Do you believe this is the greatest car generation?

[Trob85]

Ok let me clarify I was born in 85 and the 80s had some of the worst cars period EPA rules the design of both import and domestic everything just lacked power, performance and wow factor. Domestic I believe really began a comback with the ls1 corvette and has been improving since I love the technology and performance of our cars. Knowing cruises car meets and other things of the car culture have took a turn for the worse, I.e fast and furious and the lack of interest, for my area at least. Would you consider the 60s and 70s a better car era because the popularity and participation or nowadays because of the performance, technology and power that can easly be made.

[Overflow]

No. I think 50s - 70s was the best.

[GnyaTek]

I think you need to go back just a bit earlier to the mid-late 50's for the best generation for cars. This is really where the whole thing began. The country/world had survived WWII and folks really fell in love with cars as they became available again post-war. They also began the push for power, and modification of cars became popular - from power modifications, to chopped tops and cosmetic mods.

While today's generation of car enthusiast is strong, the complexity of the cars is increasing to the point that most enthusiasts that are modifying their cars are having at least some of the work done by professional installers.

I think that there will always be a strong car enthusiast group in all generations, but I think it is going to be extremely hard to displace the group from the 50's and into the early 60's as the greatest car generation.

Disclaimer: I am not part of that generation, it was slightly before my time.

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by Overflow

No. I think 50s - 70s was the best.

this. not only was it cutting edge design with tons of power, they were much more affordable. the average person with a decent job, even someone with a family, could go pick one up at the dealer. today, cars like that cost far too much for the average buyer. it's why you don't see many people under 50 tooling around in a vett.

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by GnyaTek

I think you need to go back just a bit earlier to the mid-late 50's for the best generation for cars. This is really where the whole thing began. The country/world had survived WWII and folks really fell in love with cars as they became available again post-war.

wasn't just that, but you had millions of guys coming back from the war that had money, some mechanical knowledge, and (from having served in a war) a higher tolerance for thrills. they wanted to drive fast, be a little reckless.

[2011ss/rs]

Growing up in the 70s I must say not all of the 70s were good. After 71/ 72 cars became weak in power and style. If were to vote I would vote for the cars of today since we are in the times of more 400 horsepower plus factory cars with air conditioning and power everything.
I miss the style of most ofthe musle cars of the 60s to the early 70s but I do not miss sweating my ass off in the car while reaching across the car to roll the windows down.

Today factory hot rods win hands down!!!

[Trob85]

I've got to agree on the 50s cars my dream ride is a 2 door 54 belair chopped air ride and a twin turbo 454 putting down 1000hp at the rear.

[Scalded Dog]

While older cars have a great nostalgic value, and the roar of an old muscle car stirs hearts, and the quaintness of other classics is very interesting, the fact remains: Today's cars have amazing technology, higher quality materials, exponentially better safety (ever see that video of the test collision, head- on, between a 1959 Bel-AIR ("They're massive steel tanks!") and a 'wimpy' 2009 Malibu?).


http://boingboing.net/2010/01/14/cra...1959-chev.html


I will always love classics... but, my definition of "better" is that cars continue to become better all the time: Competition in the market drives manufacturers to continue to find ways to improve quality (silly, conspiracy theorists say, 'they build 'em to fall apart, so ya have to buy a new one every couple of years!'... which makes no sense. If you buy a piece of crap from manufacturer X, and it falls apart, you will buy your NEXT car from a DIFFERENT manufacturer... one who makes a LONG-LASTING vehicle... duh), to improve safety, to increase dependability, durability, economy, power, handling. Hell, a Camry of today will outperform pretty much any car from the glorious muscle car era, as much I hate to concede that. Would I rather DRIVE a 2010 Camry, or a '69 Camaro? Tough choice, depends on my needs for the ride. I'd probably want to ride in the '69, but would put my wife and kids in the '10. But... quality is better now, technology superior, and capability is light- years beyond (well... thirty or forty years beyond, anyhow!) the older cars.

100 years from now, historians will not dispute that cars from the early 2000s were far superior to the cars from the mid- 1900s.

[lbls1]

IMO the 1960's car generation was the most exciting; However, in terms of technology, horsepower and performance, the pinnacle was reached in this generation.

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by 2011ss/rs

since we are in the times of more 400 horsepower plus factory cars with air conditioning and power everything.

yes, but very, very, very, few people can afford one. some of today's top end sports and super cars may be the best machines every made, but they're too far out of reach for the average buyer to say they make this the best generation of cars IMO. anybody with a job could go buy a chevelle off the lot. they sold millions of them. chevy is lucky to sell 20k SS camaro's a year, and probably less than 10k vetts.

[myold88]

In the 50's we rode our bikes to each dealers back lot to see the latest Detroit design
changes. Grabbed brocures if we could to see what new engines and colors and options
were available. Chevy's new '53 Corvette, Chrysler's Hemi, Mercury '57 Turnpike Cruiser,
Ford's '57 retractable conv, the new $10,000 Continental, Edsel, plus no foreign cars.
I could go on and on. Besides just cars, my mother didn't have to work, Eisenhower built
the interstate highway system in 4 years, etc...... Gee, I wonder what happened in the
mid 1960's to change everything ? You young guys will never know what a great country this was.

[jd10013]

Originally Posted by myold88

the interstate highway system in 4 years, etc...... Gee, I wonder what happened in the
mid 1960's to change everything ? You young guys will never know what a great country this was.

it took a little more than 4. I don't think the last parts of it were complete till the 80's. anyway, your right. kids now a days will never know how great things were. I'm only 41, but a lot has changed in those 40 yrs. things like the interstate highways, golden gate bridge, hoover dam...............they wouldn't even be possible now.

[kevinw]

todays cars have the advantages, no doubt. but my 68 chevelle with 327 was so easy to work on. so simple. yes, no fancy gadgets on it, plain jane. today, yes, you need to remove the front fenders on some cars to just replace a headlite bulb. what took 5 minutes to work on my 68 now takes 2 hours to do the same thing. my firebird flip up healites, you have to dismantle half the stuff to change out the bulb. is frustrating to say the least. but i wouldnt give up the power and all the conviences that my 13 2 LT has now.

[GnyaTek]

I probably misunderstood the initial post, and was posting the best generation of enthusiast vs the auto itself.

For the vehicle itself, I think the late 50's remains strong in design and ability to be easily repaired/modified... but looking back on the whole I actually would go back older...

... to the 1920's.

The 20's saw TONS of changes that were radical and advanced and have held up even to modern times. Ford's assembly line production from earlier had made the cars affordable to the masses with the Model T in the 10's, but in the 20's the introduction of the Model A made car ownership enjoyable. Most cars up until the 20's were open touring cars (convertibles or open sided), but the 20's saw much more sedans and coupes - and with them, cars began being fitted with heaters for the first time.

Other innovations from the 20's (either firsts or major improvements to):
- 4-wheel brakes (mechanical)
- 4-wheel drive
- Front wheel drive
- Electric powered cars
- Gas/electric hybrid car improvements (first was actually in 1905, but gas engine was just to recharge the batteries)

Cars in the 20's became very popular, available, and affordable to the general public for the first time. They were relatively easy to repair. They were quite durable. Think about the fact that road systems were just being developed in the late 20's and these cars were having to cope with mostly dirt roads. (The reason that the wheels were large and the cars had skinny tires was so that the cars could navigate the muddy ruts and holes in roads!)

So - best generation of cars, I would say would be the 20's (with mid-late 50's being second)

Best generation of car enthusiasts - late 50's to 60's.