MrSpeedy
East Midlands
www.vintagediesels.co.uk
Posts: 4,786
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Jul 16, 2009 13:42:34 GMT
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in marketting terms they call those cars retro because thats the styling inspiration. Same with S Type Jag, PT Cruiser, and many others. Some more, some less. I think the US muscle car scene is interesting because they seem to be happy to accept old and new cars whereas over here we are either old or new for the most part. Recent magazine I was reading had a couple of nice 60s cars featured as full spreads, some event coverage with 80s/90s cars racing, a feature on turbocharging the 2005-2009 model Mustang and some stuff about retrofitting modern engines into old cars and then some stuff on new parts for old gen 1960s engines. Nobody worries if its old or new. That's my point. It's the whole attitude towards the car/styling/lifestyle etc You can't pigeonhole the 'retro scene' because it is more than just age. It's about the ideas behind the cars that make it what it is, and because of this the cars that are used will continue to change. Sure there are some that maybe don't 'belong' bu there are many other younger gems tha are coming through because of this, and that's what makes this such an interesting place to be !
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bazzateer
Posted a lot
Imping along sans Vogue
Posts: 3,653
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Jul 16, 2009 13:45:09 GMT
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Really though, Who cares? If you consider your car to be Retro then, it is! This is just like the "What is a Classic" debate that's been going on for years. We all have our own opinions and, being human, don't we just love letting everyone else benefit from them?!
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1968 Singer Chamois Sport 1972 Sunbeam Imp Sport 1976 Datsun 260Z 2+2 1998 Peugeot Boxer Pilote motorhome 2003 Rover 75 1.8 Club SE (daily) 2006 MG ZT 190+ (another daily) 2007 BMW 530d Touring M Sport (tow car)
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MrSpeedy
East Midlands
www.vintagediesels.co.uk
Posts: 4,786
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Jul 16, 2009 13:49:48 GMT
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lol.
I think the point which was initially raised ( and subsequently slightly lost ! ) was has the retro scene changed ?
I think we can safely assume the answer to be yes !!
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Jul 16, 2009 14:35:11 GMT
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in that case i don't think its changed in overall ..
back in 04 the sorta cars considered retro were the likes of mk1 and 2 escorts, mk1 golf, lotus sunbeam, minis, those sort of things that are still holding up a fare share of the scene nowadays.... Imho i think its just a case of more people becoming aware of whats availble, and more to a point whats available in there budget.
example: i could never afford a mk1/2 escort say, but a chevette or somthing of the same era without the same following is availble for alot less. obivoulsy if i want to be involved ill find a way, therefor the chevette, civic, blah blah blah is the way in....
point being, the scene has grown and gone from strength to strength, its just a case that the doors have been opened to a wider range of cars
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Jul 16, 2009 15:37:44 GMT
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So I've been reading through the thread and come to a couple of conclusions.
Firstly to echo someone a few pages ago, we've almost become too niche, so obsessed with the more and more unusual that retro rides has lost its way a bit, I intend to bring it back more to our core interest for the main part with the occasional float to its outer limits, rather than living around the outer limits and occasionally popping back to the core.
Secondly people that think Classic and Retro are mutually exclusive have completely missed the point. I love Triumph Heralds, MGBs, Fiat 124s, all of those traditionally classic cars. I also really like to see them modified. If I was going to draw a line (and I don't think we need to) between classic and retro it would be the fact it is modified.
The second point will probably explain my third point/issue. The thing with the more modern cars and the auto wibblepoo is they are great, slap bang in our range of interests if they are modified. However I can see where the thought that even if not modified they are good/interesting comes from. It goes like this : Stock Classic = interesting, Modified Classic = very interesting, Modified Modern-ish = very interesting .... therefore Stock Modern = interesting ... sadly the last bit isn't true. If I turn up at a retro show in a totally slammed 97 plate Passat on banded steels, Audi nimbus grey, all super smoothed, it won't be Retro, but it'd be interesting. However if I turn up in a stock 97 plate Passat,..... not going to be very interesting now is it?...... on the other hand if I turn up in a stock 1973 Passat.... well now we're talking retro. I do enjoy stock and standard cars, particularly unusual models, but really I'd rather see a nicely modified example.
Forthly : "Retro isn't an age thing" .... It certainly isn't ... but a Vauxhaul Viva is more retro than a K10 Micra, but I do still enjoy a good Micra.
Fifthly : I think there will be a point where there is a cut off for Retro stuff, simply because the whole thing evolved at a point where cars of a certain age were seen as retro and other cars were not, however I don't think that point is now and the retro thing is still finding its feet and its boundries, this thread is a manifestation of that.
Sixthly : Really... just enjoy your cars
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Jul 16, 2009 15:39:55 GMT
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in marketting terms they call those cars retro because thats the styling inspiration. Same with S Type Jag, PT Cruiser, and many others. Some more, some less. I think the US muscle car scene is interesting because they seem to be happy to accept old and new cars whereas over here we are either old or new for the most part. Recent magazine I was reading had a couple of nice 60s cars featured as full spreads, some event coverage with 80s/90s cars racing, a feature on turbocharging the 2005-2009 model Mustang and some stuff about retrofitting modern engines into old cars and then some stuff on new parts for old gen 1960s engines. Nobody worries if its old or new. The Japanese Custom Car magazine is like this also. The latest copy of Hot Rod Magazine I have has a load of features about new Cameros .... but then I guess this is why they have a very splintered scene out there with the HAMB lot and various age cut offs and rules about what you can and can't do. People like to have somewhere that defines a bit about who they are.
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Ed
Part of things
Posts: 600
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Jul 16, 2009 19:59:55 GMT
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Sixthly : Really... just enjoy your cars That's it in a nutshell for me
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,521
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Jul 16, 2009 22:07:12 GMT
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The latest copy of Hot Rod Magazine I have has a load of features about new Cameros .... HRM has always showcased the latest factory performance goods. It certainly was in the '60s issues I have! All the latest off the shelf parts to make your hi-po sedan faster at the strip, reports on the Indy 500 etc. I've had a think about this and have come up with a view that retro cars ought to involve some effort beyond what the rest of the population does. This ties in with your equations HW. A stock modern = no added effort -> boring. A slammed modern = pain in the butt sometimes -> effort to drive. A stock oldie = added effort too.
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Jul 16, 2009 22:47:13 GMT
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I started buying street machine and custom about '98 for want of trying to rationalise my love of 80s Japanese tat. My '83 Nissan Bluebird was destined to remain ignored and unappreciated by readers of both Max power,Custom car and Practical classics. But at 17 I had loads of reasons to appreciate my bluey: 1.Mild irony 2.Standing out from everyone else at school in their fiestas and 106s 3.Being able to work on it with bits from the scrappy/string and duck tape. 4. 1800 cc!!
I would get massively exited on seeing a 2.8i celica supra rotting in a driveway, frantically bore my mate with the details of a Cherry turbo I just saw grumble by, and by the time I got my '89 Aerodeck in 2003 I had only just started to disover there where other people who appreciated cars that neither fell into the 'classic' or modern category.
If you go into a 'retro' shop you will find all manner of beige and brown 70's and 80's tat that I personally can feel nostalgic about. I couldn't care less about the antique shop down the road with the much bigger price tags.
I'm blabbering on, but surely the scene is just a collective outpouring of the ideas of those who are currently part of it. So if they get younger the cars get younger.
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Jul 16, 2009 23:00:36 GMT
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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. This is the reason why me and a group of friends have been away from the scene for quite some time. Family has had to come first in my mates case and the cars have had to go. In my case,keeping my motors and paying the debts i owe on them is the main priority (i live alone and the cars are the family!). Cant live on a flat weeks wage(no overtime) but i've had the privelage of been able to work the weekends on the gaffas hobbies which just happen to be classic/retro touring cars. Still getting my retro fix even if it means missing out on the shows.
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