I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are car collecting fans.
Their choice of cars to collect is often related to cars they drove in their youth or cars that were symbols of power in their youth.
This started me thinking about why cars are such a passion for these people who came from several generations that were passionate about cars.
I don’t see the same passion in the current generation. Though I do see noveau riche buy fancy cars because they don’t know how to invest their money in anything but houses and cars.
What I have concluded is that cars before the 1980’s required a great deal more attention from the owners. Oil checks and adding oil to the engine and transmission. Radiator checks and radiator fluids. Air in the tire and tire changing with older cars. Manual car washing and waxing. Cleaning spark plugs. Pulling the choke to get the car started. Windshield fluids. Cars didn’t turn off their own headlights when the driver left the car.
Most expensive cars since 1985 and most other cars since 1995 come with several years of auto maintenance. No need for the owner to do all the things previously demanded by car ownership.
I think that our relationship to cars, much like our relationship to lovers, required focus and attention that older cars demanded but newer cars don’t.
Is this the reason car passion is declining? Not enough neediness on the part of the cars?