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I prefer newer technology. The "feel" of older vehicles was many times just crummy and sometimes unsafe design.......and they were dirty and got poor gas-mileage.
the problem with modern cars though is they have no soul. they have become just a piece of machinery used to get you to one place from another.
lets take a 65 GT350 mustang, and compare it to a 2015 GT350 mustang. the new mustang is faster, gets better fuel economy, handles better, brakes better, is quicker, rides better, etc. etc. etc. but there in lies the problem. you are disconnected with the new GT350, where as with the old one you had to be on top of the car all the time. you had to be in control, you were connected to the road and to the car. you had to actually drive the car, not just operate it.
and with the new mustang, you didnt have all the noises impinging on your stereo, you senses were not assaulted all the time. and that was part of the fun of driving the old cars.
Talking with a younger coworker about the slow era of cars. I agreed with him that today’s cars are much faster and better cornering than majority of the cars of the mid 70s to mid 80s. What he couldn’t understand was my explanation about driving excitement. The driver could feel the car and road through the steering wheel, he could feel accurately the pressure on the pedals; gas, brake, & clutch. Though low on power, we could use every one of those horses to push the car to the limits of the suspension. That’s one of the reasons why cars like GTI, Si, Corolla GT-S, and other similar cars were considered to be so fun even though their early models were less than 100 hp. Today’s cars are built to meet fuel economy regulations. Instead of direct shaft steering or hydraulic power steering we have electric steering. Suspension tech is made to isolate the cabin from the road thus reducing the feedback further. I’ve heard and read that engineers are getting better at re-establishing driver feedback through these electric controls.
I had a 1984 Buick Skyhawk coupe with 2.0L 4 cylinder with OHV and about 80something horsepower and a 4 speed manual transmission. Sure it was slow in straightline acceleration but it was a fun car to push to the limits of the car and my limited driving skills. My 2015 Hyundai Elantra has 145 HP 1.8L and 6 speed auto transmission. Tires are larger and thicker than what was on that Buick. It’s faster in a straightline than the Buick. But it doesn’t feel as fun to push it hard.
Have any of you experienced such intangibles? Any of today’s economy level cars reaching this level of driver feedback?
Absolutely. Driving now is nowhere near as much fun as driving then, speed or no speed. I refused to drive an automatic for the first 25 years of my driving life because no automatic would shift when I knew it should. You DROVE your car back then, rather than steering it. My experience tended to be more with British cars - my first was an MGB and my boyfriend at the time had Jaguars - XK140, 120, e-Jag - and similar vehicles. My favorite American car was my Mama's "granny car" - a 1968 Dodge Charger. (Our definition of "granny" in our family is a little bit different than some other families.) Those days were fun when you drove the car instead of a computer driving it.
I guess some folks are "car people" and some aren't! I've been madly in love with cars since the early 1970s. There's so much about the automobile that's exciting *and* fun!
The technology has changed so much in the last 50 years. Everything from tires and suspension to high mileage fuel injection - it's all a marvel of technology. And styling! My first car was a 1959 Cadillac. I could turn around and look out the rear window to see if the rear turn signals were working!
As to the original post, I learned to drive in a 1971 Peugeot 404 with "four on the column" and that was an adventure. It was exciting, terrifying and fun in one package.
My dream car is an old Fiat Jolly, but every time I see one for sale, they'e up in the 6-figure range in price, and I don't think the open body with wicker seats would fare well in the PNW. But I think that crazy little car would be a riot to drive just because of the funky factor, and I'm pretty sure you'd be able to "feel" the road - probably more than is desireable.
Talking with a younger coworker about the slow era of cars. I agreed with him that today’s cars are much faster and better cornering than majority of the cars of the mid 70s to mid 80s. What he couldn’t understand was my explanation about driving excitement. The driver could feel the car and road through the steering wheel, he could feel accurately the pressure on the pedals; gas, brake, & clutch. Though low on power, we could use every one of those horses to push the car to the limits of the suspension. That’s one of the reasons why cars like GTI, Si, Corolla GT-S, and other similar cars were considered to be so fun even though their early models were less than 100 hp. Today’s cars are built to meet fuel economy regulations. Instead of direct shaft steering or hydraulic power steering we have electric steering. Suspension tech is made to isolate the cabin from the road thus reducing the feedback further. I’ve heard and read that engineers are getting better at re-establishing driver feedback through these electric controls.
I had a 1984 Buick Skyhawk coupe with 2.0L 4 cylinder with OHV and about 80something horsepower and a 4 speed manual transmission. Sure it was slow in straightline acceleration but it was a fun car to push to the limits of the car and my limited driving skills. My 2015 Hyundai Elantra has 145 HP 1.8L and 6 speed auto transmission. Tires are larger and thicker than what was on that Buick. It’s faster in a straightline than the Buick. But it doesn’t feel as fun to push it hard.
Have any of you experienced such intangibles? Any of today’s economy level cars reaching this level of driver feedback?
I get what you mean it may be due to not really be able to push cars here without getting pulled over one can hit 120 mph easily in a Nissan Versa, but nowhere in the US are you actually able to hit those speeds. So cars now just have so much power that you really can't push them especially something like a porsche or Tesla.
Nevertheless a real car person like myself enjoys every single vehicle no matter what i've literally enjoyed every vehicle even military vehicles. No matter how much folks dislike new cars they are whats selling, and they are selling more now than ever before so I guess they are really are doing something right.
The funnest car I ever had was an early 80's VW Rabbit diesel with about 50 horses and a 4 speed stick shift, so yeah I know what you guys are talking about.
I felt like I was a race car driver almost every time I drove it, just trying to keep up with traffic, LOL.
I grew up in metro Detroit and had many Big3 vehicles and worked at a Chrysler assembly plant. So vehicles were nothing to me because vehicles in the metro Detroit area were cheaper to buy and get parts for. I loved my 1964 Dodge polara with the big block 318 and posie rearend had the push button auto transmission, i got tired of 3 on the tree and 4 on the floor manual transmissions back then. I’ve had both of them, and i liked my 1977 Plymouth Volare with another 318 it had some great getup and go. And i had my dads Buick Electra with a 455 4 barrel carburetor, it was like driving on a cloud very fast for its size.
My dream car is an old Fiat Jolly, but every time I see one for sale, they'e up in the 6-figure range in price, and I don't think the open body with wicker seats would fare well in the PNW. But I think that crazy little car would be a riot to drive just because of the funky factor, and I'm pretty sure you'd be able to "feel" the road - probably more than is desireable.
I get what you mean it may be due to not really be able to push cars here without getting pulled over one can hit 120 mph easily in a Nissan Versa, but nowhere in the US are you actually able to hit those speeds. So cars now just have so much power that you really can't push them especially something like a porsche or Tesla.
Nevertheless a real car person like myself enjoys every single vehicle no matter what i've literally enjoyed every vehicle even military vehicles. No matter how much folks dislike new cars they are whats selling, and they are selling more now than ever before so I guess they are really are doing something right.
Interstate 15 between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We drove over the Monday before Thanksgiving. I pace traffic and we were going 95 in traffic. An SUV flew past us in the left lane. If they weren't going at least 115-120 I'd be surprised. Who knows how fast they drive when traffic isn't heavy.
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