Anybody Else Hate New Cars & Miss Old Ones?

[WillMunny]

Today's cars looks so boringly the same - always identical, semi-amorphous semi-metal blobs in neutral greyish-beige non-threatening colors with absolutely no unique, gonzo, stand-out qualities whatsoever. And so computerized, you can't work on them yourselves, for the tiniest problem you have to take them to a technician and spent a multi-digit amount of money.

At 16 I got my driver's license back in '89 and instead of my parents handing me a nice, fancy car (like lots of other kids in my high school), I had to work various part-time jobs, save up a few hundred dollars, and buy old, beat-up little '70s rustbucket Japanese cars that were roadworthy enough for the 10 miles between home and school. But at least I could fix most of their problems myself for free and fairly quickly! That's why I got so attached to those ugly-in-a-cute-way old Datsuns from the '70s; they were the easiest cars to work on and the most reliable cars on the road (once I duct-taped & jerry-rigged them in just the right way) for the same reason: everything under the hood was so simple there wasn't much that could go wrong. If I held these cute/ugly Datsun fuckers together just right, these little sons of bitches would get so tough & reliable I could terrorize the roads for thousands of miles! Some of my "beater" Datsuns perfectly survived my crazy, drugged-out days of taking them rallying off-road on muddy FOOT trails (on which many people wouldn't even take 4x4s) and they somehow survived and kept on driving - although spluttered up to their windows in layers of mud.

So I guess the plus side of owning old, heavily rusting beat-up cars as a kid, that I held together by the skin of my teeth, is that it forced my teenage self to be a knowledgeable automotive grease-monkey. So that's always a good thing. And the bottom line is older cars had so many glaringly interesting body designs, you could instantly pinpoint the make and model from a long distance. With today's clone cars it's impossible and there's no charm or personality no matter what high-tech bells and whistles they have.

 

[beagle9]

Today's cars looks so boringly the same - always identical, semi-amorphous semi-metal blobs in neutral greyish-beige non-threatening colors with absolutely no unique, gonzo, stand-out qualities whatsoever. And so computerized, you can't work on them yourselves, for the tiniest problem you have to take them to a technician and spent a multi-digit amount of money.

At 16 I got my driver's license back in '89 and instead of my parents handing me a nice, fancy car (like lots of other kids in my high school), I had to work various part-time jobs, save up a few hundred dollars, and buy old, beat-up little '70s rustbucket Japanese cars that were roadworthy enough for the 10 miles between home and school. But at least I could fix most of their problems myself for free and fairly quickly! That's why I got so attached to those ugly-in-a-cute-way old Datsuns from the '70s; they were the easiest cars to work on and the most reliable cars on the road (once I duct-taped & jerry-rigged them in just the right way) for the same reason: everything under the hood was so simple there wasn't much that could go wrong. If I held these cute/ugly Datsun fuckers together just right, these little sons of bitches would get so tough & reliable I could terrorize the roads for thousands of miles! Some of my "beater" Datsuns perfectly survived my crazy, drugged-out days of taking them rallying off-road on muddy FOOT trails (on which many people wouldn't even take 4x4s) and they somehow survived and kept on driving - although spluttered up to their windows in layers of mud.

So I guess the plus side of owning old, heavily rusting beat-up cars as a kid, that I held together by the skin of my teeth, is that it forced my teenage self to be a knowledgeable automotive grease-monkey. So that's always a good thing. And the bottom line is older cars had so many glaringly interesting body designs, you could instantly pinpoint the make and model from a long distance. With today's clone cars it's impossible and there's no charm or personality no matter what high-tech bells and whistles they have.

Noticing your age being of 16 in 89, tells me you really missed out on the best years of American musle during the 60's and early 70's before the ugly bumpers for safety were added.

Yes vehicles were made to empower Americans with the help of the chilton auto manuals that took you step by step in the simplest terms possible. Then racing was huge, and the competitive American spirit was fueled to learn everything it could to make those cars look super cool, and go super fast. Talk about diverse !! They were the most diverse vehicles where there were literally cars to fit almost every American culture out there. It's coming back some, but only in style and horse power, but they are so expensive, and so technical that like you say "no one can work on them anymore. Worse than that it seems as if they are designed specifically where it's impossible to work on them as it once was in the past.

I chalk it up to the nation becoming more and more greedy where corporations are intent on milking the customer for years and years after the initial sale.

It was a grand time in the 60's, and sorry you missed it.

 

[fncceo]

No A/C, no GPS, no electric windows, no heated seats, no digital radio, no Bluetooth, no USB charger, just awesome driving.

 

[miketx]

I was around for the 60's. However with a little effort todays cars can be fixed by the do it your selfer. You will need a scan tool and access to data of the cars themselves but it is doable.

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

Cars used to be harder to start with a carburetor.
Today's cars run better, they are safer, they last much longer, they get better MPG and they pollute less.
Today's muscle cars have more power, run better and handle better.
I own a 60's muscle car.
The 2018 Mustangs have more than twice as much horse power than the first generation Mustangs.

 

[candycorn]

Yes.

I had to give up the car I inherited from my grandpa after driving it for the most wonderful 8 years of my motoring life. We did sixteen states I think it was, one coast to the other. I’d get into the Nevada wilderness and get up over 100 sometimes and the car didn’t even blink.

My current car? Much more bells and whistles but nowhere near as much fun.

 

[harmonica]

I hate all the electronic crap:
windows
keys
more crap to go wrong and more $$$ to fix

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

It used to take two or three tries to start cars.

 

[fncceo]

Cars used to be harder to start with a carburetor.
Today's cars run better, they are safer, they last much longer, they get better MPG and they pollute less.
Today's muscle cars have more power, run better and handle better.
I own a 60's muscle car.
The 2018 Mustangs have more than twice as much horse power than the first generation Mustangs.

All true ... but allow me to look at it from a different perspective.

The girl is in every way, a better potential mate. She is smarter, she is more tolerant of your moods, she knows that she has to give in to you and can convince you to give into her without making it about confrontation.

This girl is argumentative. Sees many of your character traits as flaws and will frequently publicly berate you She has almost nothing in common with you, and the relationship is ultimately doomed.

But....

Which one would you rather drive to your high school reunion?

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Today's cars looks so boringly the same - always identical, semi-amorphous semi-metal blobs in neutral greyish-beige non-threatening colors with absolutely no unique, gonzo, stand-out qualities whatsoever. And so computerized, you can't work on them yourselves, for the tiniest problem you have to take them to a technician and spent a multi-digit amount of money.

At 16 I got my driver's license back in '89 and instead of my parents handing me a nice, fancy car (like lots of other kids in my high school), I had to work various part-time jobs, save up a few hundred dollars, and buy old, beat-up little '70s rustbucket Japanese cars that were roadworthy enough for the 10 miles between home and school. But at least I could fix most of their problems myself for free and fairly quickly! That's why I got so attached to those ugly-in-a-cute-way old Datsuns from the '70s; they were the easiest cars to work on and the most reliable cars on the road (once I duct-taped & jerry-rigged them in just the right way) for the same reason: everything under the hood was so simple there wasn't much that could go wrong. If I held these cute/ugly Datsun fuckers together just right, these little sons of bitches would get so tough & reliable I could terrorize the roads for thousands of miles! Some of my "beater" Datsuns perfectly survived my crazy, drugged-out days of taking them rallying off-road on muddy FOOT trails (on which many people wouldn't even take 4x4s) and they somehow survived and kept on driving - although spluttered up to their windows in layers of mud.

So I guess the plus side of owning old, heavily rusting beat-up cars as a kid, that I held together by the skin of my teeth, is that it forced my teenage self to be a knowledgeable automotive grease-monkey. So that's always a good thing. And the bottom line is older cars had so many glaringly interesting body designs, you could instantly pinpoint the make and model from a long distance. With today's clone cars it's impossible and there's no charm or personality no matter what high-tech bells and whistles they have.

Noticing your age being of 16 in 89, tells me you really missed out on the best years of American musle during the 60's and early 70's before the ugly bumpers for safety were added.

Yes vehicles were made to empower Americans with the help of the chilton auto manuals that took you step by step in the simplest terms possible. Then racing was huge, and the competitive American spirit was fueled to learn everything it could to make those cars look super cool, and go super fast. Talk about diverse !! They were the most diverse vehicles where there were literally cars to fit almost every American culture out there. It's coming back some, but only in style and horse power, but they are so expensive, and so technical that like you say "no one can work on them anymore. Worse than that it seems as if they are designed specifically where it's impossible to work on them as it once was in the past.

I chalk it up to the nation becoming more and more greedy where corporations are intent on milking the customer for years and years after the initial sale.

It was a grand time in the 60's, and sorry you missed it.

Don't I know it!!!
My first car was a used 74 Mustang hatchback. The biggest piece of shit known to man!!!
It would scratch a second but shortly after it would break down.
And who the hell puts the thermostat behind the water pump???
A fucken all day affair to replace a fucken thermostate!?

At this point my favorite vehicle would be my 98 Tacoma with a blower,headers and a tune.
That little shit produced 345 hp....of course I was replacing head gaskets every six months since I went with a smaller pulley. Had it up to 14 lbs of boost.
You always knew the gasket failed when all of a sudden you had more power. The damn water added a shitload of pressure!!!

 

[WillMunny]

Today's cars looks so boringly the same - always identical, semi-amorphous semi-metal blobs in neutral greyish-beige non-threatening colors with absolutely no unique, gonzo, stand-out qualities whatsoever. And so computerized, you can't work on them yourselves, for the tiniest problem you have to take them to a technician and spent a multi-digit amount of money.

At 16 I got my driver's license back in '89 and instead of my parents handing me a nice, fancy car (like lots of other kids in my high school), I had to work various part-time jobs, save up a few hundred dollars, and buy old, beat-up little '70s rustbucket Japanese cars that were roadworthy enough for the 10 miles between home and school. But at least I could fix most of their problems myself for free and fairly quickly! That's why I got so attached to those ugly-in-a-cute-way old Datsuns from the '70s; they were the easiest cars to work on and the most reliable cars on the road (once I duct-taped & jerry-rigged them in just the right way) for the same reason: everything under the hood was so simple there wasn't much that could go wrong. If I held these cute/ugly Datsun fuckers together just right, these little sons of bitches would get so tough & reliable I could terrorize the roads for thousands of miles! Some of my "beater" Datsuns perfectly survived my crazy, drugged-out days of taking them rallying off-road on muddy FOOT trails (on which many people wouldn't even take 4x4s) and they somehow survived and kept on driving - although spluttered up to their windows in layers of mud.

So I guess the plus side of owning old, heavily rusting beat-up cars as a kid, that I held together by the skin of my teeth, is that it forced my teenage self to be a knowledgeable automotive grease-monkey. So that's always a good thing. And the bottom line is older cars had so many glaringly interesting body designs, you could instantly pinpoint the make and model from a long distance. With today's clone cars it's impossible and there's no charm or personality no matter what high-tech bells and whistles they have.

Noticing your age being of 16 in 89, tells me you really missed out on the best years of American musle during the 60's and early 70's before the ugly bumpers for safety were added.

Yes vehicles were made to empower Americans with the help of the chilton auto manuals that took you step by step in the simplest terms possible. Then racing was huge, and the competitive American spirit was fueled to learn everything it could to make those cars look super cool, and go super fast. Talk about diverse !! They were the most diverse vehicles where there were literally cars to fit almost every American culture out there. It's coming back some, but only in style and horse power, but they are so expensive, and so technical that like you say "no one can work on them anymore. Worse than that it seems as if they are designed specifically where it's impossible to work on them as it once was in the past.

I chalk it up to the nation becoming more and more greedy where corporations are intent on milking the customer for years and years after the initial sale.

It was a grand time in the 60's, and sorry you missed it.

Of course. I admit that is true, my dad and other male members of my family told me about their own crazy days of racing these larger-than-life Detroit V8 muscle cars up and down El Camino at speeds of 100mph. My dad told me of driving this supercharger-equipped V8 (it may have been some Chrysler product but I'm not sure) in the sixties and he wound up the RPMs and speed-shifted it so high the car's clutch literally exploded and sent the clutch disc slicing upward, puncturing through the hood and shooting up dozens of feet into the sky like a flying saucer before the car mercifully drifted to a rest. I've heard many, many of these entertaining "tall stories" about racing '50s and '60s V8 steroid-cars from my older, gray-haired male relatives. Apparently some of these engines were so powerful they could violently destroy their own drivetrains in sometimes shocking ways.

But my Gen-X grew up in a time of far higher fuel prices and far smaller, mellower cars when V8s were already on their way out except for trucks and heavy-duty vehicles . But at least my little cars I came of age with were very simple and cheap to work on.

 

[WillMunny]

Today's cars looks so boringly the same - always identical, semi-amorphous semi-metal blobs in neutral greyish-beige non-threatening colors with absolutely no unique, gonzo, stand-out qualities whatsoever. And so computerized, you can't work on them yourselves, for the tiniest problem you have to take them to a technician and spent a multi-digit amount of money.

At 16 I got my driver's license back in '89 and instead of my parents handing me a nice, fancy car (like lots of other kids in my high school), I had to work various part-time jobs, save up a few hundred dollars, and buy old, beat-up little '70s rustbucket Japanese cars that were roadworthy enough for the 10 miles between home and school. But at least I could fix most of their problems myself for free and fairly quickly! That's why I got so attached to those ugly-in-a-cute-way old Datsuns from the '70s; they were the easiest cars to work on and the most reliable cars on the road (once I duct-taped & jerry-rigged them in just the right way) for the same reason: everything under the hood was so simple there wasn't much that could go wrong. If I held these cute/ugly Datsun fuckers together just right, these little sons of bitches would get so tough & reliable I could terrorize the roads for thousands of miles! Some of my "beater" Datsuns perfectly survived my crazy, drugged-out days of taking them rallying off-road on muddy FOOT trails (on which many people wouldn't even take 4x4s) and they somehow survived and kept on driving - although spluttered up to their windows in layers of mud.

So I guess the plus side of owning old, heavily rusting beat-up cars as a kid, that I held together by the skin of my teeth, is that it forced my teenage self to be a knowledgeable automotive grease-monkey. So that's always a good thing. And the bottom line is older cars had so many glaringly interesting body designs, you could instantly pinpoint the make and model from a long distance. With today's clone cars it's impossible and there's no charm or personality no matter what high-tech bells and whistles they have.

Noticing your age being of 16 in 89, tells me you really missed out on the best years of American musle during the 60's and early 70's before the ugly bumpers for safety were added.

Yes vehicles were made to empower Americans with the help of the chilton auto manuals that took you step by step in the simplest terms possible. Then racing was huge, and the competitive American spirit was fueled to learn everything it could to make those cars look super cool, and go super fast. Talk about diverse !! They were the most diverse vehicles where there were literally cars to fit almost every American culture out there. It's coming back some, but only in style and horse power, but they are so expensive, and so technical that like you say "no one can work on them anymore. Worse than that it seems as if they are designed specifically where it's impossible to work on them as it once was in the past.

I chalk it up to the nation becoming more and more greedy where corporations are intent on milking the customer for years and years after the initial sale.

It was a grand time in the 60's, and sorry you missed it.

Don't I know it!!!
My first car was a used 74 Mustang hatchback. The biggest piece of shit known to man!!!
It would scratch a second but shortly after it would break down.
And who the hell puts the thermostat behind the water pump???
A fucken all day affair to replace a fucken thermostate!?

At this point my favorite vehicle would be my 98 Tacoma with a blower,headers and a tune.
That little shit produced 345 hp....of course I was replacing head gaskets every six months since I went with a smaller pulley. Had it up to 14 lbs of boost.
You always knew the gasket failed when all of a sudden you had more power. The damn water added a shitload of pressure!!!

Heheh, so you're saying that engine's head gasket let you know it failed in the most spectacular, entertaining manner possible, yes?

 

[WillMunny]

No A/C, no GPS, no electric windows, no heated seats, no digital radio, no Bluetooth, no USB charger, just awesome driving.

Nice! This car has a shark-like "don't fuck with me" sort of look to it.

 

[Yarddog]

Cars used to be harder to start with a carburetor.
Today's cars run better, they are safer, they last much longer, they get better MPG and they pollute less.
Today's muscle cars have more power, run better and handle better.
I own a 60's muscle car.
The 2018 Mustangs have more than twice as much horse power than the first generation Mustangs.

yeah, those carburetors ! I missed the sixties too but I had a 64 Chevy truck when I was first driving with a 4 barrel Holly Carb that kept me good at adjustments.... well, maybe not too good, it kept shooting flames out when I least expected it and I had to put a fire out more than once at a stop light. Damn that truck!

i sure miss my 69 Impala though, it was so great on the highway

 

[WillMunny]

LOL, to this day if you ask my 76-year-old dad (or his two 80-year-old cousins), he will regale you will all sorts of crazy adventure stories of how he terrorized the El Camino Real back when he was a teenager, with souped-up, mechanically-roided-out V8 muscle cars so powerful they damaged themselves just by revving up!

I suppose that proves I have old-fashioned engineering in my DNA.

 

[petro]

I love my modern ride.
Since '96 all I drive is Grand Cherokees. First one drove over 340K.
Currently roll a 2011 Hemi powered, Trail Rated Laredo with tow package. All the luxuries including heated seats. Vehicle platform is identical to the Mercedes ML.
Just had dashboard apart to fix an actuator for dual air. My ride is almost never in the shop. They are still relatively easy to work on for the mechanically inclined. The internet is a haven for the do it yourselfer.

I drove too many crappy vehicles when I was young including the Mustang 2(Pinto). Never had one last over 150K.

Most folks I find who have constant bad luck with vehicles routinely ignore maintaining the vehicle properly, then blame the car when that noise they thought would go away turns to something larger.
Turning up the stereo doesn't fix an issue.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Today's cars looks so boringly the same - always identical, semi-amorphous semi-metal blobs in neutral greyish-beige non-threatening colors with absolutely no unique, gonzo, stand-out qualities whatsoever. And so computerized, you can't work on them yourselves, for the tiniest problem you have to take them to a technician and spent a multi-digit amount of money.

At 16 I got my driver's license back in '89 and instead of my parents handing me a nice, fancy car (like lots of other kids in my high school), I had to work various part-time jobs, save up a few hundred dollars, and buy old, beat-up little '70s rustbucket Japanese cars that were roadworthy enough for the 10 miles between home and school. But at least I could fix most of their problems myself for free and fairly quickly! That's why I got so attached to those ugly-in-a-cute-way old Datsuns from the '70s; they were the easiest cars to work on and the most reliable cars on the road (once I duct-taped & jerry-rigged them in just the right way) for the same reason: everything under the hood was so simple there wasn't much that could go wrong. If I held these cute/ugly Datsun fuckers together just right, these little sons of bitches would get so tough & reliable I could terrorize the roads for thousands of miles! Some of my "beater" Datsuns perfectly survived my crazy, drugged-out days of taking them rallying off-road on muddy FOOT trails (on which many people wouldn't even take 4x4s) and they somehow survived and kept on driving - although spluttered up to their windows in layers of mud.

So I guess the plus side of owning old, heavily rusting beat-up cars as a kid, that I held together by the skin of my teeth, is that it forced my teenage self to be a knowledgeable automotive grease-monkey. So that's always a good thing. And the bottom line is older cars had so many glaringly interesting body designs, you could instantly pinpoint the make and model from a long distance. With today's clone cars it's impossible and there's no charm or personality no matter what high-tech bells and whistles they have.

Noticing your age being of 16 in 89, tells me you really missed out on the best years of American musle during the 60's and early 70's before the ugly bumpers for safety were added.

Yes vehicles were made to empower Americans with the help of the chilton auto manuals that took you step by step in the simplest terms possible. Then racing was huge, and the competitive American spirit was fueled to learn everything it could to make those cars look super cool, and go super fast. Talk about diverse !! They were the most diverse vehicles where there were literally cars to fit almost every American culture out there. It's coming back some, but only in style and horse power, but they are so expensive, and so technical that like you say "no one can work on them anymore. Worse than that it seems as if they are designed specifically where it's impossible to work on them as it once was in the past.

I chalk it up to the nation becoming more and more greedy where corporations are intent on milking the customer for years and years after the initial sale.

It was a grand time in the 60's, and sorry you missed it.

Don't I know it!!!
My first car was a used 74 Mustang hatchback. The biggest piece of shit known to man!!!
It would scratch a second but shortly after it would break down.
And who the hell puts the thermostat behind the water pump???
A fucken all day affair to replace a fucken thermostate!?

At this point my favorite vehicle would be my 98 Tacoma with a blower,headers and a tune.
That little shit produced 345 hp....of course I was replacing head gaskets every six months since I went with a smaller pulley. Had it up to 14 lbs of boost.
You always knew the gasket failed when all of a sudden you had more power. The damn water added a shitload of pressure!!!

Heheh, so you're saying that engine's head gasket let you know it failed in the most spectacular, entertaining manner possible, yes?

That it did.
They stopped offering Toyota factory blowers in 2015 one year before I bought my Tundra.
Although the Magnuson is still available which is the same SC Toyota used. Magnuson also offers the same factory warranty for your engine and drivetrain if you have it installed by an approved dealer.



It's a Raptor Killer!!!!
Toyota Tundra 3UR-FE 5.7L V8 Supercharger System

 

[petro]

No A/C, no GPS, no electric windows, no heated seats, no digital radio, no Bluetooth, no USB charger, just awesome driving.

Nice! This car has a shark-like "don't fuck with me" sort of look to it.

So does the newer Dodge Demon SRT at around 840HP.

Of course a little pricier than Grandad. Think around 100 grand.

 

[rightwinger]

Today’s cars are vastly superior in every area

 

[WillMunny]

No A/C, no GPS, no electric windows, no heated seats, no digital radio, no Bluetooth, no USB charger, just awesome driving.

Nice! This car has a shark-like "don't fuck with me" sort of look to it.

So does the newer Dodge Demon SRT at around 840HP.
View attachment 235856
Of course a little pricier than Grandad. Think around 100 grand.

These are certainly cars which look like they mean business, no question about that.