4th Nov 2012, 11:10
When you talk about modern cars being more powerful, you're thinking about power in the wrong terms. The big 70s Lincolns with a 460 V8 produced about 200 HP and 356 ft-lb of torque at a mere 2,000 RPM. Modern cars produce a similar amount of HP (but not torque) at a much higher RPM. So I think it's more impressive that the older cars can produce such power with so little effort.
Besides your comment about handling is sort of cliche (sounds like Jeremy Clarkson and his followers) because these cars didn't have the fancy dancy rack and pinion steering of today's cars. Besides, would you really want a 4,900-5,500 lb hunk of American steel zipping around the roads and accelerating quickly? Just asking for people to be killed in horrific accidents.
And I wouldn't necessarily say that quality control in today's vehicles has improved very much. It's pretty much the same as back then in most ways. But yeah, most modern cars don't last as long as older cars because that's not what they're built to do anymore. I can't imagine seeing a Hyundai still kicking after 25-40 years of anything. Even seeing a Toyota Camry still around after all that time would be ridiculous. V8 powered cars last infinitely longer than most 6 cylinder cars (I don't even want to talk about 4 cylinder cars) and can take much more punishment. That's what really separates older vehicles from newer ones; the heavy duty transmissions and engines, etc. Modern cars have almost no heavy duty parts in them at all and all the engines are high revving (which hurts engine life). Not only that, but they always have more complicated electronics that tend to crap out after a few years and requires costly maintenance.
And the thing about the high gas prices. I don't mind blah cars for the average commoner. But the luxury cars like Mercedes and BMW are all starting to embrace the same boring concepts as Toyota and Honda. Their designs all look similar, and they too care more about fuel efficiency than real luxury. If you can afford a $100,000 Mercedes, shouldn't you be able to afford the fuel? Why does Rolls-Royce still make low revving cruisers that don't care about performance? Because that's true luxury; a concept abandoned by most other "luxury" vehicle makers.
And the high gas prices can be fought, but people today don't stick together anymore, allowing the government and corporations to trample on them. The government doesn't care about most of us; they are laughing at our powerlessness and gullibility. Everybody just looks out for themselves, and that is what the people in power want, because it gives them more power without the threat of resistance.
1st Nov 2012, 22:40
I don't know what kind of car shows you go to, but I've been to many where folks display their late 70's and even mid 80's luxury liner Caddys and Lincolns, and even mid-size cars such as the Grand Prix, Cutlass and T-bird etc., and no they do not get laughed at, and others don't wonder why they are there. More or less, they get compliments.
And once again, we have owned many cars from the 70's (no, not Vegas) that had no sign whatsoever of corner cutting or atrociousness. I find it hard to believe, because I speak from experienced ownership, just like you do with your Yotas.