Why do people say old cars are better than new cars?

Question

this woman told me it was how the cars were made. she said back then they were made stronger and sometimes faster.

Answer 1

Older cars were frequently built of heavier, stronger materials, and had bigger engines with more power than their modern equivalents, but they were not necessarily safer or better.



Modern cars are built to higher safety standards and are designed to be more fuel efficient than the bigger, heavier cars they replace.

Answer 2

I always love this one. It is amazing how many outright lies people will swear to.

1. Cars were made heavier?

False. True you can get lighter cars today than in the past, but at the same time the heaviest production cars to come off an assembly line are in dealerships today.

2. They used American steel back then, rather than Japanese steel.

False by the inference that Japanese steel is somehow inferior. Especially since they buy most of their steel from us. . .

3. Steel is better than the myriad composites use now to replace it.

False. The only reason that composites exist is because someone found a way to improve the situation. Look at a place where cost is no object, like Formula 1, and see how composites are used compared to "good old steel."

4. Cars were easier to work on back then.

False. Diagnosing a problem used to be an arcane art. There were the old guys that "just knew" or "could listen." The reason they were special is that there was no OBDII port to plug into and simply download an entire diagnostic array. The fact that it was simpler to affect an actual repair is overshadowed that repairs in the past were often a trial and error process since diagnosis was usually done after having solved the problem -by trial and error. The fact that the average competency of mechanics is in the gutter does NOT mean the cars are harder to work on.

5. Cars were more powerful and performed better back then.

False. Comparing an old LS6 Chevelle (high end musclecar) to a modern rental Malibu (low end fleet sedan) is unfair. A more fair comparison would be a G8, which will out perform the old Chevelle quite handily and do so with far better manners and reliability than the Chevelle could ever muster. In an apples to apples comparison, cars are more capable of whatever it is they are designed for today than they have EVER been in the past.

We just don't appreciate them very much. It's all perception.

Answer 3

My personal opinion on the subject of new cars verses old is that there was a beauty, comfort and styling in the old which is harder to find in the new as well as less to go wrong. The newer vehicles are no lighter than the old for the luxury. One could easily repair an older vehicle without having to check its computer for there were none. Steering if you had the power option was easily done with one finger. Air option was colder than today and comfort, oh man! The only way I can explain that is by saying just about every new car I've ridden in is like ridding a horse for the first time and it begins to lope. Bumping the saddle hard every second. That's how the ride is in a newer car because you feel every bump and crack no springs to absorb the shock. No wonder people today have more back and hip problems. They were truly Beautiful, comfortable cars.

Answer 4

Cars in the 60s (Lets say the 1967 Mustang) It was made from all metal parts, which may give you whiplash if you were hit at high speed head on collision but most of the time you would be alive. Now a days they have "crumple zones" which are designed to give away and leave you with a guaranteed totaled car and less than a foot between you and the car that hit you.



Cars were made to last longer because there wasn't a service station at every street corner back then.

I saw a "crash test" Chevy did with a metal Bel-Air and a crumple zone 2008 Malibu. It was total bull crap though because there was no engine in the Bel-air and it looked like it was penetrated further.



But yeah, cars aren't OVERglorified. They're praised for a reason. Back when life didn't cost that much. The cost of living was so low back then, a 1964 1/2 Mustang was around $3000 for a good one brand new.

Answer 5

I'm in my late 40's and I can tell you cars where definitely made a whole lot better!! The structure was much much stronger! Not necessarily the engine but certainly the body and frame were built stronger. I never heard of people dying in cars when I was growing up and no one wore seat belts! Today even with seat belts people die when they crash at the speed limit!

Answer 6

Most people today just give in to the government and or are hypnotized into buying a new car. They think it will help deal with all their problems, they're computers on wheels that does all the driving for you. Sure we care about safety but we also want to feel the car. For car guys its in our blood. no more manual transmissions, every newer car looks the same. And all our friends and family are following the crowd....keep the old car, fix it yourself, don't get into debt because of a new car.

Answer 7

From a mecinical point of view you can argue some for both.I remeber (please I don't think Reagan is a hero)in the Jimmy Carter days you always heard about how bad cars where.But those bodies on the new ones .When people go crazy Holmes,Lanza etc.we blame to many guns or Obama & no prayer in school.But a piece of it is everybody just always wanting the dollar with little in return..Plastic auto bodies in $30,000 cars.Then seat belt & camera's in lights to pretend they care when they don't.Have an ugly 96 corolla .I'm doing fine.Look at your tv ads everyhing's just 5 or 8 easy payments of ?easy payments for who.Over & over.I could go on about the commercials but you see thepoint.

Answer 8

Because they are . there are plenty of cars they used to make that got 50+ mpg and they weren't hybrids. My 78' camaro took more abuse than you could imagine. Tried blowing the motor and never did. No oil no water 115mph in 3rd gear for 45 mins and still kicking. My boss overheated his 2004 dodge with normal driving in 20 mins and blew it. Everything used to be cast iron. Now it's aluminium and one overheating will warp it. I love my old vehicles. They will be on the road long after your 2000+ vehicles.

Answer 9

yep, old cars and trucks are better why? when you drive your new corvette and then you hit an older truck, your new car leaves 2 to 3000 dollars in parts on the ground, air bag deployed and has to be towed, and leaves my 78 ford with a dent. Ahahahaha!!

Answer 10

I think it has to do with quality of craftsmanship. It wasn't until the late seventies that, in my opinion, things began to be made with an expiration date, as it were. If Ford makes an engine that lasts forever, fewer engines would need to be replaced. If a car is built to last ten years and then need all kinds of work and parts replacement, then the owner is likely to sell it and buy a new car (hopefully from the same maker). It's not just cars: dishwashers, washers and dryers, refrigerators, all kinds of major appliances, only make money as long as they are being purchased. If they need replacing sooner, then more get sold. That's my thought on the subject, anyway.

Answer 11

A lot of people still live in the past. Most older cars in the old days were junk and rusted away and fell apart in 5 years.

Answer 12

I grew up in the 50s and 60s and I can tell you for a fact that most of the American cars of that era were junk. The auto makers were operating with the premise that you would buy a new car every 5 years and by the time you put 60,000 miles on a car they really were ready for the scrap heap.

Answer 13

Because they were made from metal and not plastic.Plus the engines were made for running without wires and all the computer stuff there is now so when you needed a repair you knew exactly what needed fixing unlike nowadays where everything is based on some wire or computer.

Answer 14

old cars are better because THEIR heavier and stronger and cheaper

Answer 15

steel and aluminum body panels and parts compared to plastic and fiberglass ones, beefy engines made for work instead of crap rice burners for show, cars made to last rather than fit into a low production cost, old cars are awesome compared to new ones. (not fuel efficient but still better.)

Answer 16

thats true cars these days are made of plastic fiber glass and very little metal not very durable.cars now might be more high tech but thats the only good thing

Answer 17

Old cars from the 60s and 70s were great looking but mechanically junk.

In the bad old days, cars were equipped with four wheel drum brakes. Today we have superior 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS.

In the bad old days is was common for a car to start rusting after 2 to 3 years. I owned a 1977 Chevy van. Surface rust appeared after one year. Rust through after 3 years. Today's cars just don't rust.

In the bad old days one started to think about replacing one's car after 5 years or 60,000 miles. Usually the body was rusted and the engine was using oil. Only cars I serviced with 75,000 plus miles were used by salesmen. And those cars were only 3 years.

In the bad old days, on a damp day it could be a 50-50 chance of a car starting. Today's cars always start. Always.

In the bad old days is was easy to work on a car. Why was this bad? Cars always needed work. In the old days cars needed tune-ups. That meant a trip to the auto store for a set of points, condensers, rotor and cap, spark plugs, and spark plug wires. This was done about every 15,000 miles. Cars today just don't need tune-ups. Spark plugs last 100,000 miles or more. No points to change and set. No spark plug wires. No cap and rotor. Why is this so bad?

Today's engines are oil tight, unlike the leakers of the past.

Today's cars are built to much higher quality than the junks of yesteryear.

I went on a short trip of about 30 miles in a friend's 1969 Camaro convertible. 4 speed trans mated to a 396 cu. in. engine with 375 horsepower. Car got about 8 miles to a gallon as it wheezed and creaked its way down the highway. Amazingly good looking, but junk under the skin. My Hyundai Elantra is about as boring as it gets. Will run 80 mph all day in quiet comfort and returns about 34 mpg.

The old cars were great looking, but were very crude under the skin. New cars are worlds better in terms of design, engineering and quality.

BTW, cars of old were produced on assembly lines as they are today. In the old days, you NEVER shut down an assembly line to report a defect or quality issue. Today any worker on an assembly line can stop the line to report a defect of quality issue. And you want to go back to the bad old days?

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!



Edit to Bandit_60

I work in a steel mill in the USA. All the cars made today have much better quality steel that the junks of the 60s and 70s. Cars just don't rust today. Imagine a car being scrapped after 5-6 years due to rust? Also, the Japanese and Korean companies that have plants in the US use domestically produced steel in the bodies. We sell to Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Subaru, and Kia. I don't know if we sell to Mercedes.

Answer 18

It's true that cars now are mass produced, so not as much detail goes in to them as they used to. However, they do have to pass more rigorous safety tests, so they are safer now. They are also more environmentaly friendly.

Answer 19

back in the day they were

1. made of mostly steel and harder metals

2. less electronic wiring

3. less to go wrong with them

4. made one by one, rather than making 1,000's a day



cars now

1. made of fiberglass, which is not very strong

2. way to much wiring (more to figure out whats wrong)

3. the more stuff in the car, the more possibilty for failure

4. made in the 1,000's per day, so not as much effort goes into the reliability

Answer 20

It depends on many factors

Answer 21

New cars suck

Answer 22

because you can't beat the classics! now days cars are built around nothing but style and stuff. trying to look all "futuristic" i hate all the new cars out today. most cars now days are built for little ritzy pricks that like to jack mommy's car and fly down the interstate trying to act like a badass when they know they're a straight up tool. i wish all the classics where still around. screw all these new sedans and hummers and suv's. save your self the time and go buy yourself a classic like a gto or a mustang.

Answer 23

She's right. The sheet metal used for older car was substantially thicker than that used now, and none of the body was plastic. It made the car heavier, but gas was cheap so what did that matter? Engines were also more powerful (had to be, to move that heavy car body), and speedometers routinely showed speeds to 120 mph, which the well-maintained old cars could reach for years after purchase.



My present car struggles to maintain 70.

Answer 24

that,s because they were. yrs. ago the cars were made out of american steel, not this japanese junk. and they were easier to work on and if you were i a wreck you had a better chance of walking away. give me the old cars anyday.

Answer 25

OLD CARS ARE FAR BETTER than NEW cars, BECAUSE, they were built to be worked on, they were built to last more than 100.000 miles!! I have a 1972 Ford LTD that that is virtually indestructible!! I could plow through a house and not have a dent in it!! My sister has a 2006 Ford tauras PLASTIC PIECE OF CRAP, on a cold day she BARELY backed into a metal pole and BUSTED her bumper into ALL KINDS OF PIECES, she BARELY tapped that pole!! COME ONE!!! OLD CARS ARE FAR SAFER THAN NEW ONES!!!