Everyday Classics
I have a long standing love of old cars, these tend to be German and Swedish in origin, and are models that were produced in the 70's and 80's. This is my main focus, but I also have a veering towards French, Italian and some Japanease models from the same era, as well as American models from as far back as the 40's. In short, I am in to older cars.
With the exception of the Porsche 911, which in my opinion is a true design icon, I am not a massive fan of sports cars or high end marques that reek of yuppiedom. My favourites tend to be everyday cars that were once common place, with the emphasis on small hatchbacks, and the Mark one Golf being my all time number one choice.
It has been a long standing wish of mine to own a truly original, box fresh example of a latter day classic of my own. But while I have got as far as to look at a couple of affordable ones that I have come across, something always puts me off, so to date I have never fulfilled my wish, not yet at least. At least part of my reluctance to take on an older car can be attributed to having my fingers burned in the past with a Mercedes-Benz W124, that I thought was a good find, but in reality was far from that. With hindsight I maybe should have persevered with it, but not being mechanically minded made me fear every odd sound that came from it, and as for the body, well, that turned out to be a little on the rotten side, to say the least. So while I thought it looked great, I think my heart took over my head and my judgment was affected somewhat. All in all owning this car was a wholly worrying experience, one that has put me off buying anything that is more senior in years ever since.
I think I would rather wait and find an example that does not need work, but does not cost a fortune either. In the meantime I am happy to appreciate examples that other people own, as long as they are completely stock, un tricked and certainly not lowered, as seems to be the trend at the moment. An import from an American dry state would be good, but I would hate to have something that has survived for all of these years, only to see it rot in front of my very eyes as a result of it being re homed in a damp, salty atmosphere.
Thankfully the internet is a constant source of inspiration, and every now and then I see one of my favourites on the road. So the dream is kept alive until such a time that I am ready to take on an older car, or at least until I see something that calls out to me, and all of my common sense goes absent!
With the exception of the Porsche 911, which in my opinion is a true design icon, I am not a massive fan of sports cars or high end marques that reek of yuppiedom. My favourites tend to be everyday cars that were once common place, with the emphasis on small hatchbacks, and the Mark one Golf being my all time number one choice.
It has been a long standing wish of mine to own a truly original, box fresh example of a latter day classic of my own. But while I have got as far as to look at a couple of affordable ones that I have come across, something always puts me off, so to date I have never fulfilled my wish, not yet at least. At least part of my reluctance to take on an older car can be attributed to having my fingers burned in the past with a Mercedes-Benz W124, that I thought was a good find, but in reality was far from that. With hindsight I maybe should have persevered with it, but not being mechanically minded made me fear every odd sound that came from it, and as for the body, well, that turned out to be a little on the rotten side, to say the least. So while I thought it looked great, I think my heart took over my head and my judgment was affected somewhat. All in all owning this car was a wholly worrying experience, one that has put me off buying anything that is more senior in years ever since.
I think I would rather wait and find an example that does not need work, but does not cost a fortune either. In the meantime I am happy to appreciate examples that other people own, as long as they are completely stock, un tricked and certainly not lowered, as seems to be the trend at the moment. An import from an American dry state would be good, but I would hate to have something that has survived for all of these years, only to see it rot in front of my very eyes as a result of it being re homed in a damp, salty atmosphere.
Thankfully the internet is a constant source of inspiration, and every now and then I see one of my favourites on the road. So the dream is kept alive until such a time that I am ready to take on an older car, or at least until I see something that calls out to me, and all of my common sense goes absent!
 |
My W124. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
|
Comments
Post a Comment