Cars have never been as safe or as fast as they are today. Modern cars handle better, are more comfortable on the highway and are more fuel efficient in most segments. New cars also come with tech that makes our lives easier and more convenient. So, why then do we cling to our old cars so hard? Could it be that old cars are better than new cars?
We can argue that new cars are objectively better, but enthusiasts are just as attached as they’ve ever been to the cars from years or decades past.
Trace back the history of the GTI, the 911, or the 3 series, for example. You could say their modern versions are the reinterpretation of ideas that worked back then, but new models have struggled to connect drivers to the act of driving, as opposed to just “transporting.” When cars became safer, they also became heavier. Mass has a lot to do with driving dynamics, so did we trade “spirited driving” for safety?
I know some drivers would say this is just a look at the past through rose-tinted glasses, but a bunch of drivers are holding onto their old cars more tightly than they have before. Why is a Singer 911 worth so much more than a brand new one that out performs it in nearly every area?
There’s something to drivers being unable to let go of their old dailies and or weekend cars because they refuse to pay for subscriptions, or don’t want their car to have access to their private data. Maybe they just hate that cars are big now.
Or it could have to do with design. Maybe car design has become stagnant, or progressed in the wrong ways. Have The Cars lost something, somewhere along the way? What do you think? Are old cars better than new cars?