Many of the "interesting" cars were built in the 60's and 70's. On the one hand car production was still an interesting experience in design and engeneering, on the other hand we were just old enough to get impressed by something hardly to get because of our young age and limited financial resources. (Conditioning is the psycological term I assume) Those conditions made cars very special to us when a little different to mainstream.
Today cars are designed by a consortium of marketing, engeneering, international business planners, supply chain management and so on. Limited freedom is packed into a tinbox and sold to the customer as an adventure.
The times they are a changin...
Hannes once: Green M3W; 2013 now: Red 4/4 Sport; 2011 and some practical cars for use in real life
From a personal perspective, a car must be good to look at, good to sit in, and enjoyable to drive - very subjective.
If it doesn't feel good to just sit in - then it doesn't meet a prime requirement of being special.
Absolute performance doesn't do it for me, although I could enjoy a Caterham and if I had the space..............
I have two niche fetishes..........
Prewar sports cars - Riley, Aston, Bentley and so on. I would have one, given the money and the space.
Fifties & sixties sports cars - TR, MG, Tiger, TVR, Elan - this comes directly from my early motoring years when I would drive over to Sheffield occasionally and press my nose up to the glass at A.B Gelder Autos, a sports car specialist on London Road and Sharrow Vale Road. The second location became a Volvo Dealer, and next door is now a very flash Jaguar dealer which may still be Hatfields.
That period was very formative in building my car preferences.
DaveW '05 Red Roadster S1 '16 Yellow (Not the only) Narrow AR GDI Plus 4
Dont want to sound maudling, but I wonder if the lack of the feeling that a car is special is anything to do with age. My age that is, because sat here now I cannot think of any toys that I would label special any longer.
Old age brings along a degree of weariness and a lack of energy required to face the problems of owing things like an E type. The issues outweigh the appeal. Bit the same with my boat where after 30 years of enjoying a lot of sailing I now find myself disinclined to endure the discomfort involved which in turn makes the good days sailing nothing like as special as it was.
Sorry if I am sounding miserable - I've been doing the tax returns today and that always blots out the sun.
