On Tue, 22 Nov 1994, Dana Nojima (CBN) wrote regarding:
> > Subject: SOL - the next generation
> >
> > The 11 year old TF owner brings to mind the issue of something I'll
> > call "unknown future owners" (UFO). What will happen to our hobby in,
> > say, 40 years? Will there be a new generation of SOL's? Will LBC
> > collectors go the way of Model T collectors? Speaking from recent
> > experience in settling my father's estate, demand has evaporated for
> > restored Ford Model T's, even prize winning show cars. There are
> My guess is that much of car collecting has to do with memories. I began
> My guess is that our current image of LBCs will be what
> my feelings are towards a 40 Ford or Model A or T, which is indifference.
>
> I picture that this generation may be collecting Mi**tas and 300Zs and
> Land Rover Discoveries.
>
Although I agree that memories have a lot to do with car values, I don't
agree that interest in lbcs will fall off to levels as low as current
interest in Model T's. As people get to the age where they can afford
classic cars, their first choice will often be one of the cars they lusted
after when they were young. So, as the population who remember when our
lbcs were new grows older, I expect that values will rise further only
very slowly, or perhaps even fall somewhat.
But memories are not the only force affecting value. I used to have Model
A's, and I liked them even though I did not remember them as new cars. I
gave them up when it became apparent that they were increasingly unsuited
for modern traffic. That is even more true of Model T's. I don't know
what the top speed of a T is, but my guess is that anything over 35 mph
would be dodgy, given the unbalanced engine, primitive brakes, and one
turn lock-to-lock steering. So enjoyment of a T is limited to tertiary
roads, and even on tertiary roads one is going to hold up a lot of
traffic. I believe that interest has fallen off not just because the
cohort is shrinking, but because the cars are impractical as drivers.
Most of our LBC's can keep up with traffic as they are, or can be made to
keep up with modifications that don't destroy the essential character of
the cars. There is room for new owners to appreciate them for what they
are, not simply for what they remember them as being. In my teens, I
lusted after an XK120 or a T-series MG. I bought my bugeye largely to
hone my skills, so I would not destroy an MG-T if and when I got one. I
still have the bugeye because I found it to be an endearing car. I
honestly don't remember noticing them much when they were new, so memory
played little or no part in my fondness for the car. And I find that
every time I take Kermit the bugeye out, the people most interested in him
are young people, who were not born when he was new. I don't really think
it will be very hard to find him a younger, more flexible owner when I am
too creaky to crawl into and out of him.
If that new owner decides to go to a 1275 engine, lower numerical rear
axle ratio, and disk brakes, so as to keep Kermit usable as a car, I won't
shudder. Kermit has to remain usable as a car; he leaks too much to be a
paperweight.
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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