I actually like the old school life of driving my vehicles . ......being engaged in the experience of driving it, being aware of looming problems and fixing them. On all the features they've stuffed into new cars it seems folks are more interested in being passive occupants. Hell, look at the car ads offering zero information of what they have to offer except a hint of virtue signaling that makes them swoon.

A great Hemming’s article on the alternative of buying new and a look at what you can be if you just consider it all and revert to old school........(with loads of reader experience at the end)


https://www.hemmings.com/stories/202...-a-new-vehicle

 

I get a scam alert when clicking on that link.

 

 

With the premise of the OP,,, I have to agree.

My wife's 2021 Chrysler Pacifica is like flying first class. Nothing to do but play with gadgets and keep it from running into other cars and things. Something it warns you of, if eminent. A touch screen delivers information without effort. Like tire pressures, oil levels, and stuff one used to do manually before starting out on a trip. Intimacy with the vehicle is gone.

And so is passion.

My daily driver is a 95 Dodge one ton with a Cummins diesel and a manual tranny. It has gauges and things that you have to read and interpret. My second car is the Crossfire with the manual tranny. Being an active participant in the process of getting from point "A" to "B" is usually the most fun of my day. Exceeded occasionally by the wife getting friendly.

Again, intimacy and passion, something which always makes for a more harmonious outcome.

 

I currently own a 2002 Crown Vic, a 2004 XF and a 2005 F150 so the the youngest is 17 years old. I purchased the CV and the F150 new and the XF was purchased new by my father from whom I inherited it. The XF is my wife's daily driver as I believe all cars are to be driven, not hoarded in a garage and kept under blankets to be taken on outings from time to time unless one has the space and $ for that kind of thing. Obviously I'm not a fan of the direction the automotive industry has headed nor was he. Every time I need to rent a car on a trip or something and I get to drive a truly "new" car I'm reminded why I hate them so much. Last rental was some brand new midsize thing that looks like everything else on the road. Of course the rental agency didn't leave the manual in the glove box. It took me 15 minutes at the gas station to find the friggin' fuel door release... Not on the dash, not on the console, not on the steering wheel, not on the column, not on the door, not in the driver side foot well visible... Finally found it buried under the driver seat. Who the heck puts it there? Some idiot engineer I guess who thinks big touchscreens and alternate joystick/dial controls and the ability to change the color of the interior lighting with a finger tap is more important. What a joke.

 

Here is a working link to the Hemming’s article on driving Classics......https://linkst.hemmings.com/click/27...48753B2b6c6723