Guest post: The irresistible allure of the classic car

1970 AMC Gremlin

Let’s veer off on a tangent for a while and simply enthuse about classic cars. After all, what’s a car blog for if not to exude a little bit of passion every once in a while? And, when it comes to a discussion on some of the finest classic cars around, you should brace yourself for a full-blown “exudeathon”. Because, really, what’s not to like about the fascinating allure of an older model, no matter what the car? It’s difficult to not be hit with a pang of nostalgia as you survey a 70s’ muscle car or a 50s’ beamer. As you slink into those weatherworn seats and rev up a stuttering engine that’s seen better days, you know that you’re not simply driving a car – you’re riding in a little slice of history.

It’s a feeling, basically, and a good one at that. To be coasting along a highway in a classic car simply has a different edge to it than a newer model. It might be the lack of safety features or the potentially less stable handling and horsepower, but to drive around in an older model is to feel more connected with the process of driving itself. You can throw out your driver assist, your reverse parking detection and, in the most extreme cases, your seatbelts – with a classic car it’s just you, some foot pedals and a steering wheel allowing you to tame your metallic steed.

The profit to be made from classic cars

It’s a great time to be investing in an older model, with classic car sales proving to be a shrewd investment for anyone looking to maintain a potentially collectible asset. Car prices at auctions have been going through the roof recently, with national newspaper The Independent reporting that a F1 Mercedes that was driven to a win by Juan Manual Fangio in 1954/55 was recently sold at auction for £19.6million, the highest price ever paid for a luxury car. Add to this the fact that the value of classic cars has grown by over 430 per cent in the past decade, according to Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index, and what you have is a fantastic vehicle to ride in that also happens to be a veritable gold mine.

Endless enthusiasm for the classic

Indeed, it seems the enthusiasm for the classic car seldom wanes, with clubs for seemingly every type of model and brand existing to maintain the integrity of older models, dedicating themselves to overhauling old engines, fixing original mechanical defects and generally tinkering away to make these vintage models run as though they had just come off the factory line. It’s this social aspect of classic cars that really makes them a draw, with the knowledge that you’re not simply driving a car alone, but enthusing with others about the little things that make your classic car special to you.

But, really you don’t get the full experience of a classic car without incorporating all of these elements – the driving, the socialising, the tinkering and the cherishing. It’s not simply a case of finding a vehicle that can get you from A to B, but looking for a car that you can work on and restore, until it becomes less a vehicle and more an extension of your personality. There’s a breadth of range, as well, to be found in the market that simply doesn’t exist in a more modern sphere, with many cars preferring, understandably, to follow marketable trends and preferences, leading to a more limited set of choices in terms of overall design.

But, with the classic car you can choose from over a century of vehicular treats, from the classy sportster to the outright eccentric looking 1970 AMC Gremlin. While newer models will always have their place, and there are some extremely exciting developments being put on the vehicular market today, there will always be a place in the heart of every car enthusiast that longs for the purer feel of a car that might be showing its age, but still handles like a dream on the road.