While modern cars offer a host of advantages over their vintage rivals in the reliability department, many people still prefer the classics. On the face of it, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. But when you delve a little deeper, you quickly discover why.
Older Vehicles Offer A “Pure” Driving Experience
For the most part, the levers, wheels, pedals, and dials in a modern vehicle are just for show. They’re there to provide that habitual in-car feel motorists expect, but they don’t directly control the car at all. At the other end of most steering wheels is just a computer that interprets driver inputs and directs a motor to transform them into outputs at the wheel.
A similar thing is happening with the brake pedal. You’re not actually compressing hydraulic brake fluid when you slap on the brakes. Instead, you’re talking to a computer that does it for you. The same goes for gears and acceleration in many cases.
With older vehicles, though, you do get that authentic feel. The car is converting your muscular energy directly into outputs, instead of relying on the technological voodoo of computerized middlemen. The effect of this is to create an authentic driving experience many people love. It might be hard work, but it is worth it.
Older Vehicles Are Easy To Work On
In the past, many people liked to tinker with their vehicles, replacing odd bits here and there as they saw fit. But once modern electronics came along, things started to get a lot more complicated. Servicing a car nowadays is like taking apart a motorized computer – only specialists can do it.
Classic cars hark back to a different time. They’re not complicated, so you can usually deal with it there and then if something goes wrong. There are practically no electronics to speak of.
Older Vehicles Are More Varied
Take a look back at the kinds of car companies used to sell. You’ll notice something. Unlike today’s boring modern blobs, older cars had a bit of character. Even entry-level models looked like something that you could show off to your friends.
Designs were genuinely beautiful because designers hadn’t been infected by modern art or subjected to regulations. They were pretty much free to create the forms that people wanted – and they did.
Older Vehicles Tell A Story
Older vehicles always have a rich history related to the previous owners. Perhaps the car was driven by somebody famous. Or maybe the previous owner had to go to a DUI lawyer after a drink driving charge.
Whatever the case, there’s almost always something interesting to learn about a vehicle that is many years old.
Often you can see the story written on the chassis of the car itself. For instance, old Golf GTIs regularly feature modified exhausts and bodywork, installed by the boy-racer who originally owned the vehicle in the 1980s. Thus, when you buy a classic, you’re purchasing a piece of history, not something that just rolled off the factory floor.
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