by
Eric Peters
EricPetersAutos.com

ThereÂ’s
Ford vs. Chevy. Import vs. Domestic. And of course, Old vs. New.

Some people,
for some reason, have difficulty accepting the bad – along
with the good. That no car from any era was (or is) the perfect
car. They idealize – and sometimes, mythologize – their
chosen favorites. In fact, cars from every era were (and are) good
in some ways Â… and not-so-great in one way or another. Usually,
several ways. LetÂ’s run through a quick survey of the some
of the high – and low – points, Old vs. New.

The Good
(old cars):

More individuality
– and personality…

The farther
back in time you go, the less government interference there was
with car design. The wild fins of the late Â’50s, for example,
would be impossible (or at least a lot less likely) to ever see
the light of production today because of the need to comply with
federal crash standards – which have imposed a stricter set
of design parameters on todayÂ’s cars. Which is why they tend
to look so much alike.

Also, the older
stuff was just wilder – less controlled, dangerous sometimes,
too – even though they weren’t actually quicker (or faster).
But they sure felt it. Sounded it, too. Old muscle cars, for example,
shake and rumble threateningly. You could hear the air and fuel
being sucked into the engine through the open element air cleaner
– and the open to the atmosphere carburetor. Modern cars –
even the extremely quick and powerful ones – are deceptively
docile and quiet in comparison. They’re more civilized –
but there was something neat about the animal rawness of the old
stuff.

Easier
service Â…

Because they
were simpler – and usually, more physically accessible –
it was usually easier to work on the older stuff than the new stuff.
Especially with regard to the old stuff built before the 1980s –
before fuel injection and lots of electronics. They were more “hands
on” for the average home mechanic – and it was kind of
nice to be able to do most of the necessary routine service yourself.
The spark plugs were right there; the air cleaner was under that
lid with the single wing nut holding it down. You could remove the
entire fuel system – which meant the carburetor – by loosening
four nuts and maybe a spring for the throttle cable. Not like today,
with engines stuffed tightly into the bay – and frequently,
stuffed sideways into the engine bay, making it an ordeal to get
at the other half of six (and eight) cylinder engines.

Lower buy-in
cost Â…

Car payments
were once stretched out over three years – not five or six,
as is common today. While itÂ’s true that there are many very
affordable new cars out there, most of these are economy-type
cars. In the past, cars that were more middle-echelon (medium and
even full-sized, with V-8 engines and rear-wheel drive) were still
within reach on the three-year payment plan – and the average
Joe. ThatÂ’s pretty much out the window now. While you can buy
a new car for around $15,000 or so the typical car sells for closer
to $25,000 or so. And medium-large cars with V-8s are typically
well into the $30Ks – if not the $50Ks.

This, in turn,
has resulted in longer-duration loans. Otherwise, many people simply
could not afford to drive a new car that wasnÂ’t a very basic,
compact economy-type of car.

Lots of
potential Â…

The Â’60s
and ’70s muscle cars were quick in their day – and could
be made much quicker, pretty easily. A weekend cam change, for example,
could yield spectacular results. And such an upgrade was also within
the skill set – and budget – of nearly anyone. A reasonably
competent home mechanic could do a cam swap with basic hand tools
– at a cost of less than $250.

And as much
potential as the powerful cars of the Â’60s and early Â’70s
had – the factory de-tuned cars of the mid-late ’70s had
even more potential locked up in them. A cam swap (and some tuning)
could turn a stone stock 200 hp V-8 into a 350-plus hp V-8, making
its owner King of the Road for little coin.

September
7, 2012

Eric Peters
[send him mail] is an automotive
columnist and author of Automotive
Atrocities and Road Hogs (2011). Visit his
website.

Copyright
© 2012 Eric Peters

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