Are classic cars the next vinyl?

[EricE]

Here's a thought for all the people who run around yelling that the market will eventually crash because younger generations (millennials — me being one of them) aren't interested in classic cars.
A tech website article on how old technology is starting to rebound (super 8cameras, vinyl, mirrorless cameras) after being replaced by the smartphone:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/1/25/10828208/welcome...

It may be a bit of a stretch but I feel like one could easily substitute "Smartphone" with "Tesla" and "Vinyl" with "Classic Car" and the trend would still be true.

article said:

This is a complete flip from the 1980s tech culture I grew up in, where even the faintest whiff of technology meant something was improved; the word DIGITAL was stamped on boomboxes and answering machines like a cult talisman. Convergence was about prioritizing convenience above all, a good-enough camera and music player and movie theater permanently in your pocket. Divergence is about prioritizing quality of experience to create meaning.

"I think it's rooted in millennials preferring experiences over stuff," says Fumo. "Traveling to Thailand is cooler than having a fancy purse." But the divergence means that you can buy tangible stuff that creates experiences. That film camera isn't just a fussy way to take photos, it's a way of saying that this moment is valuable. Is that true? It is if you want it to be!

and a random reader comment:

commenter said:

What I think about this is "finally". I’m 23, I started doing stuff with PCs at the age of 6 and I’m a super tech fan. But I always used vinyl records, tapes, film cameras and things like that, I bought used audiophile components to listen to music when I was 16 and when I did that I found lots of other people with the same passion, people that felt the need to have maybe fewer but quality experiences, the need to have the chance to dedicate some time to a single satisfactory activity instead of the "I’m listening to music on Spotify while I’m browsing the web while I’m replying to a work email while joking with my friend on Whatsapp". I think that the multitasking device/multitasking people paradigm that Sherry Turkle predicted is going a bit too far in some cases, leading to information overload. It had to hit the rooftop sooner or later and reach a point where people (especially younger ones to whom the convergent paradigm is what they were born with) started wondering if something different was possible. "Divergent" experiences never went away, and obviously smartphones will continue to be the main access point to everything, I’m just glad that more and more people are following this trend. Brands noticed the trend and they certainly won’t miss the occasion to advertise and sell, increasing the public awareness and interest in this kind of products. Everybody thought the Next Big Thing was going to be the smartwatch, it looks like it could be 30 years old technology.

This trend, if it is one, is going the exact opposite of the way the car industry is headed the moment.
Look at the latest VW concept which really nothing but a rolling smartphone. 10 times more complex, rahter unintuitive with shoddy sound effects (sorry VW, I know you are trying!)
https://youtu.be/tfA-QSZO7vk?t=142

Which brings us back to classic cars and the fact that they aren't making any more of them. Maybe we're only just at the beginning of a classic car bubble?

[a8hex]

EricE said:

I was 16 and when I did that I found lots of other people with the same passion, people that felt the need to have maybe fewer but quality experiences, the need to have the chance to dedicate some time to a single satisfactory activity instead of ...

Works for me.
I've a modern digital SLR, it is really easy to use and gives me great control over what I'm doing. But it's really easy to use, it does all the fiddly bits for me. I also have a beautiful old Nikkormat which is wonderful to use, but I have to do just about everything. So it's satisfying because I know the results are my work.

Well the same applies to cars, I never cease to be impressed by just how good my modern XKR is, but it effortlessly does everything for me. My XK150 is more satisfying because I have to do everything, so there is a sense of achievement when I get things right and I know it is me that did, it's also me when I get things wrong. Driving the classic is just so much more involving.

[galro]

Isn't more like vinyl become the new classic cars? Outdated cars have been popular a lot longer than vinyl have.

[Mercky]

galro said:

Isn't more like vinyl become the new classic cars? Outdated cars have been popular a lot longer than vinyl have.

Vinyl roofed classic cars are the next big thing .

[texaxile]

Don't tell the hipsters for Gods sake.

[willisit]

I think we're already there - Classic cars have been on the up for some time now; just look at the market; it's gone a bit bonkers in some areas. Yes, I'm talking values (for those with money). But, on an "interest" side, I've been going to classic car shows for years - I have a DeLorean and have been in to them as long as I have cars; a friend's dad built a GT40; he himself had old Americana... anyway, the NEC Classic Show has become HUGE and very very busy. Even recent stuff classed as Classic (more to their owners than to the market in terms of value) has really brought the public in.

Long may it continue. That analogue world should be celebrated.