Has the Retro Scene changed??

Just like the classic scene really, a few years ago early 80s cars would never have been regarded as classics but some now are (XR3, XR2, Strada Abarth etc etc).

It's organic, it grows and develops along with us and the new blood that continuously joins the community.

Hmmm... Don't know if I'm the only person that thinks this but....

I was wondering if people are starting to lose interest in the 'scene' a little. I've been to every retro show at the pod and I remember pulling up the day before and camping with all your friends and getting trollied. Next day, wake up hung over as hell and just be blown away by the sheer amount of odball retro tin all around you. This year for me was a little dissapointing. Hardly anyone camping over the night before and everywhere I looked.... A mondeo!

Maybe I'm just getting cynical as I get older but for me RCS should be a weekend event, on the grass for club stands (weather permitting) and no bloody mondeos for at least another 20 years

I could of course just be wearing the rose tinted glasses....

I think given the rocketing prices of some marques, and the recession will have a bearing on what cars are on the scene and who attends. It has to be recognised that money will always be a factor with any hobby.

I think there has been an increase in the "scene" element in "retro scene".

I think there are more younger people doing different things with younger cars.

I think there is more emphasis on styling and scene acceptable cosmetics (especially rat look) than there was a few years ago when perhaps there was a lot more influence of circuit and rally cars and the like.

you have a dilemma there.

If you try go down the route of getting us back to "modified classics" you have to define what a "retro" car is or a "classic" and before you know it you have a row like the NSRA and people claiming you are elitist because you don't consider their Ford Focus to be retro.

If you leave things to be the "what ever people find interesting" and in 12 months the average age of the cars on here is like 8 years old or something and its all about bangernomics and how cheap you can run an old Primera into the ground then you'll have another bunch of people claiming you lost your way and its all just a bunch of chavs running old knackers.

Certain groups of people are more numerous, and some are more vocal (or type more LOL). They are not necessarily the ones which generates "quality" content which will attract more "quality" members with their own "quality" content to share... Quality is in quotes deliberately...

Your thankless task is to balance the needs of the various elements of the spectrum of "enthusiasts"

It does seem to be moving that way. Maybe it's down to the fact that 10-15 year old cars can be bought relatively cheaply and the owners want somewhere to congregate ?
I must admit i was sumwhat saddened by the huge display of mondeo's (nothing against them per say) as i wouldn't personally class a 10year old motor as 'retro'.
However, it is the diversity of this 'scene' that makes it so interesting !

I´m not sure about the "scene" but as far as the forum goes I agree that there are far too many modern cars on here.

"everything has potential" is definately one of the strong points of the forum... it can also be seen as it weakness as it allows a lot of moderns in through the back door.

As far as balancing the scales goes that´s going to be difficult to manage without putting up an age limit.

Personally I think anything pre 90 is ok and although there are lots of good newer cars on here I have difficulty accepting them as retro, but that´s is just my personal opinion and i´m the wrong side of 40 so just ignore my ramblings.

We have so called "Youngtimer" over here and they´re 20 years old or more maybe a poll might be interesting to see if the perception of "retro" has anything to do with how old you are?

The term 'retro' is a bit more open to interpretation than 'classic' I think, and as more (and younger) people come into the scene the term 'retro' ends up encompassing a broader variety of cars because of that.

There are quite a few cars on the forum that I personally wouldn't class as 'retro' at all, but lots of other people might. Does seeing 'modern' cars at at retro show put people off attending or being part of the scene?

"everything has potential" is the thing. Not everything achieves its potential.

Say a 1998 Rover 400 polls up and the guy is nuts to "do" it. Me? I'd not want to but say he does. "everything has potential". Now if he puts some IsayDingDong stickers in it and fits a roof rack and swaps the factory alloys for 13" manta steelies then its not a great retro ride, its a POS Rover with some stickers. But OTOH if he space frames it and puts a pair of T16 lumps in it, one each end, carbon fibre and billet custom fabrication everywhere, then yeah, its got my attention (at least for a little while so I can admire his chops for fab)

The difference being that a guy with a 1968 Rover 2000 who has a few stickers and a set of wheels on it, well I'm going to see that as a far cooler car than a similarly modded '98 Rover 400 because the base material was just so much cooler to begin with.

Problem is "everything has potential" but running round in a 10 year old Megane is running around in a 10 year old Megane, not a radical expression of self, not an artistic statement on wheels, not a cutting edge lifestyle....

Theres nothing wrong with owning a 10 year old Mondeo, I just don't think we want to read about it here.