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An interesting article by the Associated Press appeared on the net today concerning the future of our hobby and some people's livelyhood.
Hope they are wrong. Check it out and express your opinion.
Link www.msn.com MSNBC Article "Are the days of classic cars over"
i read that article also. i believe that no matter what happens with cars in the future there will always be us. america has a long love affair with the car and the older the better. If that was not true then our cars would not cause people to stop to get a better look when we drive by. The new cars may be flashy but they seem to me to lack the beauty of the designs that the older ones have. the cars of today are cookie cutter type. you have to look at the emblem to figure out who made it.
Change is inevitable I guess.... The cars might change, but Hot Rodding will continue.
Seems every year though, another "new old car" is reproduced in sheet metal, and bunch of 'glass cars still being built..... Less of the old original tin, natural attrition takes care of that....Some land in collections and are no longer avaiable to see on the streets, but nevertheless they're being conserved. Hot Rodding is alive and well, don't really see anything other then small changes anytime soon....
Depends on what you mean by "we". We old grey beards are more likely closer to the end of our lives than the beginning, and as time moves on there will be fewer of us who identify and remain loyal to the old cars we define as "hot rod". This past week while at Bonneville, a couple of visiting Kiwis parked next to us at the camp area. Great guys, and surprisingly we knew some of the same people (in many ways hot rodding is a small community). The younger of the two, my guess around 40 or so, kept talking about "old" cars. I finally asked him what "old car" meant to him. He said "something like a '65 Mustang". I smiled and said, well, I remember those new on the show room floor..........they're not so "old" to me! And we had a good laugh. It's all relative. This article is like so much the so called "mainstream media" does.........if it bleeds it leads. Having been interviewed many times I know that they tend to ignore comments that don't play to their preconceived story line. Whoever wrote the commentary on the lead photo doesn't know a '40 Merc from a '51! We have an affinity for the cars that were a part of our youth. Today's kids will likely follow a similar path. Just because the old fogeys who are quoted in this story think a late model Honda is a throw away car, doesn't necessarily mean the nostalgic folk of tomorrow will feel the same.
There are still some interesting cars being built today, and odds are some of them will become the nostalgic collectibles of tomorrow............assuming that over reaching government won't forbid such. Today the local lovers of the BMW built, late model Mini Coopers had a gathering. A pretty good turn out in spite of some iffy weather. These are fun cars, handle great, decent power, a very supportive aftermarket, and they get great fuel economy. The base model '09 gets a legitimate 36 mpg overall. And then there's the good ol' Mustang. Since '05 they've enjoyed a strong following and great aftermarket support. Below is a new '10 model called the GTR........if that don't get your pulse up you need a transfusion (or you're too anti Ford :eek:).
I do think politics will be a problem for car lovers of the not too distant future, the elitists who feel the need to turn us into serfs are growing stronger and more bold, but for now there's still some hope.
This is the same old saw that has gone around ever since Moog made an improved version of Oogs wheel. Great granddad wanted a 87 Studebaker wagon ( which was in the family till 10 years ago) Granddad wanted a 1902 REO, Dad wanted a 31 Caddy, I wanted a 57 Chevy fuelie convert, My daughter wants a Mitsibushi 3000vr4, her son wants a 08 Mustang. The beat will go on, the only thing that will change will be the players and their cards.
Besides that, I'm not to inclined to ge excited about what someone who cant tell a 40 from a 51 says.
This occured to me when front wheel drive drag racing hit the TV a few years ago:
It doesn't really matter what the cars are based on. It is the spirit of modification for acceleration ....and restyling for individualism that matters. Some of those FWD cars run 7s!!! That should give the driver and spectators al least as much of a thrill as those weak kneed flatties did in the '50s! And the invasion of ground effects, billet wheels, air bags, electronics, and graphics are giving newcomers the same pride of expression that pinstriping, "cut coils", coon tails, and fender skirts did "back in the day".
The really important thing is that there is an enthusiastic and passionate crowd to keep this thing that we love so much going!