Why vintage cars so appealing?

[showerpumps]

What do you think makes vintage cars so appealing to collectors and enthusiasts— is it the craftsmanship, the nostalgia, or something else entirely?

[Kiwifrog]

Very strange first post! Our cars are not officially vintage just old 

[roy53]

The older we get the more appealing we become.  

I guess cars are the same

[TR NIALL]

8 hours ago, showerpumps said:

What do you think makes vintage cars so appealing to collectors and enthusiasts— is it the craftsmanship, the nostalgia, or something else entirely?

Nice to see someone else from Tallaght posting on here do you happen to own a Triumph if so please tell.

[Trev Good]

The word vintage is very emotive! Here in the UK, we understand that a car is vintage if built before 1931. However, elsewhere, anything old is vintage! 

I remember trying to explain the pre 31 vintage car and motorcycle being vintage to a friend who was a good wine collector. He argued that the car fraternity stole the term from the wine collectors who use the term for any good year for a selected region.

Yes, it's a difficult one this!

[Bfg]

On 12/1/2024 at 11:41 AM, showerpumps said:

What do you think makes vintage cars so appealing to collectors and enthusiasts— is it the craftsmanship, the nostalgia, or something else entirely?

I don't know the official definition but a generalisations ;   Veteran as prior and including the great war, Vintage as prior to the 2nd world war, Classic cars as post-war to 40 years ago, modern classic aka retros from the 80's to 2000, and thereafter moderns.  Each term though is flexible. For example, the question as to what is a 'classic' is unanswerable, especially in regard to outstanding cars of any era.

As this forum only really caters for Classic Triumphs, the answer for me is in the classic car's style, the nostalgia or pleasure it invokes in an onlooker (more so than in me), the ability to maintain (or otherwise fix) the darn thing myself without specialist tools or diagnostic machines, the simple pleasure of driving well - unassisted (it's not at all easy to drive an old car smoothly, fast, and at the same time safe), and as a homage to my father's and grandfather's industrial workforce. 

They are, to me, individually heroes of innovative engineering-resource (well before computers), and heroes of value-engineering (when post war taxes were 50 and 60%).  To have so many original (budget produced) components in my 57 year old car, and 71 years old motorcycles, which are ostensibly neglected and only lightly reconditioned, is phenomenal.  Not least considering the way I still drive or ride them.   

'Nostalgia', I understand as 'looking back upon a past, sentimentally, as if they were the better, or even the very best of, times',  so my love of classic cars, motorcycles, boats, aircraft or whatever is not that.  I think it comes from a deep RESPECT  ..and perhaps from that.. a duty of care. 

Yeah I know I'm a hairy dodo. 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2024 by Bfg

[Trev Good]

21 hours ago, Bfg said:

I don't know the official definition but a generalisations ;   Veteran as prior and including the great war, Vintage as prior to the 2nd world war, Classic cars as post-war to 40 years ago, modern classic aka retros from the 80's to 2000, and thereafter moderns.  Each term though is flexible. For example, the question as to what is a 'classic' is unanswerable, especially in regard to outstanding cars of any era.

As this forum only really caters for Classic Triumphs, the answer for me is in the classic car's style, the nostalgia or pleasure it invokes in an onlooker (more so than in me), the ability to maintain (or otherwise fix) the darn thing myself without specialist tools or diagnostic machines, the simple pleasure of driving well - unassisted (it's not at all easy to drive an old car smoothly, fast, and at the same time safe), and as a homage to my father's and grandfather's industrial workforce. 

They are, to me, individually heroes of innovative engineering-resource (well before computers), and heroes of value-engineering (when post war taxes were 50 and 60%).  To have so many original (budget produced) components in my 57 year old car, and 71 years old motorcycles, which are ostensibly neglected and only lightly reconditioned, is phenomenal.  Not least considering the way I still drive or ride them.   

'Nostalgia', I understand as 'looking back upon a past, sentimentally, as if they were the better, or even the very best of, times',  so my love of classic cars, motorcycles, boats, aircraft or whatever is not that.  I think it comes from a deep RESPECT  ..and perhaps from that.. a duty of care. 

Yeah I know I'm a hairy dodo. 

 

 

The VSCC and the VMCC use the 30th of December 1930 as the cut off date for vintage vehicles as, with the VSCC, it was felt that prior to the end of 1930, cars were mainly hand built and system building and/or production line sports cars came in from 1931. The VSCC has since also included post vintage thoroughbred cars into their fold.