Sturdy or do you mean plain heavy?
My current car is about 750kg being plastic and galvanised steel but it is doesn’t rust and a little 1.5ltr can pull it along nicely and get 44mpg-6.3L/100km-16km/l.
Think of all the things that used to go wrong, how often you had to change the oil, decoke, grease, cut out rust etc
Modern cars are much more reliable, much more comfortable better featured and so much cheaper too.
I’m interested to know which better features are on the cars of today that were not found on cars of the past. Offhand, I cant think of a single one.
Sturdy as in better made and last longer, how many of todays cars will still be running in 20 years. Ours sails through the MOT each year with very little going wrong, tyres and brakes are all we have to replace.
We have had newer cars (husbands work vehicles) and they are tinny and scrapped after a few years as they let the company down so often. A big old Volvo we had was 32 before we decided to say good bye to him, only reason we did it was we needed a higher car because my husband was struggling with his back the CRV solved that one and as I said is 20 years old and not giving us any problems.
Modern cars are certainly much better equipped and far safer. If mine crashed into an old car, I’d walk away because of the airbags and crash cell around the cabin. The driver of the older car would have to be cut out and if still alive, would probably never walk again. They also far safer for pedestrians; no jutting out metal bumpers.
They also have safety systems including stability control, brakes that are far superior, all are ABS and tyres that are 200% better than they were just 30 years ago.
They are far more reliable, far more fuel efficient and far more comfortable.
The only problem with modern cars is that they are far too technical and therefore have too much that can go wrong and then too difficult fix when the do. However, if I was to drive 300 miles in my Ford Focus, I’d get out at the other end as though I’d just been watching TV for a few hours. The same journey in a 1980’s Ford Escort would leave me needing back surgery.
The turbo on my car and many modern turbos will last and last. Older turbos of the 80’s had a lifespan of about 60-80000 miles and had so much lag the power band was only about 2000 revs.
The Lamborghini Countach was nigh on impossible to drive and had a clutch that needed a bodybuilder to press and steering equally heavy. It’s equivalent today, the Lamborghini Aventador is as easy to drive as a VW Golf and considerably faster and safer. The Porsche 911 of the 1980’s saw many owners upside down and in a hedge, you don’t hear that very often of the modern 911.
Old cars are nice and some are truly beautiful, because their design was not compromised by safety rules, but better - never!
Taking a few points here. ABS brakes were first introduced in the 1960’s, so they are hardly new. Disc brakes were fitted to cars as long ago as pre WW1, and became common in the latter half of the 1960’s. So they are hardy new.
Regarding safety. That a difficult one. On the whole, I agree, but with one comment. To my knowledge, only one car has ever been banned from Destruction Derbys because it was difficult to destroy, and that was made in the '60’s.
Clutches. I needed emergency surgery in Germany - not a nice thing - as a direct result of the clutch on a new VW Golf, so that comment must apply to at least some newer cars also.
As regards tyre, agreed. Having said that, a few years ago, I took my classic (50 years old next year) down to the Nurburgring. On its new, but still old style bias belted tyres, it still managed 5 consecutive sub-10 minute laps…Next time, it will be in the 9’s…
Edit: and thats with a pushrod engine, no turbos, fuel injection or other “modernities.”
I take it we are talking about your average car and standard fittings not options (otherwise it makes no sense).
Where to begin? Air Con and (in the case of the UK) a heater for a start, disc brakes, anti lock brakes, even electric power steering and the best of all cruise control.
Very true Bruce. Comparisons have to be standard off-the-shelf cars, not comparisons between ones that since purchased have been altered or ‘suped-up’.
My passion is acceleration, top speed is irrelevant, because even the slowest cars can travel at speeds far in excess of the legal 70mph limit. In 1978 the fastest accelerating production car was the Aston Martin V8 Vantage - I have to confess I absolutely adore this car and it was the one that started my passion for cars. It’s 0-60 time was 5.4 seconds. You can now buy a Nissan 370z sports car for about £27000 that will do 0-60 in 4.7 seconds. That’s faster and therefore in my book better.
Top Gear did a similar test of a standard 2.0 litre Honda family saloon car and it out accelerated a Jaguar E-Type and an Aston Martin DB5.
Other people’s interest in cars is fuel economy. My 1.4 litre Renault 5GT Turbo averaged about 28 mpg. A similar car today, the Ford Fiesta ST does about 45mpg. Much lower emissions as well.
Most small cars now are as big on the inside as family saloons of 20/30 - years ago. Build quality is superior, noise suppression is far superior and as for equipment levels - well top spec superminis now, are incredible.
My car from 2007 has been replaced by the new 2012 Ford Focus ST. The new car is faster, smoother, more highly equipped and all round, is a better car than mine. But it doesn’t look as nice and I don’t love it. So I prefer mine - heart is ruling the head (and I couldn’t afford one anyway! ;-))
Air con: In some countries, first fitted to family cars as a n option in the late 50’s, relatively standard option by the 60’s.
Disc brakes, as above.
Power steering, admittedly hydraulic: as above.
Cruise control: Mid 60’s
Antilock brakes: Mid 60’s, standard on one british car in the 60’s.
There are very few “new” refinements to modern cars that haven’t been around for a long time.
Regarding the “souped up” comment somewhere. I can think offhand of one car, taken straight from the production line, that was officially timed at 246mph in 1969. Even if speed doesnt matter. As regards acceleration, there were many cars around 1970 that would eat the majority of hot hatches for breakfast. Like it or not, that was the golden era of performance.
The first Turbo Charged car I had was in 1990, a Fiesta RS Turbo, 0-60 about 7.5 seconds if I remember right, a 1.6 CVH engine, it was replaced in 1991 by a Fiesta RS 1800 with the new 1.8 Zetec unit, on paper performance was pretty identical but on the road, it was never as interesting.
The history of turbochaged production cars is one thing that surprised me. I always thought that BMW were first, then I recently discovered that the first one was produced by another company in 1962. A full 11 years previous!..:shock:
Fiesta RS Turbo was some car! Very aggressive looking and the turbo made it pretty scary. The power delivery from turbos then was fun - all or nothing
How rude!
Why rude?
I had a little Honda N600 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_N360 had some very good features I have never seen on any other car, by yor feet was a flap which when raised allowed ventilation or heat (depended which way you raised it) to circulate around your legs and feet, a tube could be attached which sent that air under the seat into the back of the car.
The petrol cap and flap were attached to the car so you never had to stand holding the cap while you filled up.
Very simple engine cost pennies almost to have work done.
Was a dream to park could almost shunt in sideways to a spot !
Smaller than a mini but plenty of room for 4 adults. Good head room too if you were taller.
Small quirky car and bright bright yellow. Just don’t see anything with so much personality these days.
When i started driving even a radio was an extra. The wipers were vacuum operated and if you accelerated they stopped working altogether. This was with a Ford Anglia 100e (1954 reg no 842 CMU) which came out after the Popular version and before the Prefect version. prior to that there was the ford 95a "sit up and beg"type
It is a nonsense to suggest that any of these things have been fitted as standard to cars from the dates you put forward, of course some them have been around since the sixties but so has space travel. Hands up those of us who have been into space?
Bruce, if you read my post correctly, you will see that I used the phrase “AS AN OPTION.” Check your facts, and you will find that is a 100% correct statement.
I know but, as I said, as such it is a nonsense. For your argument to make any sense it has to be as a standard feature in common mass produced cars.
Bruce and Fender Bender
Remember different countries may have the same make and model, but what is fitted as standard in one country may not be fitted as standard in another
I had every Ford RS model early 90s except a Sierra RS Cosworth, I know a guy who has the first Fiesta XR2, he bought it at auction when the Patrick Collection were selling some of their cars off, I think it has 90 miles on the clock, he was offered a swop for a Ferrari but declined.
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