At a time when nostalgia seemed to be one of the “trendy” feelings (see the example of the famous “Revenge of the 90’s” parties), I found myself thinking a few days ago about the following: current pilots are privileged authentic.
Of course, we can even look at classic cars and admire many of their features and peculiarities, however, the vast majority of us don’t know what it was like to drive them on a daily basis.
Thirty years ago there were many models on the market that still resorted to manual glass and referred simple radio back to the options list, and there were also those in which you had to “shut the air” to enrich. the air / fuel mixture.
In addition, safety equipment such as airbag or ABS was a luxury and ESP was little more than an engineering dream. As for the navigation systems, they boiled down to an open map on the hood.
However, unlike those simple and austere times, today the vast majority of cars present drivers with equipment such as air conditioning, navigation system. and even systems that already promise (almost) autonomous driving!
Three dashboards, all Fiat models. The first belongs to a Fiat 124 …
On top of all that we have cameras and sensors that help us maneuver the bigger models on the market, systems that block us and even park our car alone – they remind me of a teacher I had who wanted such possibilities and knowing that I loved cars, I jokingly wondered what day that would be possible.
Offer for all tastes
In an era when any utility vehicle travels 150 km / h “sweat-free”, takes four passengers comfortably and safely, and offers more space than many C-segment models of 20 years ago, we have today. now more engine options than ever.
25 years ago it was diesel or gasoline. Today, we can add to these different levels of electrification, mild hybrid, hybrids and hybrids connect. We can even do without the heat engine and opt for a 100% electric motor!
One of the engines of the first generation of the BMW 3 Series.
Whichever engine you choose, it is more powerful than its predecessors; at the same time it spends less fuel, has longer service intervals and, be amazed, it does all of this with less displacement and even fewer cylinders (an authentic “Columbus Egg”).
But there is more. While 20 years ago it was still common to see cars (mostly North American) with four-speed automatic transmissions, today seven, eight and nine-speed automatic transmissions are increasingly common, CVTs have conquered their space and even The “old lady” manual gearbox has become “intelligent”.
Traditional manual gearboxes are increasingly rare.
Is better? It depends…
If, on the one hand, it’s good to have cars that allow us to avoid fines for talking on cellphones, that keep us “on the line”, ensure the safe distance and even remove the “burden” to step on the starter ”, otherwise.
The more the car evolves, the less the driver seems connected throughout the act of… driving. Moreover, many drivers unfortunately seem convinced that fully autonomous driving is already a reality and find themselves overconfident in all the “guardian angels” of their cars.
Between these two interiors of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class are separated by about 25 years.
Solutions to these two problems? The first is solved with a few rides behind the wheel of classic cars, not daily, but on special days when it is possible to enjoy all its qualities (and there are many of them) without having to worry about its “characteristics” .
The second problem, on the other hand, I think it is only solved with greater awareness among drivers and, perhaps, with more punitive measures on the part of the authorities.
Having said that, yes, we ended up being really privileged, because today we can not only enjoy the comfort, safety and all the other qualities of modern cars, but we can enjoy the more pronounced character of its predecessors.
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