Car Restoration

Will anyone in four decades or so in the future, bother restoring the current crop of boxes on wheels that populate our roads of late. Many suburban garages across this land contain loved vehicles that at the time were just run of the mill everyday runabouts. Vauxhall Viva's, Ford Cortina's etc, etc, all returned to their former glory, even non car enthusiasts feeling a twinge of nostalgia on catching sight of one.
So in say 2062, will a Nissan Juke, or a Renault Twingo, or a Ford Kuga, all packed with technological gizmos pull at the heart strings of our current youth, I think not, maybe because our old nostalgic cars were more than just a car.

Re: Car Restoration

What I want from a car is a safe, comfortable and economic vehicle, not something I can fall in love with.

Re: Car Restoration

I think there will always be nostalgia of things from their youth regardless of the generation, and not just cars but music, fashion, their first tablet computer etc. etc. etc.........

Re: Car Restoration

I think some models will always be of interest to people in the future. No matter how rubbish we might think they are, they will still be of interest even if only for a 'novelty' project.
I used to always drive Morris Minors, but mine weren't kept tucked up in a nice warm garage, polished daily and shown at rally's every weekend, mine were used daily as it was the only car I had. I think my last one was around 1992 or so. I had two saloons, a pick up with a canvas cover and the one with the wooden slats on the sides (forgotten the proper name).
I loved them. I still know the sound of their engines as they change gear.

When my Mother stopped driving a chap bought her old Audi for restoration too. It had always been garaged and was very low mileage.
I get quite attached to my cars, and that was one of the reasons why I was so upset when my Focus got smashed to smitherines back in February by that druggie bloke.

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Lady that used to live a few doors away from me bought and restored an old Morris minor (jelly mould) a few years ago.

Re: Car Restoration

Morgan Cars are hand built just two miles from here and as they have stayed pretty much the same over the years I would say they will continue to be restored by enthusiasts regardless of when they were built .

Re: Car Restoration

Spittie - me and hubs were saying the same thing yesterday - now theres a coincidence.
We love the old motors - loved the styles and the loverly chrome. We see some round here from time to time - love to see them looking so good on the road.
Now, cant tell the cars apart - what went wrong Spittie

Re: Car Restoration

Parting with £20,000.00 plus for something you don't connect with emotionally seems nonsensical to me, mind you I suppose going from A to B in an economic frugal none descript manner is quite a passive event.

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Parting with £20,000 ! Who do you think I am, Rothschild ? But maybe I have a character flaw in that I don't get emotionally attached to things, only living creatures.

Re: Car Restoration

Has anyone seen a Nissan Juke, or a Ford Kuga, A Nissan Note or a Citroen C3 Picasso, they are so called "Mini Mpv's", and use a standard hatchback chassis, with a taller body, suggesting they are a "Go Anywhere" vehicle, they cost probably 25% more than their hatchback sibblings, and are as ugly as sin (Imo). I was trying to work out the profile of the person who in four decades time my resort to restoring one of these.
What went wrong, well the trouble with the above vehicles, and pretty much everything else coming out of car factories now, is, that they are too reliable for a start, they offer many expensive options not related to driving, and design is not driven by beauty and panache, but safety and ergonomics, being so good at what they do makes them boring.
In the old Leyland plants, if the blokes wanted to get away pronto at the end of the shift, corners would be cut, and that batch of cars would be utter rubbish, but full of character
You see these old Brit cars represent a moment in time, you have to love the workers attitude, and the product that arrived on your driveway as a result, I wonder what story a restored Nissan juke will tell.