Old cars vs New cars

[imperial70]

Speaking of govt. safety mandates, have you noticed most new cars have no bumper space between the fascia and trunk, hatch, or grille protection at all hardly?

I think the reason for less protection of the automobile is that the insurance companies dictate what needs to be protected. Hospital costs are more expensive these days so it makes more sense to protect the occupants than the auto. Years ago they were more focused on expense to repair a damaged vehicle.

 

[combo52]

The reason for no space between the bumper and the body

Has nothing to do with safety, and only a little to do with goverment regulation, It is done for aerodynamics to get better fuel mileage, it is also done for styling because most buyers like the gap free look.

 

[maytag85]

I dislike curvy cars! Boxy cars will always have more room, and it is easier to style a boxy car, rather than a curvy car. I really hope the 2050's 2060's and 2070's is more like the 1950's 1950's and 1970's all over again, and I hope cars are like they one were.

 

[tolivac]

"Boxy" cars won't meet current fuel milage standards.Gas turbine engines for cars-this was tried and also locomotives-Gas turbines-jet engines need to be operated at near their max or max power to be efficient.In aircraft,Newer ships,power generation,natural gas compressors-pumping-these applications meet the engines needs.A car or locomotive the speed range is too wide for max efficiency in a gas turbine engine.And these are EXPENSIVE-too much for a car-the engine can cost more than the car!

 

[sudsmaster]

On the subject of turbo fan jet engines, the main reason why they are not practical for cars is that they are rather low torque at lower rpms. Think the old slushomatics of early Chryslers. Sure, if you rev one up until it howls, then you have to deal with the howling. And the transmission/reduction gear would take a beating.

Modern engine/trans combinations are more fuel efficient while still offering decent performance by having far more gear ratios than older three speeds. Nine and ten speed trans are becoming common. This allows the car engine to stay in its sweet spot, keeping revs and fuel consumption down while still offering acceleration when needed. So now modern automatics can be more fuel efficient than manual trans, although a stick shift is always more fun to drive IMHO.

As far as limited space between bumper and grille/trunk lid, etc. I believe Chrysler more or less led the pack with that approach in the late 1990's. They had adopted advanced computer design technology, along with AMC's platform approach, and were able to bring new somewhat trend setting models to market a year or two before the competition.

Aerodynamics and styling are one reason. But another reason is that government regulations do indeed affect bumper design. I think it was back in the 70's or 80's that the feds started requiring car mfg's to design the cars so that they could withstand low speed collisions (like maybe less than 5 mph) without suffering a major repair expense. The way modern cars seem to handle this is to use a Styrofoam form for the jbumper, with a very thin vacuformed shell over that. On top of that, they make the shell relatively inexpensive to replace. But it does impose some design constraints and has been a big gripe for fans of European cars who find they can't buy them here in the USA because the foreign car company doesn't want to go to the bother and expense of ruining their sporty design to meet American regulations. It's probably less of an issue today, what with the foam filled bumpers, but I believe it is still a gripe for some car nuts.

 

[twintubdexter]

If this thread were a book...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">...it would look like an old Webster's Unabridged Dictionary...thick! People love to chat about cars which is a good thing. I certainly don't need to be concerned about vehicle styles in the year 2050 and beyond. 2020 is starting to look doubtful. When it comes to design, give me angles. The cars I grew up with from the late 50's and thru the 60's, a time that even as a little kid, if a 59 Pontiac breezed by you knew exactly what it was. Most of today's cars look very similar to me...4 doors (how awful) and have the same shape, like a cube from your Whirlpool Ice Magic. </span>

 

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">A few years ago I was eyeing this beautiful "angled" 1965 TOL Mercury Park Lane convertible that was for sale. I still had that blasted 57 Bird and the "suddenly too small for comfort Corvette" so I had no garage space. It was before I bought the Wildcat. I still regret it.</span>

 

[petek]

Yes, back in the day if you were driving along or just looking a block or two ahead and glimpsed a car passing by it was almost automatic you'd know what it was. Nowadays I have to be pretty much up close and personal to read the name on it with a few exceptions

 

[wayupnorth]

Back in the "olden days" where styles changed yearly, you could simply look at the tail light. It always said SAE and the year.

 

[norgeway]

The fact remains...

Unless you can afford a big Benz or a Bentley...new cars are bORING, Just sit behind the wheel of a 60 Chrysler or a 59 Olds and look at the dash! Chrome, lights and pushbuttons, I dislike todays cars for the same reason I dislike new appliances...A refrigerator SHOULD have chrome trim and a porcelain lined interior..NOT PLASTIC! same for a stove!

 

[lordkenmore]

back in the day if you were driving along or just looking a block or two ahead and glimpsed a car passing by it was almost automatic you'd know what it was.

 

That seems like almost a century ago... Sigh...


 

Certainly by the 80s, it seemed like there was often little difference between divisions of Detroit car makers. Is it a Chevrolet or a Cadillac? Better check the emblem on the front just to be sure. LOL

 

It's gotten to a point where it's hard for me to tell different manufacturers apart--at least in the 80s I could tell a Ford from a Chrysler with one glance. Although my present difficulty might be in part to the fact that I'm not paying a whole lot of attention to new cars.

 

 

[vacerator]

Tail light lens model year desigantion;

Yes, it denoted the model year unless the identical lens was used for consecutive model years.
Examples: '71, and '72 Ford Custom 500, Galaxie, LTD. '73, and '74 Fords also, and '75, 76 77's, 78's.

 

[xraytech]

So, just curious here, what kind of car(s) do you own Maytag85?
I don't believe you have told us what you're driving.

 

[pulltostart]

How about this one?

1976 Cadillac right here in Mobile with 38,000 miles.  Beautiful color combination!  More photos in the ad.

 

lawrence

http://https//mobile.craigslist.org/cto/d/1976-cadillac/6259082301.html

 

[maytag85]

I drive my mom's mini van, but I have a 1986 Chevy Camaro Z28, and I am putting a Chevy 350 small block V8 in it, can't drive it until I move to Idaho because it would cost more money to put all of the smog equipment on it, and the registration is VERY expensive in California. I just like how simple old cars are, and you can fix them yourself. When it comes to newer cars, it is impossible to do the work yourself on a newer cars, but you can do all of the work on a old car.

 

[gizmo]

I love cars old and new.
I drive a new VW Golf wagon, its now about 2 months old and I love it. It has some safety and convenience features really impress me, such as self-parking for reverse and bay parking; blind spot monitoring; autonomous emergency braking; release of rear seats from triggers in the rear luggage area. It is also exceptionally comfortable, suits my creaky jointed body. It isn't perfect - the auto stop-start is a bit clumsy in operation at times; despite being a larger car, the windows and luggage area are both smaller than my previous car, a 2007 Peugeot 307 wagon.
Also, official claimed fuel consumption is 5.4 litres per 100 km, I am getting more like 6.5. I usually get close to the official figures in previous cars. In the Peugeot I averaged 5.2 so this is a big increase in fuel cost. (Peugeot was a 1.6 litre turbodiesel with 5 speed manual trans, the Volksy is a 1.4 litre turbo petrol with 7 speed DSG and start/stop.)
I love the modern safety features and low fuel consumption, but I miss the character of my favourite cars I've owned in the past. My top handful would have to be Renault 20 2 litre hatch from 1980; the Citroen GS 1220 from 1974; The Leyland Australia P76 from 1974; and the Mitsubishi Magna wagon from 1994. (Magna was called Diamante outside of Australia.) I also owned a series of Austin and Morris front wheel drive cars from the late 1960s, my first was an Austin 1800 which had amazing comfort and road holding for its day, but it was tired when I got it and a blue cloud followed wherever I drove it.

My favourite? Possibly the Citroen GS, or possibly the P76. I was also genuinely sad to say goodbye to the Peugeot when I traded it in a few weeks ago. I owned it for 10 years, the longest I have ever owned a car. I did 220,000 km in it.

http://www.p76.com.au/gallery.html

 

[maytag85]

I will only like old cars, and old cars only. I don't like today's ugly, boarding, cheaply made cars. The cars that are made currently will not be on the road in 10 or 20 years from now, they will most likely be in the junk yard. New cars are made for obsolescence, while the old cars can be fixed easily and last forever!

 

[mieleforever]

@ gizmo

I hope that you enjoy many years of driving pleasure in your new VW. I had a 2011 Passat 1,8 petrol, also fitted with the DSG. I really loved the car but the DSG not so much. We had endless troubles with the DSG and VW kept on saying we were driving the thing in a wrong manner. The GEarbox had to be opened up two times in the plus minus 50 000 km that we had it. When at about 75 000 km it started to act up again we just decided to get rid of it. Maybe we had a dud, but there was apparently a lot of problems with said DSG gearboxes. So just keep an eye out, our problems started at 25 000km.

Hopefully you will be spared.

Regards and safe motoring!

 

[maytag85]

There is a lady in Orlando Florida who has a 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente 4 Door Sedan with over 600,000 original miles, and it has been her only car since 1964. If you take really good care of your cars, it will last you a life time, if you don't care about your cars, they won't last that long at all.

 

[cfz2882]

'86 z28

those are cool cars-I have an '82 z28,bought it in 1990 with ~81000 miles,now has ~265,000 miles

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Something else that I appreciate about a new car that I even consider a God-Send:

Low Tire Pressure warning--in which case, I needed to fill ALL FOUR! (& got it done at General Tire)

-- Dave