Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Old Classics

Coming home from our son's this afternoon in our tintop with all its sensors and driving aids we came across a 1950 Riley RMD coming the other way.
It prompted me to wonder how many of our modern cars will still be around in 50+ years time.
At the Tisted Fly-In last Sunday my 1956 Mog was parked close to a 24 reg CX. What's the chance of the CX still working in 60 years time?
My Volvo can only be worked on by a main dealer or an independant who has access to the Volvo computers in Sweden, there's little to no chance of DIY.
I guess the CXs have software packages which need updating.

Two possibilities. One, your surmise is correct and they will have been scrapped. Two there are enough experts around to offer generic solutions and workarounds to provide electrical and electronic support, and/or marque specialists offering mechanical support to such cars. Generally their bodywork longevity won't be an issue.

My guess is that current cars, although efficient, don't engender the same 'connection, as did cars of the past ......maybe their very unreliability, and the engagement and achievement needed to run them were actually part of that bond (an old A35 or Anglia being coaxed and prodded round a tour of the Highlands returned a heroic pal .... if a modern appliance didn't do it faultlessly it would be a miserable failure) ..... I think there will be considerably fewer drivers with the inclination to preserve.

Added to this is the proliferation of models and continuous change within models that will make the job of the future small company 'aftermarket support' a real struggle ... we mock the storeman behind the counter when they ask for the reg or vin-numbers as a first word, but such is the mass of ongoing parts changes that a month either way and the bits won't fit ... not like britparts selling swivel joints for Landies that fit everything in the last 50 years.

I reckon that, aside from the odd example nursed along by a masochistic obsessive, a Classic Car Show in a field in 50 years will look remarkably similar to one next weekend when it comes to the cars.

K

Old cars like the Riley rotted for fun. Not only that but you had to plan on a decoke at 30k miles and an engine rebuild at 60k even as recently ( to me!!) as the 60s. Modern cars will do several 100k miles before major engine work and the bodies are much better protected. So the difference in terms of longevity is between the greasy handed mechanic who can patch up the Riley, and the computer technician who can patch up the modern equivalent.

One issue is spare parts. And its not just major bits like engines - the bits I cant get for my toy car ( built 2003) are things like door handles, lenses for lights.

Anyway, it doesnt really matter does it? Can you see a modern 3 door hatch as anything other than a disposeable domestic appliance - list price to scrap value in 20 years?

I agree with that one. I have been waiting for an Aero brake cylinder for three months. From a franchised partner/Morgan.

At least that's mechanical so someone could bore out and sleeve the old one, or even manufacture one from solid. I see the biggest problem with modern cars will be the software packages. Everything changes so quickly with software and is soon out of date.

GrumpyPa ... and the stupid twiddly plastic bits and short-run castings that infest modern cars ... 3d printing will help, but there's so much of it that it's hard to see setup costs being viable for handfuls of cars that just happened to use those bits for a six-month slot in the production run. Most old cars survived because somewhere down the line someone had the motivation to keep them running while they were just 'old' rather than 'classic' ..
I see that as a crucial missing link.

K

My motivation to use a classic car as a daily driver was partly driven by the ability to fix the majority of issues myself and not depend on a software technician or dealer only fixes.

When I was a kid, if things broke, then either Dad fixed it, or it stayed broken. We didn't have the funds to replace. Even though I am more financially secure, I'm very similar - the washing machine packed up last month, and I was gearing up to replace. However, found a cheeky little YouTube clip, and a decent parts supplier and managed to fix for under £30.

The Harley has proved interesting, as many of the parts were 'one year only' so now obsolete. However I have tapped into a large number of US breakers and NOS providers, plus a couple of 3D printers and sticker manufacturers.

I tend to rely on 'if it was made once, it can be made again' - however I am aware of the potential cost implications. Often I can adapt parts from other cars and models to fit, but I do have a half decent workshop at the bottom of the garden.

My old Corsa got to the stage where repairs were costing more than the car was worth, and there was no pleasure in DIY as they'd crammed everything so tight, and used a bizarre array of fasteners and plastic clips that seemed to be 'single use'.

I hope Classic Car shows maintain the same amount of old timers. I've been to a few in recent times that seem to have the same stuff that you'd see in your average supermarket carpark.

Also, I really don't enjoy driving cars with all the gadgets and gizmos. I rarely drive my partners electric Golf thing, and when I do I spend the first few minutes turning off all the warnings and 'aids'. I think I mentioned before, we struggled to leave a NT carpark the other day as the sensors kept assuming the long grass was an obstacle and slammed the brakes on......

And a little peeved as I just got a ticket for doing 35 in a 30 in the Golf. I was wafting along in boring electric silence so lost that connection with my speed.

Same for me, and according to the Consumer Association we're not alone. They did a report last week Car tech features you could live without.

According to our survey of 1,216 Which? members, carried out in June 2024, some of the car technology people considered unnecessary included touchscreens (56%) zoned climate control (53%), lane sensors (53%) and automatic full beam lights (50%).

However, people were more positive about car technology such as parking sensors and automatic windscreen wipers.