Cars of old... they just don't seem old
Discussion
I was born in the early 80's and was into cars from as early as I can remember! However, I remember my dad showing me cars like the E-type Jag and Jenson Interceptors and thinking they looked really old. At the time an E type Jag would have been probably 15-20 years old.
Now I drive a car which is 18 years old and I see others on the road and they just don't seem to look as old fashioned as an 18 year old car in the 80's. I often think is this simply because I remember them being new and as such cannot ever appear as old as something that was there before me. Or is it the fact that car design just hasn't moved forward in the last 20 years as it did from the 60's to the 80's?
Will my car look as old to a young lad as an E-type did to me in the 80's and on the flip side do people in their 40's/50's still think an E-type isn't that old?
Discuss..
Now I drive a car which is 18 years old and I see others on the road and they just don't seem to look as old fashioned as an 18 year old car in the 80's. I often think is this simply because I remember them being new and as such cannot ever appear as old as something that was there before me. Or is it the fact that car design just hasn't moved forward in the last 20 years as it did from the 60's to the 80's?
Will my car look as old to a young lad as an E-type did to me in the 80's and on the flip side do people in their 40's/50's still think an E-type isn't that old?
Discuss..
I would say that car design has moved on far quicker in the last 10 years then ever, forget 20. I reckon the gap between cars from the 60s and 80s is much less than recently.
Cars seem to be more throw away white goods now than they used to be, you don't really see many old cars from the 90s now as you would have seen cars from the 60s in the 80s IYKWIM?
Cars seem to be more throw away white goods now than they used to be, you don't really see many old cars from the 90s now as you would have seen cars from the 60s in the 80s IYKWIM?
As above, what you grew up with.
I knew I had to have a Corrado VR6 the moment I sat in a brand spanking new one as a 9 year old (my Dad used to repair them when they got delivery damage). It only feels old when winter arrives.
Cars like the E46 BMW 3 series, Rover 75, Jaguar S-Type are 13 year old designs now and I wouldn't say they looked old! In fact I'm trawling the auctions on Thursday as I want another shed (some of these cars are too cheap to pass up!)
I knew I had to have a Corrado VR6 the moment I sat in a brand spanking new one as a 9 year old (my Dad used to repair them when they got delivery damage). It only feels old when winter arrives.
Cars like the E46 BMW 3 series, Rover 75, Jaguar S-Type are 13 year old designs now and I wouldn't say they looked old! In fact I'm trawling the auctions on Thursday as I want another shed (some of these cars are too cheap to pass up!)
Urban Sports said:
I would say that car design has moved on far quicker in the last 10 years then ever, forget 20. I reckon the gap between cars from the 60s and 80s is much less than recently.
Cars seem to be more throw away white goods now than they used to be, you don't really see many old cars from the 90s now as you would have seen cars from the 60s in the 80s IYKWIM?
Hmmm I wouldn't agree with that really. In fact I would say older cars are more common now than they have ever been. I remember being aged 10 and my mum had a 1981 Cortina (also aged 10) and this was the oldest car waiting outside the school gates! Compare that to how many 51plate cars are still on the road and to me those cars still seem relatively new! Cars seem to be more throw away white goods now than they used to be, you don't really see many old cars from the 90s now as you would have seen cars from the 60s in the 80s IYKWIM?
6potdave said:
Urban Sports said:
I would say that car design has moved on far quicker in the last 10 years then ever, forget 20. I reckon the gap between cars from the 60s and 80s is much less than recently.
Cars seem to be more throw away white goods now than they used to be, you don't really see many old cars from the 90s now as you would have seen cars from the 60s in the 80s IYKWIM?
Hmmm I wouldn't agree with that really. In fact I would say older cars are more common now than they have ever been. I remember being aged 10 and my mum had a 1981 Cortina (also aged 10) and this was the oldest car waiting outside the school gates! Compare that to how many 51plate cars are still on the road and to me those cars still seem relatively new! Cars seem to be more throw away white goods now than they used to be, you don't really see many old cars from the 90s now as you would have seen cars from the 60s in the 80s IYKWIM?
I think cars date a lot more these days than they did years ago...
Fiesta from 1984...
Not hugely different from the one being produced until 1996...
Look at one from 2001...
and 2008...
Seems in the last 5 years that cars have every surface painted, huge wheels and smaller windows.
Also does anyone else think that most manufacturers bring out new models more frequently than they used too?
Fiesta from 1984...
Not hugely different from the one being produced until 1996...
Look at one from 2001...
and 2008...
Seems in the last 5 years that cars have every surface painted, huge wheels and smaller windows.
Also does anyone else think that most manufacturers bring out new models more frequently than they used too?
I think the build quality has a big part to play in this, when working in a garage in 1997 we were fixing cars like sierras, escorts, rovers ect at that time the cars were not old but I remenber doing welding ect on a 1992 car in 1997, you would never weld a 5 year old car today because the quality of the metal and rust proofing, cars last much longer.
Take the mk2 mr2, came out in 1989 and you still see them driving about and still look good, same as the bmw e36 you see loads of them.
Take the mk2 mr2, came out in 1989 and you still see them driving about and still look good, same as the bmw e36 you see loads of them.
It all depends on the design in question. I still firmly believe that when the Ford Ka was released in 1996 that it was the first genuinely original design seen on 'white goods' car for decades. I still also believe the design has held up very well over the years and still looks good today. Its replacement doesn't look - and isn't - original, it's a Fiat 500 in a blue oval suit.
TTwiggy said:
I think that colour-keyed bumpers that are designed as part of the bodywork make a lot of distinction between 'modern' and 'old fashioned'.
Hence a 1978 Porsche 928 can look quite up to date, while a 1978 911 looks old.
This definitely makes a big difference - MK2 MR2s are a good example; they look rather dated now, if the sidestrips are still plastic. When they're body-coloured they look so much more modern. Something for the list, as soon as I can afford a compressor and painting kit.Hence a 1978 Porsche 928 can look quite up to date, while a 1978 911 looks old.
irish boy said:
i've ben thinking the same thing recently....can't quite believe an e36 bmw is 20 years old, remember them new in the local bmw garage like it was yesterday. I passed my test in '94 and back then the thought of driving a '74 car would have been rather silly.
Exactly! It's the same with bikes as well I've been look at mid 90's Fireblades and although you can tell they're not new they don't look almost 20.. American influence as car makers try to go global.
American's hate unpainted plastic. hence why all bumpers are now colour coded.
American's like bigger cars, hence why Euro car's have got larger, as to harmonise the range
American's like chrome, hence why modern cars are festooned with the stuff
Seems like the american's have lead the way with car design after all
American's hate unpainted plastic. hence why all bumpers are now colour coded.
American's like bigger cars, hence why Euro car's have got larger, as to harmonise the range
American's like chrome, hence why modern cars are festooned with the stuff
Seems like the american's have lead the way with car design after all
I think there are definite epochs in car design, and cars from the same epoch all look about the same age, I imagine a 1980 Spitfire looks just as old as a 1960 Austin Healey to most people. In the same way, I think a 2010 BMW 3 series looks pretty similar to a 1995 one.
As people have said, it's about design cues. Modern cars have big alloys, molded bumpers, rubbing strips, thick pillers, lights moulded to the bodywork etc etc, the era before had seperate chrome bumpers, round headlights, wooden dash, before that you had narrow body work, tall, narrow wheels and running boards.
There are always exceptions, cars that look like they don't belong with there contemporaries.
As people have said, it's about design cues. Modern cars have big alloys, molded bumpers, rubbing strips, thick pillers, lights moulded to the bodywork etc etc, the era before had seperate chrome bumpers, round headlights, wooden dash, before that you had narrow body work, tall, narrow wheels and running boards.
There are always exceptions, cars that look like they don't belong with there contemporaries.
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