. 

[BROCK]

Heart n soul, style, character & servicabilty are all very good reasons for loving older cars. 
Capturing my youth?  Nah, never entered my mind.  There are very few cars newer than
1974 that have caught my attention.  Once the gobmint & insurance cocks got a hold of
the industry, cars became just a way to get to & from work.  Don't get me wrong, we've
come a long way in performance, economy & ecologically - but much of our freedoms to
do what we want with newer cars is no longer legal.  So for me, older cars represent
freedom.

[Mike DC]

That's the truth.



Modern cars are just very big expensive household appliances.  And like all appliances, they're on an ever-shrinking corkscrew of crappier build quality combined with less practicality to repair anything on it. 

If you're wealthy enough to replace everything you own every 3 years, your life is easy as pie.  If you're anything below that, you're screwed.   

[bull]

Look at this baby!

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/cto/898898244.html

[6pkrunner]

I bought the '71 RR thinking it would make a sweet Daily Driver, but that just ain't the case. It's too brutal and basic and primitive, No Cruise, - no A/C - No Sweet 1000 watt 9 speaker Aftermarket stereo with CD, Radio & Tape Player, -
plus three extra power outlets for the cell phone charger, and heated coffee Mug, No power windows, door locks, sun roof,-ABS- traction control, folding rear seats that pass through to the trunk, No extra two doors in the back so I dont have to kiss a huge skinny plastic steering wheel when guests jump in the back like the old iron... the '99 has leather everything, four cupholders, armrests front and rear, fully tinted windows, fully adjustable power heated seats. The list of ammenities just goes on and on... then there's the 17-27 MPG, the runner only gets 12 - 14 on the best of days... But yeah, The road runner is a nice hammer and the looks I get from the earth firsters, what's that called?.. the "Stink Eye"?.. 
Alot of these old cars I see, I love to look at them and remember what they stood for in automotive culture when new and I'm really so glad the owners are keeping them out there, but I know they can't hold a candle to today's advancements in automotive efficency, safety and comfort.
I still love to see em though..  &
I still love to safari hunting and shooting the old beasts, it's alot easyier in the modern whooptie though...
I got over 200 new pics of old cars, trucks and bikes I've just loaded into a folder I'll post up soon..

Getting old has a lot to do with this also. But I do agree 100% with you. The old girls are nice for a blast around for a day or so, but who'd want to use them as true daily drivers? Parallel parking with Armstrong steering? 70 series bias plys? In the same vein who'd want to go back to 3 or so channels on their 26 inch black and white TV? We remember with fondness the good times, but in some cases don't really want to go back for long periods of time - just a 4 gear rubber lay and a quick snap to 120mph. Reach for the cruise....and the bubble bursts.
But the old girls have class and character that the do-all generic cookie cutter conveyance devices of today lack. Park a 1968 hemi road runner next to a Viper - both idling. Who is the bigger draw? The Viper will outperform the RR in all measures in spades - but who is the crowd favorite? Simpler times indeed.

[bull]

You guys are friggin' pansies! Well, maybe not, but after riding a bicycle to and from work 4 days a week for the past 4 months I'm thinking that just a cushy seat that's wider than my butt, a heater and roof over my head is a far sight better than nothing.

[6pkrunner]

The riding to work 4 days a week bit. Is this self-inflicted via the get in shape business or does the green hand of conservation reach out?

[jeryst]

I can think of a whole bunch of reasons, many of them already stated...

1. Brute, ground shaking horsepower, rumblilng exhaust, loping idle. Not anemic, muffled, or fartcan.
2. Easy for you to work on with basic tools. Open the hood and see a motor, not metal spaghetti that requires a PhD and thousand of dollars of specialized equipment.
3. New cars all lack character. Every car from any specific maker has style branding. Today, every Dodge has a cross grill. Wasnt like that back then.
4. They are unique and scarce in todays world. Predators. Like a pack of wolves among millions of sheep.
5. Old cars came with bragging rights. New cars come with creature comforts.
6. Most new cars cant even chirp the tires let alone leave black streaks a hundred feet long.

As guys, we bonded with the looks of those cars, in our formative years, so like Salmon returning home to spawn, we feel drawn to them. Many good times were had in and around those cars, and it makes us feel good when we remember those times. Like hearing an old song that means something special or reminds us of a particular event. At least, that's how I feel. Disclaimer: Not neccessarily a typical response. Your own experience may vary. 

[Brock Samson]

 in anycase i really enjoy spotting an old car, particularly maintained stock daily drivers which I call California black plate specials because they still have their original plates... ok, so what is an older car?.. my '99,.. Twenty years back?.. Thirty?..
but a '64 chevelle four door with a six probably wont do it for me.. go figure...


The point in my previous rant was that I like four doors the front wheel drive and the 6 in my M. I can live with it on a daily basis - like a great wife, but on the weekends, those special days when I need to git my freak on it's nice to have a misstress...

   
or two.. 
   

[Charger_Fan]

Well, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one feeling urges to play with different older cars. There for a while (along with the eye-rolling from my Wife & kids), I thought I was just going crazy. Maybe it's a sickness, but I don't care, I'm having fun. I guess it's a good thing that I don't have a larger yard, or I would be dragging home a LOT more fun old things to play with. 
BTW, I currently classify an "older car" as most anything late 70's & older...and some in the mid 80's, maybe. I like older trucks about equally as older cars, too.

The other day I saw some guy driving a clean, non restored '75-ish Camaro Berlinetta on the freeway & thought that car looks COOL! It wasn't anything special by any means & only had aftermarket wheels as the only deviation from bone stock, but it was just cool to see it out mingling with all the current belly button cars on the freeway.

[Mike DC]

 
This hobby thinks building a 9-sec-but-streetable Charger is a realistic & worthwhile goal, but building a Charger with modern NVH and reliability is totally impractical. 

[Sinister68]

This is only new car I wouldn't mind owning 

[bull]

The riding to work 4 days a week bit. Is this self-inflicted via the get in shape business or does the green hand of conservation reach out?

Option A. Plus I'm saving some dough.

[68charger383]

It's funny I just found this topic. I just sold my 68 Mercury Cougar which I used to drive to work on Fridays and could drive to the grocery store and leave outside without worrying.

I suddenly found myself with some cash and room for another car. I've been looking at a lot of different cars and makes. I've always wanted a 67/68 firebird and prices are coming down. However, I feel in this economy I should just bank the cash. I think I'm going to hang tight for a little while, but it's like a kid in a candy store.

On a side note, its not just the old cars that are looking good, but now that I'm in my 40s, I see some women in their 40s that are looking good.....I must be getting to old.