Recently, I stumbled upon an article on Popular Mechanics with a list of 23 reasons why today’s cars are better than your parent’s. The gist is that today’s cars are safer, smarter, cleaner, more comfortable and require less maintenance than the cars your parents would have driven. This is undoubtedly true.
Today’s cars have antilock brakes, electronic stability control, satellite navigation, clear-coat enamel paint and engine immobilisers. We also have climate control air conditioning, electric everything, in-car stereos and many other things that were once cost options; a modern small car has much of the same equipment that luxury cars thirty years ago had.
There are some things that I miss though. The “autronic eye”, a system that automatically dimmed the headlights on Oldsmobile and Cadillac models of the ‘50s and ‘60s, has sadly disappeared. And while I’m at it, here are a few other things I can’t help but think of:
- Dad’s car never needed software updates.
- Dad’s BMW had a full-sized spare and a tire jack, not a useless puncture repair kit.
- Dad’s Ferrari was a thing of beauty, unlike the 612 Scaglietti.
- Dad was never locked out of his car by OnStar.
- Dad’s car never spontaneously combusted (except for that Pinto coupe he had in the mid-‘70s).
And more than anything, Dad’s car had a personality all its own. It wasn’t a generic, 4cyl sedan with a grey cloth interior; one that could wear any badge from Chevrolet to Toyota to Kia.
Back in Dad’s day, there were companies like MG and Pontiac, companies that made great cars for enthusiasts at affordable prices. Now we have a Ford Mustang that shares much of its switchgear with a mid-sized sedan.
Maybe it is just is nostalgia, but I don’t think many enthusiasts will be looking for a classic 2005 Chevy Malibu in fifty years’ time. Do you?
By Tristan Hankins
