Discontinued models
08/23/2024
Of course, the VW Beetle is no longer a discontinued model, as it was in the seventies or perhaps eighties. In the meantime, such a sixties Volkswagen has become a sought-after classic. The petrol engine that powers it, however, is more likely to become obsolete as a technology if electromobility, as planned and proclaimed by politicians, is to prevail.
What reminded us even more of discontinued models in this photo, which was taken in the center of Zurich, more precisely in the Seefeld district, is the store in the background, which has since been vacated. There are hardly any privately run hardware stores left in big cities; they have been replaced by large chains. And so the "Eisen-Meier" also had to give up its business on Seefeldstrasse.
Just a few meters further on, you come across another store with a long tradition. In the backyard, right next to the Ringier building, classic car drivers found help until a few months ago. In the rooms now used by a computer shop, the mechanics at Garage Speich used to work on old (and newer) cars. Even 40 years ago, I used to sneak around these garage doors and try to catch a glimpse of the cars behind them. And it wasn't unusual to find a 300 SL Gullwing or an old Ferrari on the lifting platform. Tempi passati, because even the classic car specialist in the city center is a discontinued model, at least in Zurich with the prevailing gentrification ...
