Old cars vs New cars

[lordkenmore]

With safety in mind... I think I might have mentioned talking to a mechanic about an old Honda from about 1980. At that time, I was considering buying it since it was A) available and B) fit my limited budget. But examining the car, and driving it around the block, quickly killed my enthusiasm. One issue was how primitive it felt--although I could live with that. But the car really didn't feel safe--and the reason I was buying was because my old car had been totaled when someone smashed into it. I just thought "old econobox" at the time...but I wonder now if a lot of the feeling wasn't "econobox" and just plain "this is the way cars typically were in 1980."

 

I also recall that car didn't run particularly well cold. Someone with a Honda of that vintage said it was that way with his car, too.

 

[twintubdexter]

Hey Eddie,

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I sure hear ya regarding touch screens in cars. I suppose the ones that are integrated into new cars are perfectly fine, but I recently had one installed in my 20 year old Cadillac and in many ways using it is akin to texting while driving. My age is definitely showing when I say it's complicated and involved. There's way too much there. Navigation (so I won't get lost going to the grocery store) and simple radio/CD I understand. I even can figure out Pandora with the cell phone and bluetooth. But beyond that it gets crazy, and the instruction manual on a disc is 92 pages long. The steering wheel controls help a little. I feel like a dummy.  </span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I still say if you do distance driving on a regular basis then a newer car is much better. Older cars are fine for scooting around your area. There are people that live here in the Coachella Valley that commute to the Inland Empire and even Los Angeles. I don't think using a very old car would be wise. The 1957 Thunderbird I sold last year, aside from being a "girly" ladies' shopping car that I hated, was a death trap on wheels, even with the factory seat belts. I would never drive that car on the freeway. My Buick is 52 years old and even though I've had it on the freeway (it's very sea-worthy) I wouldn't drive it around on a daily basis...it doesn't squeeze into parking spaces that well either and even the smallest door ding would make me go ballistic. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Land yachts are a cross between parking and "docking"</span>

 

[ea56]

Joe,

I love your 65' Buick Wildcat! In 1972 I had a very hot older boyfriend that had a 65 Buick Wildcat, it was the same color as yours, but the interior matched the exterior and his didn't have a vinyl top. I recall that we went to the drive in movies to see Alfred Hitchcock's, "Frenzy" in that Buick and had some fun during the intermission in that roomy front seat, LOL.

Buicks are my favorite old cars, they are beautiful and I love the way they drive.

I agree with you about commuting in an older car though. But if I had a old car that I had gone through carefully to be sure that everything was in top shape I wouldn't hesitate to drive it on a long trip. They are the most comfortable cars for long distance auto travel.
Eddie[this post was last edited: 8/31/2017-15:53]

 

[DADoES]

 
My Fusion has voice control of pretty much everything (can do some things, for example with music/radio, via voice control that isn't provided by buttons).  Some functions are also duplicated on buttons on the steering wheel and an auxiliary screen on the dash vs. the center console.

 

[norgeway]

Another thing

I hate about new vehicles, especially foreign ones, the seats are made for small framed people, not me at 5ft 10 and 240 pounds, my Marquis has big soft seats that fit, I drove my Aunts new Ford Fusion the other day, it drives ok, but the steering is way too stiff to suit me and the seats are too small, The most comfortable car as far as seating goes , that I ever owned was a 65 Olds Ninety Eight Luxury Sedan, it would get up and go too.Donald is nearly 6 foot 3 and his head rubs the roof on many new cars.

 

[norgeway]

As far as

Chrysler products being cold natured, I don't agree, GM products were much worse, at least in my experience, my 53 Plymouth and my 62 Plymouth were about the best cranking cars I ever owned, the 65 Olds was the COLDEST natured vehicle I ever owned.But boy would it go when warmed up! 425 RocketV8 with 360 horsepower.

 

[twintubdexter]

Probably posting too much...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">1965 Oldsmobiles....oh weren't those such very nice cars?</span>

 

[wayupnorth]

The only old car I own is now is my 36 year old Corvette. Quite advanced for its year, nice smog pump, 190 HP from a 350 V8 and one of the first to come out of the Louisville KY factory that should have been an '82, but Crossfire Injection didnt work, mine had a 4bbl. It was still an '81, even though it was built in August 1981. My '13 Silverado has 355 hp from a 5.3 V8 (327) and the truck is so much easier and comfortable to drive than the Vette.

 

[maytag85]

Old cars are much more comfortable than newer cars, and can acomidate anyone of any height, and have power steering that is effortless, while newer cars have have steering that stiff and is comparable to not having any power steering.

 

[wayupnorth]

Sean, ironically we have the same birthday, but I was 18 in 1972. I have owned 36 vehicles since. Yes, many old vehicles do ride like being on the living room couch. But those of us who now dont want to mess with old vehicles because newer ones are (somewhat) easier to deal with. My Vette owners manual is less than 50 pages, my Silverado is 1000 pages plus and tells you nothing but caution, warning, danger. I told the dealer to set everything on Auto and it works fine, going on 5 years now. Vette rides like a buckboard, Silverado rides like floating on air. I will gladly ride in somebody elses old vehicle, but I am too old to mess with that on any old vehicle any more. Tired of climbing under, covering myself in crap. I'll pay the dealer to fix it. So far it has been oil changes and thats it.[this post was last edited: 8/31/2017-20:36]

 

[rickr]

.

We are driving this 61 Oldsmobile up to Michigan in the morning. I am an antique dealer, now that I am retired, and I have a load of antiques in the trunk. I have a booth in one of the antique malls up in Allen Michigan. The Olds is great to drive at freeway speeds, and even has cruise control.

 

[rickr]

61 Super 88 dash

Dash showing factory a/c and cruise control. (Dial at left of dash area) BTW, this car has over 200,000 miles on it.

 

[brucelucenta]

What, no cd player?!!!!

 

[rickr]

CD Player??? What is that, Bruce? Classic Disk? No, no phonograph in this one.

 

[cadman]

Rick, beautiful Olds! Funny, the gridwork on the brake and accel remind me of the '62 Starfire grille. Clever!

Speaking of road warriors, this is the cross-country appliance hauler. '87 Scottsdale setting out for Wisconsin tomorrow pulling the Shasta reissue. Gold vinyl benches, vinyl floor, crank windows, but cold A/C. And I swapped out the mono-AM radio for a Delco AM/FM (how deluxe!). I also added rear air shocks for handling situations like the one in the pic ; ) It's also equipped with a Pull-Rite hitch which pivots about the rear axle so it tows like a 5th wheel. Never any sway. Purrs like a kitten but loves the ethel.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I agree about touch screens. I find them incredibly annoying. WTF were they thinking? "Yes, let's redesign the controls so the driver has to take is eyes OFF THE ROAD in order to change a station or adjust the a/c.

I agree about newer cars being safer. I'm particularly fond of the ABS/limited slip/ stability control combo and I like the idea of air bags. But these things come at a price and Hans makes a number of good points.

In order to give the ILLUSION of more room, most newer cars have some combination of:

The seats are too low to the interior floor of the car.
Even if the seat rises, you often can't raise it enough before your head hits the headliner.
There's no steering column! While tilting wheels seem to creeping downmarket, telescoping ones do NOT. End result: The steering wheel is too far away and too high AND your knees are up around your ears.

Even at just 6'0", I'm too tall to get comfortable behind the wheel of many cars. I admit I have an attitude problem with this. Practically everything about my body is 80th-85th percentile. If something is too small, too low, too short, etc. for me, THERE IS A DESIGN PROBLEM. FULL STOP.

One is less likely to run into these problems in older cars.

Personally, I like hitting the break and feeling what the tires are doing. Not that every old car gave this info, but the older a car is, the more likely you are to get it. Same applies to steering.

NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) induce driver fatigue. It's gotten better in recent years, but for a long time many manufacturers seemed to think ANY sensory input equalled information about the road. End result? Your ears are assaulted while your're being jostled and shaken about (and not in a good way) and you STILL have no idea if you're hydroplaning or not or if your wheels are about to lock up because the steering wheel and the brake pedal don't tell you anything; they're just vibrating like mad!

There must be at least a few cars that offer a reasonable compromise. My Nissan Cube is pretty good, all things considered. Ford Crown Vic? Chrysler 300?

 

[wayupnorth]

Nice Suburban Cory. Todays Suburbans look somewhat similar in length but much more rounded. Still use more gas towing things. Neighbors tow a travel trailer to AZ every year with their 2500 Silverado and get mid teens for mileage. Pay for convenience, I guess. My Silverado can tow any boat out of this lake and not break a sweat. Newer vehicles do seem to use less gas as this '13 uses much less than my '95 did.

 

[gusherb]

I'm 6'0 and my '13 Altima with a sunroof gives me plenty of headroom. It also doesn't have anything touchscreen, no nav, no blind spot monitoring or forward collision warning. What it does have for safety is ABS, TCS, stability control, lots of airbags and a rear view camera which is a requirement in these modern cars with zero rear visibility. For luxury/convenience it has leather, power drivers seat, heated/steering wheel, DEATC (don't get me started on how much auto climate control drives me mad), and a Bose sound system.

I wouldn't want a car with anymore features than that as I feel it just gets in the way of the driving experience, blind spot monitoring and all that crap just beeps at me long after I'm aware of what's in my blind spot etc. All they're doing with that is priming car buyers for autonomous vehicles, something of which I am and am NOT looking forward to. The only autonomous feature I like and want is adaptive cruise control for those hellacious drives on overcrowded interstates where anyone holding a constant speed is but a mere pipe dream.

The only thing I wish I had done differently with that car is that I'd gotten a V6 instead of the 4 cyl. The 4 cyl power is ok but I truly abhor the sound of 4 cyl engines and the vibration drives me insane.

 

[norgeway]

Re Beautiful 61 Olds

That olds is perfect, one thing you didn't mention, if you get in a tight spot and need to get out of someones way that old 394 will make it JUMP!Only one problem with the 61 thru 64 was the Slim Jim trans.,but its OK if you don't drag race it..if you do watch out....as a teenager I had a 61 and a 63 , the 61 was a Super 88 and the 63 was a loaded Starfire...I kept the 63 in the transmission shop..LOL. But man would it GO!

 

[warmsecondrinse]

ABS, TCS, stability control, & lots of airbags -- Great!

Blind spot monitoring? Not so much. Still in beta testing, IMO. My recent Nissan Rogue rental that. Thrice weekly I had a 1/4 mile to cross 6 lanes of highway traffic from far left to far right on my way home. The system would beep and flash at me right when I had to concentrate the most....

Speaking of the Nissan Rogue, I have a 6'7" friend who fits into my Cube with no problem. He was barely able to get into the Rogue, let alone get comfortable. comparing the two he was amazed the Rogue was so much bigger on the outside yet so much smaller inside.

Automatic Climate Control? No, really, I can handle turning a temp knob myself...

Back in the '80's I had a friend who'd inherited a '61 Mary Kay pink Olds Dynamic 88 convertible. I was the only one in our crowd she'd let drive it. Why? She approved of how I handled my own '74 Olds Custom Cruiser. I always volunteered to be a designated driver as long as I got to drive her car home from the bar, lol.