Your favourite era for cars and driving?
Discussion
Judging by articles Ive read on here recently, most Ph'ers get misty eyed over old Peugeot GTIs and other late 80s and early 90s stuff. I do wonder in fact if motoring reached a kind of zenith by about 1992. By then most cars were rust proofed fairly well, reliable and handled well, but were still basic enough to need proper driver input to deliver. Also, there werent so many gatsos and reduced speed limits back then, petrol wasnt so expensive and the nanny state hadnt taken hold quite so much.......
... The current crop of performance cars are miles faster and grippier, but seem to often miss that je ne se quoi of their simpler forebears....
So I'm for one a big late 80s fan and the period from 87 to about 93/94 is my favourite.
Whats yours?
... The current crop of performance cars are miles faster and grippier, but seem to often miss that je ne se quoi of their simpler forebears....
So I'm for one a big late 80s fan and the period from 87 to about 93/94 is my favourite.
Whats yours?
For me it's the 60s - IMO for the keen driver things starting going downhill with EFI, fell off a cliff with power steering, and carried on going down from there. Add do that the increasing number of cars clogging up the roads...
Plus the 60s was the last era of genuinely good-looking mainstream cars, and a highpoint for the looks of exotics, IMO.
Plus the 60s was the last era of genuinely good-looking mainstream cars, and a highpoint for the looks of exotics, IMO.
kambites said:
For me it's the 60s - IMO for the keen driver things starting going downhill with EFI, fell off a cliff with power steering, and carried on going down from there. Add do that the increasing number of cars clogging up the roads...
Plus the 60s was the last era of genuinely good-looking mainstream cars, and a highpoint for the looks of exotics, IMO.
You appear to be driving an Elise not an Elan Kam Plus the 60s was the last era of genuinely good-looking mainstream cars, and a highpoint for the looks of exotics, IMO.
Fear not Im only teasing. For me its the 60s of course aswell.
DJRC said:
kambites said:
For me it's the 60s - IMO for the keen driver things starting going downhill with EFI, fell off a cliff with power steering, and carried on going down from there. Add do that the increasing number of cars clogging up the roads...
Plus the 60s was the last era of genuinely good-looking mainstream cars, and a highpoint for the looks of exotics, IMO.
You appear to be driving an Elise not an Elan Kam Plus the 60s was the last era of genuinely good-looking mainstream cars, and a highpoint for the looks of exotics, IMO.
Fear not Im only teasing. For me its the 60s of course aswell.
I'm 25, and I definitely think late 80s to mid 90s were the best years. Cars were developed enough that they were reliable, would always start, had what I would consider essential gadgets eg air conditioning, cruise control etc, but they were still simple enough to allow home maintenance and repair, and weren't yet strangled by regulations so there was real variety. All cars now look alike to me.
It was also a time when manufacturers like Toyota, BMW, Mercedes etc were still proving themselves and producing real quality. Not the fake veneer of quality we now have (I'm looking at you audi)
It was also a time when manufacturers like Toyota, BMW, Mercedes etc were still proving themselves and producing real quality. Not the fake veneer of quality we now have (I'm looking at you audi)
Edited by DaveCWK on Thursday 1st November 14:50
kambites said:
As a driver's car I wanted an Elan, but I know a couple of owners and as a daily driver I was put off by the sieve like construction of the roof and the tendency for the chassis to rust away as you look at it. The Elan is still the best road car I've ever driven.
I'm just about to drive mine home, in the dark, in what looks like impending rain. I'll let you know how it goes... LOLFor driving, whatever the current generation is. Small volume manufacturers keep building cars that have damping, steering feel, engine response and power that is better than went before. In the mass market, reliability tends to get better - with some exceptions - as does driver ergonomics and safety.
Looks wise, I love the French Curve derived lines of the 50s and 60s.
Looks wise, I love the French Curve derived lines of the 50s and 60s.
I'm 24, and have literally no interest anymore in anything made after the year 2000. I made a living from modern performance cars so I do appreciate how good they are, but they just don't appeal to me anymore.
I decided a while back to go for a used GTR, drove one, then decided to hold onto what I have, and add a Cerbera to it.
The late 70's through to early 90's was the pinnacle of motoring in my eyes. Rallying was at it's most popular, and the ordinary car enthusiast could relate to it. Now, we're priced out of it altogether.
I've just built this for myself in homage to the cars and drivers of the glory years.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I decided a while back to go for a used GTR, drove one, then decided to hold onto what I have, and add a Cerbera to it.
The late 70's through to early 90's was the pinnacle of motoring in my eyes. Rallying was at it's most popular, and the ordinary car enthusiast could relate to it. Now, we're priced out of it altogether.
I've just built this for myself in homage to the cars and drivers of the glory years.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
rhinochopig said:
For driving, whatever the current generation is. Small volume manufacturers keep building cars that have damping, steering feel, engine response and power that is better than went before. In the mass market, reliability tends to get better - with some exceptions - as does driver ergonomics and safety. .
+1and we have more and more trackdays and trackday organisers for enjoying the cars on track as well.
I'd imagine most people will pick the era they started to drive in. I have "rose-tinted" visions of my early driving days about "how good it used to be", but in reality it was probably was no better than other eras.
However I'm in no doubt that motoring in general is a lot more expensive now than it was in the past. I never paid the huge insurance premiums that young drivers appear to pay now and I remember being able to fill up my little 1.2 litre Fiesta with a £10 note in my back pocket.
It also felt that back then, more people of my age were interested in cars and more cars in general were on the roads. These days, there seems to be less people interested in cars, particularly the younger generation. Maybe it's because of the expense, or gatzos, or just that they'd rather spend time and money on iPhones...
However I'm in no doubt that motoring in general is a lot more expensive now than it was in the past. I never paid the huge insurance premiums that young drivers appear to pay now and I remember being able to fill up my little 1.2 litre Fiesta with a £10 note in my back pocket.
It also felt that back then, more people of my age were interested in cars and more cars in general were on the roads. These days, there seems to be less people interested in cars, particularly the younger generation. Maybe it's because of the expense, or gatzos, or just that they'd rather spend time and money on iPhones...
My heart says 60s(Elans , 275GTB etc ) ; my head says now (because most 60s cars were appalling- didnt go, stop or corner , drank fuel and rusted as you watched). There is a far greater diversity of styles now than there has been since the 60 s too(the 70s and 80s especially had so many awful looking cars). That's cars- driving- 60s and 70 s without a doubt.
Edited by coppice on Thursday 1st November 15:52
I've personally got two favourite eras.
The first is roughly 1966-78 or thereabouts. It was an era when all configurations of drive and layout had been tried and tested, and yet stylists were still allowed to think aloud without having to worry about safety or fat people trying to get in. That period from the mid-Sixties to 1973 (when impact bumpers, minimum ride height and fears about banning convertibles all landed in the US) was the most stylistically radical era we've ever had. I've included it into the late Seventies as it was in that decade when designers started to really consciously consider ergonomics as well. A lot of Sixties cars look great but are intensely uncomfortable, but into the Seventies cars generally got more roomy. You could actually drive those dream cars in comfort rather than looking at them and cursing the fact you couldn't get in.
The second is about 1988-2001. By this point designers had learnt to smoothly integrate the safety concerns of the Seventies, and it was also coupled with two innovations I consider to be the true hallmarks of the 'modern' car - galvanised steel and fuel injection. These two things meant that cars didn't rust the way they used to, nor did they easily stray off-tune, refuse to start in the cold or flood their combustion chambers. In short, they made cars easy to live with without necessarily making them nullifying to drive. The cut-off point of 2001 is for a number of reasons. Firstly, after that cars are taxed on Co2 and are much more expensive to run, plus it marks the beginning of the diesel invasion. Secondly, the EU started ramping up its safety requirements after that, ruining the potential of many designs, and thirdly, I've long suspected that the modern obssession with SUVs has sociological roots in the 'war on terror' with their paranoid 'keep your family safe (with militaristic technology) at all costs!' ethos.
Also, 2001 marked the end of the 'homologation' era in rallying, and the end of the Super 2000 era in the BTCC, so suddenly manufacturers didn't really bother making quite as many hot versions of ordinary cars after that.
The first is roughly 1966-78 or thereabouts. It was an era when all configurations of drive and layout had been tried and tested, and yet stylists were still allowed to think aloud without having to worry about safety or fat people trying to get in. That period from the mid-Sixties to 1973 (when impact bumpers, minimum ride height and fears about banning convertibles all landed in the US) was the most stylistically radical era we've ever had. I've included it into the late Seventies as it was in that decade when designers started to really consciously consider ergonomics as well. A lot of Sixties cars look great but are intensely uncomfortable, but into the Seventies cars generally got more roomy. You could actually drive those dream cars in comfort rather than looking at them and cursing the fact you couldn't get in.
The second is about 1988-2001. By this point designers had learnt to smoothly integrate the safety concerns of the Seventies, and it was also coupled with two innovations I consider to be the true hallmarks of the 'modern' car - galvanised steel and fuel injection. These two things meant that cars didn't rust the way they used to, nor did they easily stray off-tune, refuse to start in the cold or flood their combustion chambers. In short, they made cars easy to live with without necessarily making them nullifying to drive. The cut-off point of 2001 is for a number of reasons. Firstly, after that cars are taxed on Co2 and are much more expensive to run, plus it marks the beginning of the diesel invasion. Secondly, the EU started ramping up its safety requirements after that, ruining the potential of many designs, and thirdly, I've long suspected that the modern obssession with SUVs has sociological roots in the 'war on terror' with their paranoid 'keep your family safe (with militaristic technology) at all costs!' ethos.
Also, 2001 marked the end of the 'homologation' era in rallying, and the end of the Super 2000 era in the BTCC, so suddenly manufacturers didn't really bother making quite as many hot versions of ordinary cars after that.
Twincam16 said:
Also, 2001 marked the end of the 'homologation' era in rallying, and the end of the Super 2000 era in the BTCC, so suddenly manufacturers didn't really bother making quite as many hot versions of ordinary cars after that.
I have to agree. I really struggle to see anything even remotely interesting about a 'C4 by Loeb'Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff