Car Interiors New Vs Old.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by Tiffer E38

The vinyl in older cars still get age cracked and warped from UV damage and dash pads crack easily in many older cars. My '63 Comet had a totally sun damaged and cracked vinyl dash pad after very few years. Same with my '65 Lincoln. And the headliner on my '85 Caddy Fleetwood Brougham had to be replaced due to sagging when it was only 12 years old. I was using trucks as an example because the person I was responding to said he'd never have a new truck due to all the plastics inside, then said he drove an older, better truck. One that, ironically enough, is full of plastic as well, and plastic that doesn't hold up as good as modern stuff does. And a truck that doesn't have as good of fit and finish as the newer stuff, either.

The point being, old stuff is just that, old stuff. The older cars had quite a bit of vinyl in them that is affected by weathering, use, and age and had their own level of plastics. To use a few surviving examples as a fact that old cars/trucks are better than new cars is laughable. Metal on the inside is decidedly NOT better than leather and plastic when it comes in contact with you in a collision. And seats that don't hold you in place and are basically trying to duplicate your living room couch is dangerous. Some high end cars had really plush seats that did make you feel like sitting on a cloud, (which you're not, you're piloting a 4000 lb+ deadly missile and you'd best be in full control of it and your senses) but most cars back in the day had fairly hard, slippery vinyl seats. My Falcon, for instance, had flat bench seats covered in vinyl (that didn't hold up to wear very well and didn't hold you in place when cornering). My Comet had "buckets" but you sat ON them, not down in them, and they were also covered in vinyl that didn't hold you in place well. My BMW has leather, which really isn't any better than vinyl for gripping you, but the seats have bolstering that keep you positioned properly and hold you in place, like most modern seats.

Well, to use a few surviving examples is no worse than showing a few non-surviving examples! Regarding the condition of the interior, there are a few factors such as the climate and environment (sun, heat, garaged or parked outside) and care (did the seats and dash have regular treatment or lotion applied?).

Here is a photo of a friend's truck, a 1972 GMC Sierra Grande 2500. Seat in very good condition and no cracks on the dash.



This is the interior of a '66 Plymouth Fury VIP I owned a few years ago. It held up very well for a 45+ year old car.



As for the "danger" of driving a "4,000-lb missile," my mom drove a 4,800-lb '69 Cadillac Coupe de Ville every weekday 25 miles from her house to Hollywood from 1972-'75 to care for her mother. She had absolutely no problem driving that car and had no accidents when driving it those years. With a good driver, those full-sized, luxury cars from the '60s and '70s were not in the least "dangerous" to drive. I have driven my '76 Cadillac Limousine since 1999 (black leather bench front seat) and not only feel fully comfortable driving it, but look forward when I plan to drive it. A real treat to get behind the wheel and pull out. (It's driven only about 3 times/month.)