Depressed by the modern world

[Flicka]

Or the Beetle looks like the Airflow -- not unreasonable, since they were designed around the same time.

I actually prefer the hunched-up-cockroach styling of late-prewar cars over the stateliness of the twenties, the tubbiness of the early prewar models, or the fins-and-rockets look of the late fifties. They might look lumpy or dowdy to some people, but then, so do I.

I'm not a big car person (as in, don't even have a license) but from an aesthetic perspective I agree - 30s cars have the best look. I like tubby, rounded cars overall - the Saab 96 is about as late as appeals to me. Modern cars look so anonymous - I can't even tell most of them apart.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Someone here in town owns a fifties era Volvo, the pinnacle of that euro-rounded styling, and one night last summer they parked it next to my Plodge. It looked like my car was taking its baby out for a walk.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

When it comes to modern cars I must say that I do like the PT Cruiser.

 

[Flicka]

Someone here in town owns a fifties era Volvo, the pinnacle of that euro-rounded styling, and one night last summer they parked it next to my Plodge. It looked like my car was taking its baby out for a walk.

We had a 50s Volvos (or possibly even older) when I was a kid, but my parents sold it off (it needed a major engine overhaul). It had those old-fashioned big steps on the sides which I thought very cool.

 

[RBH]

I had a '62 Ford Unibody pickup about 20 years ago.
Man, that truck was a tank. A family of three could have lived under the hood with the motor.
It had that much room.
Here is a shot of one that looks just like the one I had did.

My 4x4 Sportrac can not hold a candle to that old truck.

 

[scotrace]

I am an enormous fan of vintage automobiles. I love driving them and wish I had one to drive whenever I could. And I don't want to hijack this thread with yet another Guys & Cars discussion.

Through a very great and lucky set of circumstances, I've been driving a 2012 Chevrolet Cruz. It is the best automobile I've ever driven, at any price point, of any age. I'm astonished by some small thing every time I get in. GM has nailed it - as though Apple had designed the thing!

You know how the intermittent wipers on every car just HAVE to give one final "swish" when you turn them off, just to drag over the dry windshield and grate your spine? It doesn't do that.
If it's running, and you're a nincompoop and forget and try to start it, it won't do anything. You can't grind off your starter gear's teeth.

It has a better, quieter, smoother ride than the 1979 Olds 98 I drove the wheels off of.
The turn signal stalk isn't obscured by the steering wheel. Something I found to be common on all GM cars for decades.
The steering is tight and responsive. It took some getting used to as my previous 1996 Olds 88 was so sloppy I could read magazines while driving it. (kidding). The brakes are just assistive enough.
Lightly engage the turn signal to change lanes, and it gives you three blinks and shuts off.
It's a manual transmission, and shifts easily, smoothly and has exactly the right clutch stiffness.
Al the controls are easy to see, easy to operate by feel without looking, and close by.
Under the hood, everything I might need to pay attention to is accessible, clearly identifiable.
The stereo is bitchin.'
It gets close to 35 MPG, average.
The engine, though a four, sounds throaty when you start it up. It won't win any drag races. But I don't drag race.
All that computer business I was wary of is actually handy for me. Instead of "change the oil every three thousand miles, it monitors the actual condition of the oil. At about 8K miles, it says I still have awhile to go before I need to attend to it.
And I think that the styling is some of the best of any car being currently manufactured. Very well balanced and practical. A beautiful car. Only some of the new Buicks are comparable.

The dealership has been a NIGHTMARE to deal with. But the car itself is wonderful. It will be a sad day when I have to give it up!


The only thing that would make it better is if it had a 41 Chivy to go with it.

 

[Feraud]

I'm not depressed by the modern world. My reason -- I ignore most of it. I never watch TV and I could care a rat's patootie less about modern "celebrities" and popular culture. The only reason I know of some things is because of people posting it on FB, but most of the people on my FB are just like me. I just ignore crap that I don't like. It's very easy to do! I then surround myself with stuff I *do* like. I only frequent a few Internet sites, I only have music I like in my iPod, and I really only associate with people who feel the same. I don't rudely snub "modern" people -- I just don't know very many by not frequenting their "hangouts", I guess. That said -- I'd probably be judged on appearance as a very modern person because I have dyed pink hair and I'm covered in tattoos, but I'm a genuine lover of anything 20s-40s with a little rockabilly on the side I surround myself in my own environment and it's what makes me happy.

I certainly agree and do this myself. I enjoy the music, art, literature, cinema, etc. of whatever era I choose despite my surroundings. This modern contraption I am typing on allows me to share ideas with like minded people. With a bit of effort it is possible to live a quality life.

 

[Touchofevil]

That may be true in terms of engineering and technological advancement but I wish they had an ORIGINAL elegance and style comparable to the great classic cars instead of the ugly Darthmobiles we commonly see on the road.

It appears to me that whoever is designing today's cars is the same person designing today's electric razors. Visually, today's vehicles cannot hold a candle to yesteryear's.

 

[Edward]

I've seen a few other forums which are similar to the FL. But none of them really held my interest like the Lounge has.

The Lounge has that mix of Experience, Gentility, Advice, Style, History, Fashion, intelligent discussion and possibly...other things...which I can't immediately name...which I don't seem to find on other forums of this type. I guess that's the main reason why I keep coming back.

Me too. I get bored very quickly of the "I hate the modern world because I'm just so vintage, and I'll go on about it at length on the intermet" stuff, but as with all else, there's so much positive on which to focus...

 

[esteban68]

I'd agree with you Edward, much about the modern world is fantastic, we live longer are generally healthier are better educated and we have at least in the western world far less if any real poverty......on the downside life can be pretty much 24-7 even if we don't want it to be, advertising and the sell, sell,sell of overt consumerism is ever present, style seems to have all but gone apart from forums such as this and some of the older generation.
I really miss half day and Sunday closing and really hate all the 10 minute intervals for advertising on TV and tacky plastic shop signs etc.
Although not a car fan(it's just transport to me) I'd like to know why they can't make a family sized version of the Nissan Figaro which has the best of all worlds, in the UK at least top speed and savings re streamlining count for little as there's so much traffic on the roads!

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yup, they look like rolling tupperware. I was going to go to town with my brother, he drives a '99 Alero. We both got in and I had to take my hat off, have the seat all the way down and back, and reclined and was still hitting my head on the ceiling in that thing. After trying to situate myself, he just said "Let's take your car" lol

It appears to me that whoever is designing today's cars is the same person designing today's electric razors. Visually, today's vehicles cannot hold a candle to yesteryear's.

Yeah, and I can buy a house here for 40 grand, easy.

...Then there is the computerization of todays cars. The successful electronical interjection of 'must haves' into the car buyer mindset. Continual updates and downloads. GPS(never get lost) screens and those even willing to pay monthly fees for the 'Onstar' road security racket..XM stereo needs...etc...and,of course,then the needed 'extended warranty' to insure everything is kept 'in sync' for free(?)all incorporated into 'the monthly payment'. The long length of the loan allows a monthly payment affordable to 'get into'. The actual costs of the vehicle is secondary(if really considered at all) since many(most?)will go'upside down'on a loan for the next latest and greatest,anyhow. Plus rebates! You can even add in "paint protection"!!..back up camera!...lane change alerts!....forward radar that even brakes for you so you don't run into the car ahead of you! And you can even 'LEASE'all this! All for just a monthly payment of blah blah. Don't worry that the car may be actually costing $30 or 40 grand or more. Doesn't need to actually ever be payed off. Good deal..huh?

I thought the luxury cars of the 60's and 70's were nice. Classy and elegant.

50s car-styling is about where it ends for me. After that, all the "styles" just make no sense to me. But then it may be because I'm not a car-person. Postwar cars were heavily influenced by rocketry, sci-fi, space-travel, nuclear threats and so-forth. I seem to recall a friend of mine telling me about a car (manufacturer of which currently eludes me), which was designed to run on nuclear power! Fascinating, but deadly.

Oh! Here it is. The Ford Nucleon.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I certainly agree and do this myself. I enjoy the music, art, literature, cinema, etc. of whatever era I choose despite my surroundings. This modern contraption I am typing on allows me to share ideas with like minded people. With a bit of effort it is possible to live a quality life.

I absolutely REVEL in the stuff I love. I couldn't name 5 movies in the cinema right now, but I can talk your ear off about pre-Code cinema. I've seen more movies from the 1890s-1940s than movies that have been made during my lifetime. I fully admit that movies in early 1940s start to fizzle out and I begin to lose serious interest. Nothing wrong with that -- we all have our "things" lol I know more about Jean Harlow than whoever is the most popular female celebrity now. I focus my time on energy on what I like (Jean) and just ignore what's out there now. You have to put effort into finding what you like most or else you'll just be depressed by what is handed to you by today's world.

 

[sheeplady]

When it comes to modern cars I must say that I do like the PT Cruiser.

I've only driven one once, but that particular car was pretty "gutless" as in I feared it couldn't get out of it's own way. I'm not sure if that was that one car (it was a friend's) or that version, or what, but it was pretty sluggish. But I also have really high expectations for responsiveness when I step on the gas pedal.

 

[John in Covina]

I find that it's the value systems and the mores (mor-rays) that pervade modern life that makes so much of what happens in day to day life so depressing. In the last few years shoppers at any store or market walk around with absolutely no concern as to what they are doing may affect others trying to shop. People trun their cart to block the maximum amount of an isle and stand in the gap as to completely block the isle while looking at something in what might best be describes as a coma. Chances are they are ilbred and unaware but it seems more like--- I must not allow others to pass or respond to polite requests to stop obstructing traffic because I am the center of the universe and am too important to bother with you insects.

 

[Shangas]

I'm not a big car person (as in, don't even have a license) but from an aesthetic perspective I agree - 30s cars have the best look. I like tubby, rounded cars overall - the Saab 96 is about as late as appeals to me. Modern cars look so anonymous - I can't even tell most of them apart.

That is exactly what I mean. Modern cars all look the same to me. Which is, I guess, what I meant by 'blandness' (or whatever word it was I used in my previous posting on the subject).

Now you could argue that cars of the 20s, 30s, 50s, etc, all "looked the same" as well, but I believe there to be a difference here.

Cars such as those had distinct styling differences that made them easy to tell them apart. It's my theory that in the 20s and 30s, when cars were not as common as they are now, and fewer people were driving them, every manufacturer had to make their products STAND OUT. They had to be UNIQUE. If you were gonna drive a car, you wanted to look like something special. And back then, just DRIVING, WAS special. If you'd saved up all that money to buy a car, you wanted something that looked GOOD, no matter how cheap it was. And to GET that money off you, every car-maker had to make something stylish, different and unique.

You would hardly mistake a 1930s Duesenberg with a 1930s Arrow, or a Chevrolet, would you? These days, I can barely tell the difference between a Holden, or a BMW, or a Mercedes, based purely on sight, if I didn't look at the little hood-ornaments first!

These days with everyone driving cars, I think there's less/no pressure to make something that stands out stylistically, which is why they all look like cookie-cutter cars.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I agree Shangus. Getting a car with some sort of design other than cookie cutter, requires at least $80,000.
I could talk car designs for hours, but it's best not to on this thread.
Design in general IMHO has suffered. Houses, cars, clothing, etc.
Is it a lack of desire to come up with new ideas, or the fear of being told it stinks?

 

[Shangas]

Is it a lack of desire to come up with new ideas, or the fear of being told it stinks?

Quite possibly. Or something along those lines, at any rate.

I think it's got something to do with the fact that people don't have courage anymore. Now I admit that's a very broad brushstroke, but what I mean by that is that people don't have the balls to just stand up and say: "This looks cool! I wanna do it/make it/ wear it/drive it/build it!" because they're terrified about what others will say. Which I suppose links back to what you were saying.

These days, I really can't think of any manufacturer with really DISTINCTIVE body-styles, like what they had back in the old days. And any manufacturer today WITH distinctive body-styles, is one that's been around SINCE the old days. I'm thinking of ones like Rolls Royce, or Bentley, or Aston Martin.

You look at an Aston Martin, or a Rolls, and you know at ONCE what it is. You don't have to look for the hood ornament or anything. You can tell just by the shadow. But other cars made today, could be made by ANY manufacturer and you'd never be able to tell them apart.

 

[vitanola]

I don't think you read DeLorean's book.
'63 Pontiac Tempest. '62 Corvair? Hermetically sealed GM starters in the 70s designed to crack after a finite number of uses.
Cars are made much better and much safer now.

Those are modern cars. Built with in the Sloan tradition.

now, I still own my first car, a cheap thing that was not intended to be driven forever, but WAS designed so that it COULD be repaired indefinitely. When I say cheap, I mean the cheapest car ever offered in mass, a Ford. It was not quite sixty years old when I purchased it, some thirty-five years ago. In the years that I've owned it I've repetedly retired it in favor of a bigger, or flashier, or more elegant machine, but I always come back to the little flivver, take up the loose connecting rod bearings, or replace the triple gear bushings and place the car back on the road.

 

[vitanola]

Quite possibly. Or something along those lines, at any rate.

I think it's got something to do with the fact that people don't have courage anymore. Now I admit that's a very broad brushstroke, but what I mean by that is that people don't have the balls to just stand up and say: "This looks cool! I wanna do it/make it/ wear it/drive it/build it!" because they're terrified about what others will say. Which I suppose links back to what you were saying.

These days, I really can't think of any manufacturer with really DISTINCTIVE body-styles, like what they had back in the old days. And any manufacturer today WITH distinctive body-styles, is one that's been around SINCE the old days. I'm thinking of ones like Rolls Royce, or Bentley, or Aston Martin.

You look at an Aston Martin, or a Rolls, and you know at ONCE what it is. You don't have to look for the hood ornament or anything. You can tell just by the shadow. But other cars made today, could be made by ANY manufacturer and you'd never be able to tell them apart.

Someone at Pontiac had courage (or SOMETHING). They brought us the Aztec.

 

[vitanola]

I'm not a big car person (as in, don't even have a license) but from an aesthetic perspective I agree - 30s cars have the best look. I like tubby, rounded cars overall - the Saab 96 is about as late as appeals to me. Modern cars look so anonymous - I can't even tell most of them apart.

I prefer to drive 'Twenties machines, but find many 'Thirties designs to be beautiful. My favorite being the 1935 Chrysler CZ Airstream: