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Changing Times, Changing Tastes


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14 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I have a 2005 Honda S-2000.

Getting in and out of it is likely to be the biggest issue as time progresses! ;)

 

 

 

Steve

That is why I sold my '05 GTO. The body just doesn't want to twist around like it used to. The best part for me was to go for a drive on some nice 2 lane roads with no traffic. The car would give you that old feeling of when you were young and thick of hair and thin of waist, as opposed to now.  

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As the years go by I find myself appreciating a wider range of cars. I use to be "meh" on muscle cars, now I like 'em. I didn't care much for 80s and 90s cars, but I actually quite like the Iroc-Z, Grand National, 300ZX, Supra, etc, so my interest is growing. I had no appreciation for '70s behemoths, but now I'm almost kind of impressed by the size and bloaty swagger of the 70s T-bird, Grand Marquis, Cadillacs, and so on. The concept art from that era was so much cooler than the actual cars.  I used to think they were all demolition derby fodder...but I recently saw a mint '70s car (T-bird I think) for sale at $20k. Who knows...the seller might have to wait a while, but they might actually get their asking price eventually, for such a well-preserved example.

'70s Custom vans are gross, but fascinating, and I have found I like their cheerful excess.  At a certain point, with any luck, I'll love and appreciate absolutely everything, haha.

Edited by Spex84
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I was driving by a local shop where I bought my Lexus that does restoration work earlier today a was able to a picture that I think sums up the state of things in the classic car game. You can see the top of a purple Roadrunner on the right and the car they're pulling out of the shop. To the left just out of frame was a 73/74 Barracuda, 69 Firebird, and a 69 442. In the middle of all these classics they were just starting on the blue Shelby Daytona. People are starting to spend money on newer cars and build different things and hopefully the aftermarket will respond with parts like it has in the past.

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I am a fan of quite a few cars from all makes up into the 70’s. They were all distinctive . In the 80’s, the field narrowed quite a bit and they somewhat lost their identity. It seemed that styling was less of a concern,  except for a few flagship vehicles. 90’s and newer, only the odd domestic vehicle to me, has any “sex appeal” or distinctiveness.  Daily drivers have all taken on a similar look. If you were to look at a bunch of new vehicles parked in a row with the emblems removed, it would be tough to say what brand they are from a distance of 30 ft. I guess if the wind tunnel has the final say they would all be identical.

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On 3/16/2020 at 9:53 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

All that I can suggest Craig is to try this experiment.

In 20 years, Put the '57 Coupe Deville out on your boulevard along side the '96 Ford, put a price of $10,000.00 on each one and see which one sells faster. :P

 

 

Steve

To me this is not about car values or even our tastes (which I feel are actually very similar) it is about accepting that people younger than us will be into stuff we are not and we can accept it without agreeing with it. The sting from the lack of acceptance when I was younger lingers just enough to remind me of that.

Now my daughter has a nice cruise night quality red 69 Mustang 302/4spd convertible that she bought on her own.

This makes me step back and realize they both are into Fords - where did I go wrong???

Craig

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59 minutes ago, Carmak said:

To me this is not about car values or even our tastes (which I feel are actually very similar) it is about accepting that people younger than us will be into stuff we are not and we can accept it without agreeing with it. The sting from the lack of acceptance when I was younger lingers just enough to remind me of that.

Now my daughter has a nice cruise night quality red 69 Mustang 302/4spd convertible that she bought on her own.

This makes me step back and realize they both are into Fords - where did I go wrong???

Craig

You're right.

It's not about value.

It's just common sense in a circumstance like this.

 

I have a 25 year old son and a 30 year old daughter.

Neither of them are into cars in any way, shape or form.

But I know without a doubt which they would choose if given this choice for equal money.

It's not even a fair fight. :rolleyes:

 

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1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

You're right.

It's not about value.

It's just common sense in a circumstance like this.

 

I have a 25 year old son and a 30 year old daughter.

Neither of them are into cars in any way, shape or form.

But I know without a doubt which they would choose if given this choice for equal money.

It's not even a fair fight. :rolleyes:

 

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At least they’re both V8 powered, plus the Taurus would be quicker, faster, handle better and draw less unwanted attention;)

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9 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

I was driving by a local shop where I bought my Lexus that does restoration work earlier today a was able to a picture that I think sums up the state of things in the classic car game. You can see the top of a purple Roadrunner on the right and the car they're pulling out of the shop. To the left just out of frame was a 73/74 Barracuda, 69 Firebird, and a 69 442. In the middle of all these classics they were just starting on the blue Shelby Daytona. People are starting to spend money on newer cars and build different things and hopefully the aftermarket will respond with parts like it has in the past.

20200318_140611.jpg.7a4c67d187f2fa9a4dd79db283cf72af.jpg

That is an interesting picture, on the left appears to be a mid-late 60’s C-Barge convertable, to the right of the Purple Plymouth is a ‘73-‘87 GM “Square Body” pickup, which has a healthy following, no matter the age group, the those two little FWD Mopars in the middle, the one that’s opened up appears to be a Shelby American built pre-turbo L-Body Shelby Charger, denoted by the 15x6 4 Lug “Pizza Wheels” (the later Pizza wheels were 5 lug and still 15x6) which would have had a carved 2.2l with either the head or block shaved a bit to bump compression for around 110hp, advertised and special Shelby specific handling package while the white and silver car next to it is a Dodge Daytona ES, late 80’s to early 90’s, but I can’t tell if it’s a 2.5l NA, 2.5l Turbo I, 2.2l Turbo II, 2.2l Turbo IV, or a 3.0l Mitsubishi V6 from that pic.

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8 hours ago, slusher said:

That Cadillac May be pink but it’s sharp I would like to drive that heavy classic..

Ditto on that '57 Caddy!

I never cared for that gen of Taurus..........just TOO round for my tastes as if Ford was scared at the time to put some creases and edges on it. Yes, it would probably be more reliable, but when you look as good as that Caddy, such things can be overlooked! :P 

BTW, that year of Cadillac is another one of those "early cars" I can remember seeing when I first knew what a car was. So there's some nostalgia in it for me too.

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13 hours ago, Joe Handley said:

That is an interesting picture, on the left appears to be a mid-late 60’s C-Barge convertable, to the right of the Purple Plymouth is a ‘73-‘87 GM “Square Body” pickup, which has a healthy following, no matter the age group, the those two little FWD Mopars in the middle, the one that’s opened up appears to be a Shelby American built pre-turbo L-Body Shelby Charger, denoted by the 15x6 4 Lug “Pizza Wheels” (the later Pizza wheels were 5 lug and still 15x6) which would have had a carved 2.2l with either the head or block shaved a bit to bump compression for around 110hp, advertised and special Shelby specific handling package while the white and silver car next to it is a Dodge Daytona ES, late 80’s to early 90’s, but I can’t tell if it’s a 2.5l NA, 2.5l Turbo I, 2.2l Turbo II, 2.2l Turbo IV, or a 3.0l Mitsubishi V6 from that pic.

That's interesting Joe, I'm not sure of the white car is a donor for the Shelby or if they're both getting restored. He works on and sells all kinds of stuff, there was a mint British racing green MG out there too. 

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4 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

I never cared for that gen of Taurus..........just TOO round for my tastes as if Ford was scared at the time to put some creases and edges on it.

My thought was that the styling on the Taurus and the fore mentioned Faberge egg are very similar! :D

 

 

 

 

Steve

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5 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

That's interesting Joe, I'm not sure of the white car is a donor for the Shelby or if they're both getting restored. He works on and sells all kinds of stuff, there was a mint British racing green MG out there too. 

Outside of engine parts, there isn't much interchangeable there. The L-Body is a whole different chassis than the K-Car based G-Body and then they're 5 years or more apart on top of it.

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21 hours ago, slusher said:

That Cadillac May be pink but it’s sharp I would like to drive that heavy classic..

Mine (my wife's) is white and lavender. The restoration included rebuilt suspension and brakes.

Driving around town is a blast. Driving down a busy interstate at 75 is a little on the intense side. I love my 57 but the handling and brakes make driving fast in tight quarters occasionally terrifying. The combination of the weight and suspension that is designed for a very smooth ride makes for a car that leans and pitches way more than you would expect. It could be that as 57 was the first year for the "X" frame and the last year for rear leaf springs it was never really figured out by the engineers.

This critique on the Cadillac is not just a lack understanding how old cars handle. I used to have a 54 Buick Special and it could run at 75 with no drama.

Carmak

57front.JPG

57rear.JPG

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15 minutes ago, Carmak said:

Mine (my wife's) is white and lavender. The restoration included rebuilt suspension and brakes.

Driving around town is a blast. Driving down a busy interstate at 75 is a little on the intense side. I love my 57 but the handling and brakes make driving fast in tight quarters occasionally terrifying. The combination of the weight and suspension that is designed for a very smooth ride makes for a car that leans and pitches way more than you would expect. It could be that as 57 was the first year for the "X" frame and the last year for rear leaf springs it was never really figured out by the engineers.

This critique on the Cadillac is not just a lack understanding how old cars handle. I used to have a 54 Buick Special and it could run at 75 with no drama.

Carmak

57front.JPG

57rear.JPG

Sweet looking Caddy!

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13 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

Ditto on that '57 Caddy!

I never cared for that gen of Taurus..........just TOO round for my tastes as if Ford was scared at the time to put some creases and edges on it. Yes, it would probably be more reliable, but when you look as good as that Caddy, such things can be overlooked! :P 

BTW, that year of Cadillac is another one of those "early cars" I can remember seeing when I first knew what a car was. So there's some nostalgia in it for me too.

I never cared for the looks of that generation Taurus myself but they drove really good or the one I drove did...

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On 3/18/2020 at 3:37 PM, NOBLNG said:

I am a fan of quite a few cars from all makes up into the 70’s. They were all distinctive . In the 80’s, the field narrowed quite a bit and they somewhat lost their identity. It seemed that styling was less of a concern,  except for a few flagship vehicles. 90’s and newer, only the odd domestic vehicle to me, has any “sex appeal” or distinctiveness.  Daily drivers have all taken on a similar look. If you were to look at a bunch of new vehicles parked in a row with the emblems removed, it would be tough to say what brand they are from a distance of 30 ft. I guess if the wind tunnel has the final say they would all be identical.

I agree wholeheartedly. One of my favorites from the 70's was the Pontiac Grand Am.

maxresdefault.jpg

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The article is dead on. The millennials around me drive this newfangled 80s-90s chod every day and long for a brass era car for the weekends, two of them now having bought one.
One a 1904 Wolseley, the other a 1916 Chevrolet. Of course they dressed in what they thought is period garb until my mother, fashion designer and historian, set them straight. They have now thankfully corrected their attire accordingly, but it's in fact even more outlandish.

Those young lads have immense fun hooning their old heaps while masquerading for the occasion, all the while attracting the ladettes to join the craig. We, of course, never succumbed to such ridiculous vulgarity while still lad aged, oh no. We were sooooo much better. We drove our Fintail Benzes and '60 Buicks wearing mullets, robot wraps and loud coloured saccos with rolled up sleeves, 100% single proofing ourselves in the process.

Regarding 50s cars, yes, those y00fs like to look at them, but wouldn't want to own one for exactly the stated reasons. And yes, while there will never be a cheap '55 Bel Air hardtop as long as there is a gout ridden boomer still able to limp to the toilet unassisted, look at what happened to the prices of the cars their parents drove in the 50s. The bottom has dropped out of the more door 50s tat market.

What surprises me a bit is the continued interest in muscle cars, because all they ever were is rubbish.

Edited by Junkman
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On 3/19/2020 at 12:31 AM, Joe Handley said:

That is an interesting picture, on the left appears to be a mid-late 60’s C-Barge convertable, to the right of the Purple Plymouth is a ‘73-‘87 GM “Square Body” pickup, which has a healthy following, no matter the age group, the those two little FWD Mopars in the middle, the one that’s opened up appears to be a Shelby American built pre-turbo L-Body Shelby Charger, denoted by the 15x6 4 Lug “Pizza Wheels” (the later Pizza wheels were 5 lug and still 15x6) which would have had a carved 2.2l with either the head or block shaved a bit to bump compression for around 110hp, advertised and special Shelby specific handling package while the white and silver car next to it is a Dodge Daytona ES, late 80’s to early 90’s, but I can’t tell if it’s a 2.5l NA, 2.5l Turbo I, 2.2l Turbo II, 2.2l Turbo IV, or a 3.0l Mitsubishi V6 from that pic.

'66 Fury convertible;

regarding another person's comment about muscle cars being "rubbish", I guess a lot of people like rubbish because they must know something about them that you don't 

Edited by Motor City
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