Well....
There is nothing characterless about
Porsche Boxsters, Audi's and Cooper
types of today but these aren't really
what you are referring to anyway, Ron.
My "current" '85 VW GTi takes a lickin'
and just keeps on (cheaply) tickin'...
...same with my 2nd ex-wife's '70 Toyota
Corona MKII bought new. At 80k, we
had replaced plugs, tires, front shocks, front brake pads (not
rotors..just turned)
and that was about it except for scheduled
LOF's. Same with later ex-wife's Datsun
B-210 (a truck compared to the Toyota, though). She cost more than her
car
in maintenance over time.
These more "modern" cars were virtually maintenance-free as compared to
any
of my LBC's in their best condition, with
the exception of my current BE daily-
driver, which with electronic ignition
and other upgrades is about as maintenance-free as one of our old
LBC's can get I guess.
Nevertheless, any repair on the really
modern machines of today is anything
but inexpensive. The simple replacement
of a fuel pump (in today's fuel injected
"in tank" types) is a perfect example.
To replace the most simple and in-
expensive item, scads must be spent on
removing/replacing "stuff" to simply
gain access. But on the whole, things
seem to be better built and last longer,
while performing more efficiently over
time.
As for safety, handling, braking, etc., I
think todays even low cost vehicles are absolutely terrific. Sure,
they're lightly
built for best economy but integral roll
cages along with mandatory seat belt
use and air bags seems to
counter this pretty well.
I'd sure love to have air bags in my
BE. We got deer up the kazoo
in these parts. Just had a buddy
run into one in his old Toyota. Deer got up
and split the scene, post-haste.He walked home, got another car out of
his garage
and continued on his way.
Junkyard got the "totaled" Toy. One of
the most cheap to maintain daily drivers
he ever owned, he says. Great car.
Cap'n. Bob
'60 :{)
Check out the new British Cars Forum:
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