What's the Jalop Definition of a Classic Car?

"Money Hustard" (moneyhustard)
09/02/2014 at 09:25 • Filed to: Classic Cars, Semantics, Definition

I found out this past week that not even the owner of a classic car insurance company can give you a straight !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . While there might be millions of classic car enthusiasts out there, few seem to agree on exactly what a classic car is.

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Is it just an car of a certain age like state laws indicate? Is it just cars made between the World Wars? Is it just a select few truly exquisite cars? Or is it simply in the eye of the beholder and undefinable?

Music's "Classical period" is said to be from 1730 to 1820. In your opinion, what is the automobile's Classical period?

DISCUSSION (29)

mcseanerson > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:27

For me it's something that is bought intentionally, instead of something new and reliable, and that is not an out and out beater. Basically anything 10-15+ years old that you try to take care of.

Cherry_man1 > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:30

Anything from 1920- 1979. but thats just me.

Money Hustard > Cherry_man1
09/02/2014 at 09:34

Any reasoning behind that? It seems to be even more inclusive than even the most inclusive definitions. Why '79 and not '72?

Money Hustard > mcseanerson
09/02/2014 at 09:36

Some car models last 10 years without a refresh. Don't you feel like the term "classic" should define something outside the modern era?

Cherry_man1 > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:36

Well you have a handful of kinda neat cars past 73, yes smog crap and such but you till have the trans-am's and such so I was trying to include them I also own a 1973 Gran Torino Sport. and its as classic as it can get. SO MUCH CHROME. Well not so much but you get an idea

mcseanerson > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:38

I said 10-15+ years. 10 years could be something really special. The idea for me is someone said I could have had a new reliable car and decided to chance it with this heap and I'm gonna throw every dime I got at fixing it up and keeping it on the road.

Obviously this does not apply to beaters.

Milky > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:38

After 1 minute of thought, I'd say anything older than 30 years old. IMO a NSX and cars like it aren't classics. Yet. But anything pre '84, yea, I'd argue that.

Kinja'd!!!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:43

For me it's a desirable old car.

Old camry from the 80's is not a classic since nobody desire to drive old camry. But an 80's GT-R is a classic since everybody desire to drive one.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:43

Personally, I think it's a style-era. Anything 'classic' is from the 50s-60s era of swooping organic curves. Anything prior (think MG TC, upright, exposed big wire wheels etc.) is 'vintage'. Anything post (think wedgy-angular late-70s to 80s) is 'retro'.

Is an early Fox Mustang a classic car? Not really, but it is retro.

Before 'vintage' you've got 'veteran', which is all the 19th century and early 20th. After that you've got 90s-00s 'modern' and then I haven't decided on a name for the current crop :S

Money Hustard > mcseanerson
09/02/2014 at 09:45

I like your definition as a gearhead, but I think you are defining what a "collector car" is, and not a classic. Do you think they are one in the same or is there some separation between the terms in your mind?

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:46

Classic cars are 15 years and older. but a Classic is something that was definitive of it's era.

On the author in the link stating "Just like a wine that was made 80 years ago doesn't just become a vintage because it's old, not all old cars are classics."

I'm at odds with his metaphor as a Vintage car is defined as being built between 1919 and 1930.. so in a car sense, if it's built 84 years ago and has survived without any significant modifications it's Vintage. Regardless of if it was any good or not.

Veterans are pre 1919

mcseanerson > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:46

Maybe.

Money Hustard > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
09/02/2014 at 09:47

That's interesting, I hadn't heard terms like veteran and vintage applied to car making eras. Are you from outside the US by any chance?

RazoE > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:51

to me a classic car is an older car (years can range), that has some significance. A '69 Firebird is a classic car, while a Plymouth Duster (in Bundy Brown) is not.

TheRallyStache > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:53

I think the term "Classic" is used descriptively rather than definitively.

Money Hustard > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
09/02/2014 at 09:54

This is the second comment referring to the "vintage" and "veteran" eras. I thought cars that were pre-1925 were considered "antique," I didn't know it was broken down further than that.

I used the winemaking analogy in the article because the term "vintage" originally means "a particularly good year for wine." Vintage years never change over time. Some might say (like the classic car club of america) that the list of classic shouldn't much either.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 09:59

I'm in the UK yeah :) the only reason I thought of veteran is from the old crock's car run I've been to when I was younger (haven't been in a few years). The proper name for it is the Bonhams Veteran Car Run.

Basically, pre-1905 you had to have a chap walking in front of your car with a flag to warn pedestrians. That was lifted in 1905 and a load of motorists took their cars from London to Brighton to celebrate, and that still goes on today.

Of course I expand 'veteran' to include cars made after 1905, but is' a useful moniker :)

Money Hustard > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
09/02/2014 at 10:00

A well-restomodded '69 charger with a wing scrapped from a super bee with a 600 bhp Hemi might be desirable to many, but it's no classic though right?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 10:06

i forgot to add this:

It's should be as stock as possible, even down to the hubcaps.

For me an M3 E30 with rollcage can be considered as a classic as long as it come with that rollcage from factory.

Money Hustard > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
09/02/2014 at 10:10

This is highly comical. I'm surprised I've never heard of the 1896 "Locamotives on the Highway Act." The thought of someone walking in front of a car waving a flag is giving me a good laugh.

ly2v8-Brian > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 11:31

I'll keep it simple: Individual experiences may vary.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 19:25

I think it is a car that transcended its original purpose either in styling ('57 Chevy), sheer volume (Beetle) or was a representation of what that company stood for at the time of manufacture ('68 Dodge Superbird).

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 19:29

That would be a hot rod, so it is just a different kind of classic.

Money Hustard > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
09/02/2014 at 20:23

Hot rods are just about everything a Classic isn't.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 20:31

I don't know about that. There are a few cars that I would consider hot rods straight from the factory. The "Judge" GTO for example. Just a tarted up family coupe.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 20:41

I've always held the belied that Vintage in wine making mostly means all the grapes used in that wine came from a particular year. Originally it just meant the same as harvest but specifically for vines/wine.

You can have a crap vintage wine just as much as a good one. In fact its probably more common than we'd think (Lambrusco..jk).. though the Vintner's wouldn't sell it as is and would blend it with a different vintage to make it taste better.. much like hot-rodding :P

I'm in Australia, and that is the official definitions of them and how I grew up talking about them (Vintage and Veteran), granted one of my Dad's friends collects and trades pre-30's motorbikes.. so for all I know regular people who aren't involved in clubs might call anything over 30 Vintage... much like "Vintage clothing"

ptak appreciates old racecars > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 21:33

A "classic car" to me is a car that has stood the test of time, and which still finds devoted lovers decades after it is born, although there is such a thing as an instant classic.

The "classical period" is totally up for debate in my eyes, there are car clubs with six different types of labeling eras, it's kind of useless to argue about it. Personally, to me, it's before the mid-1960s, as my focus these days is primarily pre-1930s cars (when I'm not learning all I can about JDM and shakotans)

Axial > Money Hustard
09/02/2014 at 23:25

A classic car is a car that only gets more endearing with time. It also helps if it has a form of legacy such as being a famous model, being rare, or having some major impact on the industry.

Kylemaro > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
09/03/2014 at 15:35

EDITED: because my dumbass saw camry but somehow read corolla