Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 In praise of "Old Man's Cars!"

This is one of my favorite car ads. I especially love the old guy
 doing the Frankenstein walk out to his car!

Take off your judgement hat!

Old Man Car. That's a derogatory term that is tossed around quite a bit by young guys in general. That, and the term "Chick Car."

There are other terms that are used, "penalty box" or the ever popular, term P.O.S. I imagine that you know what THAT means. Sometimes that is more of a description than a judgement! 

Judgement and derision. There are more names like "Ricer." Just an attempt to discredit what someone else likes and drives, as in, "Bro Dozer. " Of course anyone that goes around "Rolling Coal" deserves a bit of derision.

My Dad once told me that people only drive what they can afford. Or what they can stretch to afford,  I added that last part. More judgement! 

You are what you drive, (who told you that?) most people try to buy the best car that they can. When you're young, you  ACTUALLY  think that other people care about what you drive. 

Judge me all you want, Just keep the verdict to yourself! 

Good advice, I don't need or want to hear it! 

It's kind of like when a guy decides that he wants to grow a mustache. The only people that are going to comment on it are his friends and family. I doubt that anyone on the street is going to stop that young man and tell them, "That 'stache looks terrible on you, YOU are not a mustache person!" 

Not that that young man should care, I've sported a 'stache since I could grow one, going on fifty years. Once I was out of high school anyone that met me, met me in all my mustachioed glory. They wouldn't know anything different! 

This morning I opened up Curbside Classics and what did I see? A nice article on the '63 Buick Riviera, one of GM's styling triumphs. Was this Buick an old man's car? It wasn't cheap, it cost quite a bit more than a compact car, and I would imagine that the typical buyer would have to have a good enough job to handle this purchase. The buyer would have been someone well into a successful career, thereby... older.

I think the buyer in '68 was much the same.

But not really an Old Man, I imagine the buyers being in their very late 30's or most likely, early 40's. That would have seemed old to me as a teenager, but I would consider them a "younger" person from my current perspective! These Rivieras seemed to be for someone on their way up, or already on a higher plateau. Some one with a lot of style and a zest for life. 

I suppose that a dynamic younger person, or a slightly older person who considered themselves as such,  might have bought a new Corvette Stingray.

There was also an article about a '76 Cadillac Sedan de Vlle. These were the biggest Cadillacs ever built. They were the end of the line for American big cars. As I once read, these cars were actually the end of the 1950's!  Was this an Old Man's car? Yes, I'd have to say that. Back in the 1940's through the 1950's, and even into the early 1960's,  Cadillacs were seen as the best there was. They were fast and rakish, even younger buyers thought they were desirable. Remember that even Elvis bought a new purple '57 Cadillac convertible. They really appealed to older Boomers.

By the arrival of the '70's, the over sized car was out of fashion. It was the older buyer that felt that a big car like this represented success. The younger buyers had plenty of alternatives. The Eldorado or Lincoln Mark appeared more youthful, even though they weren't appreciably smaller. There were also expensive imported sports models gaining in popularity.

Nobody wants to be confused for their "Pappy!"

Young people, especially males, like fast cars, or at least cars that sound fast. If they don't sound fast enough from the factory, they will modify them until they do. The proof of this is clear by how many cars will roar past you today and rattle your cars windows!

Besides the noise, they have to constantly zig and zag through traffic, usually with only incremental reductions in travel time. Zoom Zoom! 

The Sturm and Drang of youth fades, and eventually most guys don't feel the need to announce their arrival like a burst of artillery. The need to cut and thrust through traffic diminishes, and the more mature person starts to appreciate a quieter, smooth, calmer, type of vehicle. 

Also something that is reliable and trouble free, by the time that you're in your 60's you can do without surprises and "adventures," you just want to get where you're going. 

Would this be the Old Man's car? Maybe.

The more mature individual will usually have a few more bucks to spend, and would likely prefer something that is nice, maybe even brand new. Prestige starts to be a factor as they are in the later portion of their life, and the purchase of this car is likely viewed as a reward. Sometimes long overdue.

These thoughts appeared to me as I took another drive in the country to the Casa de Fruta. This time in my Navigator. The Navigator personifies a lot of the virtues of the old school  American Luxury car. It's big and impressive looking with a lot of presence. It's quiet and smooth riding, with a very nice interior. It's definitely not a fuel efficient or performance tuned vehicle. It's just a very nice vehicle to drive or ride in. It is very successful at it's mission.

I saw several later model Corvettes out on the road that morning. It was a great morning and a nice road to drive with the top down. This wasn't a highway that called for razor sharp handling or sizzling acceleration, though the Corvettes can provide that. They can also provide a smooth comfortable ride with every desirable luxury feature. The Vette has blended performance with every luxury except extra space, and has become a very appealing machine. 

I noticed that the drivers were all middle aged, I would have referred to them as "Old Men" when I was in my teens. In fact, Corvettes, in my experience, have always appealed to the slightly older driver. I seldom saw them driven by young people. That always made a lot of sense. who else could afford to buy them, pay the insurance, and have a second more practical car for everyday use? 

So does that make them an Old Man's Car? 

The old adage is that "You can sell a young man's car to an old man, but you can't sell an old man's car to a young man." This has pretty much been true over the years. Older guys looking for a special car usually look for something sporty. The mid life crisis convertible is a well known cliche. The old guy wants to drive something that reinforces the idea that HE still has " a tiger in his tank!"

The old guy also wants to drive something that is a cut above the rest, a bit more prestigious, and therefore a bit more expensive. After all he's not a broke kid working at the corner gas station anymore. 

"Pipe and slippers" is a term that has been applied to Jaguars in the past. The sports models had been coveted by youngsters who couldn't afford them. The large XJ series was designed and marketed to the more mature driver, in fact Jaguar has always directed their marketing to the more mature buyer. 

One of my former co workers, who happens to be a bit older than me, bought himself a Hell Cat and a new Camaro SS. He says that he enjoys taking them to Cars and Coffee events. That makes sense, they are interesting cars that garner a lot of attention. They are also new cars that don't need any work. And, he can afford them.

I just hope that he keeps the mufflers on them!