by "citizennick" (citizennick)
Published 09/01/2017 at 14:48
by "citizennick" (citizennick)
Published 09/01/2017 at 14:48
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So often you hear “they don’t make cars like they used to”. I always thing back to the 90's, for example the Camaro. How many 1st gen Camaros did you see running around like it was nothing? Not many despite over 840,000 being made.
25 years later how many 4th gen Camaros do you see running around? A butt load.
EDIT: I feel like I wasn’t clear with this observation maybe. My point is that back in the 90's the 1st gen was 25 years old, yet we hardly saw any still running around.
Now the 4th gen is about that same age and yet we still see a ton of them running.
EDIT 2: why the hell does Kinja + iOS keep correcting words in the most ridiculous ways?!
"crowmolly" (crowmolly)
09/01/2017 at 14:54, STARS: 0
Well, remember. For a long time they were just “old cars” and they got rusty and crushed. Some of the super expensive stuff now is not just because of rare options, it’s because of survival rate.
I’d say in the early 2000s things got white hot. People started treating stuff nicer and disposing less.
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
09/01/2017 at 14:57, STARS: 0
Rust has had more time to reclaim the 1st gens than the 4th gens. Give it 30 more years....
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
09/01/2017 at 15:03, STARS: 0
1st gen camaros are worth a hell of a lot more and are quite a bit older than 4th gens (which I still don’t see a whole lot of). When I hear people reminisce about the glory days of cars, I definitely don’t think of the ‘90s. Maybe Japanese cars but definitely not American ones.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
09/01/2017 at 15:04, STARS: 2
I’ve owned cars built all across the last 50+ years- anyone who says those cars were ‘built better’ than today’s cars is looking through rose-colored glasses and has a lousy memory.
I *do* think, though, that there was a period (~1972-1984) factory stock cars went backwards in *certain* aspects as Detroit worked to adjust to new federal regulations - they put on weight, but lost power and style, basically. I think that’s where the phrase comes from. But I wouldn’t say that a ‘65 Cutlass was ‘better built’ than a ‘75 or ‘85 Cutlass — and I’m plenty familiar with all 3.
FWIW, though, I don’t see 4th gen Camaros around anymore (and didn’t see many 1st gen’s 25 years ago either) - probably a function of being around Chicago, where we salt the hell out of the roads.
"citizennick" (citizennick)
09/01/2017 at 15:04, STARS: 0
I know, my point is that in the 90's the first gen was 25 or so years old but we hardly saw them on the roads. 25 years later to now we still see a ton 4th gen Camaros on the road.
"citizennick" (citizennick)
09/01/2017 at 15:10, STARS: 0
I edited the post. Point was that in the 90's the first gen was 25 years old but we hardly ever saw them running around. Now the 4th gen is around the same age and we see them everywhere.
"citizennick" (citizennick)
09/01/2017 at 15:13, STARS: 1
It definitely varies on where you live. I’m in the rural Midwest and see a lot of cars from the 80's-90's you wouldn’t typically see in a metro area. I remember coming home to visit Nebraska while I lived in Houston and going “holy shit is that a Ford Tempo?!”
"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti)
09/01/2017 at 15:14, STARS: 1
I definitely don’t see a ton of 4th gen camaros on the roads. But yeah, materials from the ‘60s weren’t as rust proof as materials from the ‘90s.
"Nothing" (nothingatalluseful)
09/01/2017 at 15:20, STARS: 0
We had seven ‘65 Mustangs in my family in the early 80's. Back then, they were just used cars. Most of them were beaters. Just like now, late 90s cars are, for the most part, beater used cars. I’d venture not a single one of those Mustangs are on the road today. None of them were collectible, though. Not even a V8 in the bunch.
In 1988, I tried to convince my dad to buy a Boss 302 with 32k miles on it for $10k, but he didn’t like the color and thought the price was ridiculous. To him (he was in his late 60s), it was just an overpriced used car.
As well preserved cars get older, they get driven less. Unfortunately, I don’t see the next generation of enthusiasts really caring much about them. To most, they’re just ancient old relics that don’t do anything well.
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
09/01/2017 at 15:22, STARS: 1
Very true - in my experience, rural areas generally have more old cars, more American cars, and more trucks.
I don’t recall 1st gen Camaros being *that* rare in the early ‘90's, but I was driving a ‘64 Oldsmobile at the time - and I can promise you that a ‘68-72 Chevelle/Cutlass/Skylark was absolutely a common sighting back then. I’m sure there were more of those built than 4th gen Camaros, though—
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
09/01/2017 at 15:26, STARS: 2
Ah, gotcha. Things didn’t last as long back then. 100k miles was unheard of, and most cars were scrapped by then. Even Camaros. Plus if you figure in the gas crisis and other economic tradgedies of the 70's and 80's and you’ll see why MANY of the cars from that era were not to be seen on the roads in the 90's.
Now they last to 200k+ and there are more people around to drive them than back then, plus gas is cheap and insurance is.... optional? Plus they’re cheap speed.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
09/01/2017 at 23:10, STARS: 0
I think “they don’t make cars like they used to” has mostly to do with shitty plastic interiors. the old ones with leather and steel would hold up great, even after you faceplant in an accident.