Carving Nostalgia

It is no secret that I have a real appreciation for German cars, particularly those from the Mercedes-Benz family.  The cars I really connect with tend to be those from the mid seventies to the mid eighties.  During this era the designs were pretty much as perfect as you can get,in my opinion. The build was solid and the over all look was synonymous with German (over) engineering.  However, these cars were not so utilitarian so as to lose any trace of personality, not at all for the models from this period have this in absolute abundance.  From nose to tail they have an incredible number of characteristics that are uniquely Mercedes and befitting of the era from which they hail.  These are just some of the things that provide them the appeal, but to be honest there are a whole host of ingredients that combine to give this car a set of qualities that never fails to make my head turn when I see one.   The models that I have a ...

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 ha...

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, ...

I am a huge fan of cars of the German variety, old ones that is. I dare say that one day in the future I will grow fond of the modern models, but I think that this will be some time off.  For decades, they produced cars with the aesthetics that I really appreciate. Bold lines, chunky styling and an overall look from a different ear, a look which is distinctly German, much more so than the more generic design aspects of the cars of today, which tend to blend in with too many other cars.  I will cover many more of my favorites, but here are a few to open with.