The fascination of classic cars from the perspective of Gen Z
11/06/2020
The fact that people my age are interested in cars is no longer quite as common as it once was, but it is by no means a rarity. The automobile still fascinates people. No wonder, because modern cars are still the stuff of boyhood dreams. Performance beyond 1000 hp, acceleration times under three seconds (sometimes even in saloons!) and top speeds beyond the 400 km/h mark naturally sound like music to the ears of a pubescent young man. Not to mention the actual sounds of modern cars, which may be largely "fake", but are all the louder and more impressive for it. And let's be honest, what enthusiast doesn't like it when there's a good crack and pop from the tailpipes?
But there's no denying that interest in cars is increasingly waning among the younger generations. This is not surprising, especially as climate change is probably one of the biggest and most important issues that my generation and future generations will have to deal with. In addition, a car is simply not affordable for most young people.
But what about classic cars? The suitability for everyday use is not an issue anyway. Although certain young and even old-timers could well struggle through everyday life, you have to remain realistic. In terms of reliability, modern cars are simply far superior and all the little electronic helpers and gadgets (Bluetooth, air conditioning, adaptive cruise control, reversing camera, parking sensors, etc.) are things that, once you have them, you hardly want to do without in everyday life. The classic car is therefore pure entertainment or simply passion.
And that's where it starts, with passion. How does passion actually arise in a person? You don't just wake up one day and become interested in something. Passion has to grow up and you have to be taught it by people or key experiences, most of which you have as a child or teenager.
Although I could write several more lines here about why this passion for classics is no longer sparked in most young people in our modern world, I'll save that for a potential future blog post. Instead, I would like to focus a little more on how this passion was sparked in me and what makes the classic car so special and fascinating for me.
The "spark" for me was undoubtedly my father. A car enthusiast in general and an Alfista at heart. He was the one who showed me what makes old cars so special and why their continued existence is so important.
Classic cars are contemporary witnesses and have a soul. They tell us about the past like few other things, because unlike most other objects, they can "speak". Non-enthusiasts will probably think I'm crazy, but every "petrolhead" would agree with me when I say that a car speaks to you through its sound, the way it drives or even just its presence. Some cars blossom when you give them the spurs, while others prefer to take it a little more leisurely and thank the driver accordingly when he follows the car. Modern cars do not do this, as they are more elastic in terms of driving performance, reliability and the like. Classic cars are therefore more "human", if you like. They have their rough edges, their good and bad days and also their strengths and weaknesses and give back the way you treat them. Just human...
The sound backdrop mentioned above is also much more interesting in a classic car. Modern cars may sound bombastic (literally) thanks to exhaust systems and electronically controlled misfiring, but in my opinion they lack the finesse of their ancestors.
Vintage cars are also simply more interesting, as they come from a time when not every sheet metal part was designed in a wind tunnel and everything had to be as safe as a rubber cell. Old cars are beautiful for the sake of being beautiful and are designed and built by people and their hands and not by mathematical formulas and cold machines.
Don't get me wrong, progress in terms of safety, efficiency and so on is absolutely right, highly exciting and must be driven forward, but the voices of the ancestors are so important to understand how it all began and to appreciate progress even more.
For me at least, as a 22-year-old young person, a classic car is a cultural asset and sometimes even art that can be moved. These great cars must be preserved at all costs, not just in museums, but on the roads of this world.
