Driving Nostalgia

I have a real fascination with all objects that are old, this applies to most things, for I am not that bothered by the advance of technology, or the notion of modernity.  I prefer the aesthetic qualities of items that have been designed with flair, built well and engineered to last.  This is in stark contrast with the items of today, for these are intended to have limited appeal, and are built in a manner that is flimsy at best.  So as to fuel the consumer driven economy, rather than to remain in use for any real length of time.

I know that much of my view is based on nostalgia, but I am absolutely certain that things were just held with more value, back when the life cycle of products was longer.  This theory can be applied to most things, but here I am talking about cars specifically.

There have been very few cars that have been designed in a manner that I would describe as being anywhere close to iconic, not for many years.  Yes there has been the New Beetle, the Mini and more recently the Fiat 500, all of which are great representations of the original cars that they are based upon, in terms of their aesthetics, but there hasn’t been anything wholly new for an awful long time.  Even the Porsche 911 shares many of the same lines as the original.  Each carnation has utilised new materials, has increased the use of technology and is built to be quicker and more efficient than that which went before it, but the physical design is fundamentally the same.

It has to be said that the vast majority of modern cars appear to have used the exact same formula when it comes to design.  For example, the new Mercedes-Benz A Class looks much the same as an Astra, or a Hyundai and in fact any other current generation of hatchback, it certainly does not share any of the heritage of the iconic Mercedes of previous years. It has the three pointed star, but that is where any link to the past ends.  This is the case across the board, and is clearly demonstrated by Volkswagens, or VW’s as they are now. The new Golf, Polo and to a degree even the Beetle is lost in a car park, for there is very little that distinguishes them from other cars.  The badge is there, but the personality is long gone.

This is why I prefer old cars, for I feel that in the not too distant past they had much more personality and the designs were wholly different across the board, from budget models, to high end marques, the cars were at least distinguishable. I like to think that in the past, buying decisions were made more upon design and the notion of quality, rather than on the economics of better fuel economy and perceived brand kudos.

I live in hope of seeing a design revolution, a renaissance that sees manufacturers break the mold in terms of design, so that everyday cars share some of the appeal that they once had.  Although I am not hopeful that this will happen any time soon, if at all, for cars, as with most things are designed to have mass appeal and therefore sell to the general population.  Anything that is radically different risks being a niche car at best, and no big manufacturer is going to risk that.  So I am going to have to accept that this is just the way it is.  This makes me appreciate the cars of the past even more.