Today vs "the good ole days"
 

Opportunity to go down memory lane.

I've noticed that cars look the same, back in the 60's cars were distinct .

And your observations??

As for automobiles, while aerodynamics have tended to homogenize the looks of cars these days...we are truly living in the 'Golden Age of the Automobile.' :thumbup:

Family sedans are pushing horsepower, much less overall performance, that even the muscle cars of the 60's...could only dream about.

Enjoy it while it lasts though, as the next evolution...will most likely result in less driver input/fun. :(


As for other things that were supposedly the "good old days," it all depends on what demographic...you happen to belong to.

Ah yes. We have discussed this before. heh heh

They were meant to look good and go fast, but not to last.

Most cars today are boring. Mostly red, white or black. Here in Florida, mostly white. I do not understand having a black car here, black absorbs heat. I loved my "Surf Blue" Jeep, I could spot it across a Disney parking lot! Had to trade it in for mechanical reasons, alas. Have you noticed that the hybrids are the ones with the most colors? I think it's another persuasion to get you to switch to one.

Cars in the old days were junk yard bound at about 80,000 miles. Now there barely broke in at 80,000 miles.

Boring Blue is the new look...see it every where

Cars in the old days with 80K were probably 10 years old or older
Today's fast paced lifestyle 80 k is 4 year old car

I like todays cars, bland, boring or not.
The exitement of UK motoring in the 60's was, will we get there and back with the minimum number of break downs and overheatings.
Today we give a time of arrival, in those days, especially with the 'bangers 'I owned, an aproximate date was best option!

Old cars were great because I like simple and they didn't have a bunch of gadgets that constantly break. Air conditioning was rolling down the windows manually. All you needed to tune up a car was a timing light and tachometer, not a high tech diagnostic computer not available to a common person. You could still get manual transmissions. Most younger people today don't have an idea what a clutch and stick shift is? All cars ran on gas or diesel :). Self driving cars were a concept in science fiction only. Older cars didn't have electronic locks that inadvertently lock you out. Old cars didn't constantly buzz and beep to remind you of stuff you should already know. And most importantly, older cars had class.

Today vs old days
 

This post covers many many options, such as our safety now as opposed to 60's, wonder if crime in 60's was just as bad, or media coverage was less.

And now Ford and Chevrolet have announced they are out of the car business and will focus on trucks, SUV's, Electric and Autonomous (ok they will continue the Corvette and Mustang). What I miss about the "old" days was all the new models were announced in September and dealers had parties with bands and food to celebrate. Maybe since electric doesn't have CAFE to meet styling might return?

When I started dating in 1957 the front seats were bench seats without seatbelts so a guy could drive with his date nestled up to him. Better yet, at the drive-in movie the smooching was easy and if things really got going there was always the back seat - although today's SUVs and vans are a whole 'nother world in back. lol.

As my grandson said to his Mom when she woke him for his second day of kindergarten, "I miss the good old days."

Giggle snort!

Houses were certainly different “In the good ol’ Days”. I grew up in a small Midwest town. After the war, my Dad and Mom found a small four room house that they bought on contract for $1,800.00. Dad said houses were very hard to find in those days. No air conditioner, no bathroom (outhouse) and heat was provided by a coal stove. Hey, we had electricity and city water. I remember the “Scavenger man” came once a month in our town and cleaned out the privy (Outhouse). Dad was a coal miner and he was pretty handy. By the time I was 6 years old, we had a bathroom, detached garage and the attic was turned into 2 bedrooms. Mom had a gas stove to cook on but since Dad was a coal miner we still used coal to heat the house. Wow! On the really hot summer nights, Mom made us kids a “pallet” in the downstairs living room and we had fans that kept us from getting too hot. Finances were tight when miners went out on strike for better pay and safer working conditions. I think that I was in 8th grade before we got a window unit AC and a thirty five foot tower to pull-in some snow screen television from 100 miles away. Finally, Dad put in a gas furnace, but didn’t have central air until after I left the nest. Yep, those were the good ol’ days for real homes. Oh, We had a couple of old Plymouths and a Chrysler as we were growing up. When I was a sophomore in High School, Dad’s coal mine closed but that is another story.

It would be interesting to know what was your folks annual salary.

I can remember our family Doctor making a House Call and giving my Dad his home phone number in case of any problem during the night. Here in The Villages, I swear to you that our Doctor gave us his Cell Number. I haven't ever used it but what a feeling.

How about common decency in the old days. I really don't remember road rage either. When I was pulled over after just getting my drivers license and I had been drinking instead of arresting me they delivered me to my Dad. I wish they had locked me up instead. I did the same Monkey Business twice! Ouch!

Seriously Great Subject Again! Hope I don't lose any more friends because of infighting! To Tell You The Truth! There's something else that is a memory, the Truth.

One last thing. You can keep the Motorcycles my kids buy nowadays. Give me the Old School Ones anytime, no sidecar, please.

The good old days were when the news was on at 5:00 and 6:00. Not 24 hours per day.

When we got to bounce around in the back seat without seatbelts. When your brother would slam on the brakes so you would smash into the metal dash board.. lol.

When your parents would tell you to be home when the street lights came on and didn't have to worry about you going missing.

:bigbow: oh nucky, your the best!

Ha ha! I had a British sports car in the '70s that, according to the almost-only foreign car mechanic in town, financed his winter trip to the Bahamas every year. My husband would call him, and he'd say, "Where is it now?!" Or something like, "Cars don't BREAK axels anymore."

I'll take the mechanical reliability and non-rusting finish of today's cars.

I'll also take the internet, the cell phones, the microwaves, the blue tooth ways of monitoring your home, and any other technological advance that has freed up our leisure time and generally made life easier. I'm talking to you, online banking.

Back in the good ole days you could double the value of your Gremlin just by filling the gas tank.

Giggle snort!

We could go on a date for $5. $2 filled the tank, .70 cents for 2 movie tickets. .30 for popcorn and soda, $2 for 2 cheeseburgers 2 frys and 2 milk shakes at McDonalds. The good old days.

Once upon a time, spectators at PGA Tour events did not shout, "Mashed Potato" or "Get in the hole" or "Baba Booey".

Post of the day.. :1rotfl:

Always adjusting valves, replacing rings, wind shield wipers operating off the vacuum pump, tube tires, rust, and sealed beam headlights.
No thanks Ii will take the cars of today.

Ahhhh! The good old vacuum wipers.
The faster you went, the slower they moved.
The art was to accelerate, lift foot, wipe, accelerate, lift foot, wipe etc. etc!
As for rust. You took a magnet to buy a used car, just to see how much filler was holding it together!

Straight six, three on the floor and increased your driving skills exponentially, as it snapped around instantly, uncontrollably and without warning...on snowy/icy roads. :22yikes:


:D

Spot on!

British cars?
 

Fun to drive but not at all famous for reliability.

I had a well used 1968 Triumph GT6. Essentially a Triumph Spitfire
with a TR6 engine installed. I don't think I ever drove it for 400 miles without a repair. You had to know how to repair it because going into a typical repair shop the guy when he saw what it was would refuse to work on it.

To be sold in the US they added pollution controls. Far as tools needed. You needed metric, SAE standard and if I recall some of the old british system whitworth.

See post #21. That was my TR6! And then there was the Triumph "cancer" rust bubbles that appeared all along the edges of the hood.


Also, back then my cousin had a Jaguar. He said you needed two--one to drive while the other one was in the shop.

400 miles without repair?
You had a gem of a car!! :ho:

We forget
 

When older cars were newer, we were younger.

I had a 1964 VW. You could set the points with a book of matches and time it very close by ear. I bought it in 1969 with 40,000 miles on it for $450. It had over 100000 on it when I sold it. Typically the valves were burned on the third cylinder.
I put quite a few dents into it and sold it for like $200. How GREAT IT WAS? On a cold day there was little heat. On a really cold day, there was no heat. Oh I was clocked on radar in a small town at 72. Typical situation where they make money ripping people off. I went to court, they never expect that.
I told the judge if he could get this car up to 72 I would gladly pay double on the ticket. Top speed in the brochure was 68 and mine was not near to running in top condition. My case was dismissed.

The good old days
 

Don't break axels anymore? My brother in laws brother had a Bug Eyed Sprite that the previous owner put the engine from a fast back Volvo into. The car was so overpowered that he would regularly break the drive shaft.

I've not drive a shift in many years. Not much fun in bumper to bumper traffic towing a boat. Put in any case, it is not at all the same today. A lock up automatic for most people will give them better gas mileage. Due to pollution controls you cannot use the engine to control speed as it will accelerate to prevent pollution.

Quote from Mark Twain-we do not make any progress because as we move forward we loose what was.

I can remember filling the windshield washer bottle with kerosene, switching the vacuum hoses on the bottle, and when you pressed the w/w button, it would suck the kerosene into the engine. The smoke out the tailpipe was awesome, but the cops weren't too happy.:coolsmiley::MOJE_whot::MOJE_whot::1rotfl:

I remember guys having downward facing tailpipe tips. Maybe they used spark plugs, I don't know. But they could fire it up and get the asphalt road surface hot enough to get a little blue flame from it. This hot rod takes the cake, though. Awesome Hot Rod Tailpipe Flames | Lighting the Campfire - YouTube

I remember my sister and I jumping around in the back seat of my parents big boat of a car with no seat belts (certainly made it easier to dodge her left arm swinging around back to smack us for horsing around or fighting with each other!! ... now its so regimented... and for good reason... more drivers, faster cars and stupid people who insist on using their cell phones while driving! older cars were easy to repair, safer in an accident (not made of plastic!) and you could get a good one for under a grand! now..... :ohdear:

Had a few cars in the 60's; a couple were muscle cars. Would like one again, but it would have to be a restomod. The originals were fun but compared to today way less safe and reliable.

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You’re bringing back some memories of frustrating times with my cars. Had a 62 VW I bought used. Used to take it for service and tell them to replace the valves and check the oil. Made many, many unanticipated lane changes in high winds on the highway.

Then I had a MGB with the infamous Lucas electrics. Prince of Darkness. Took it to a fast food joint on my dinner break and emerged to find all the coolant on the ground. Seems they designed a metal flap to keep the radiator hose away from the block, but attached it to the block so with vibration and heat, it cut a hole in the hose.

My brother wanted to buy it from me. I told him he didn’t want it, but he insisted. So, one night driving home from work, he hit the rocker switch for the headlights and the switch disappeared inside the dash. So he pulled over and fished the broken switch out from the dash, held the wires together with one hand to keep the lights on and drove and shifted with the other all the way up I-15 to his home. Then he understood.

No, I’ll take today’s cars with all their complexities.