Couldn't agree more.
There is just no engagement with modern cars. People lease them. People drive them. People hand them back and get another one. The end. It's about as thrilling and rewarding as renting a new washing machine from Currys.
At least with older cars, they need nurturing to keep them going and there's reward in fixing something yourself, or enjoying/hating the modifications you've fitted. They're a toy, something to enjoy messing with - which builds a relationship with your car. And it is precisely that relationship that provokes nostalgia about cars we've owned in the past.
Certainly in the affordable price bracket, there is nothing remarkable or game changing about most of the available options now. They're all 4 cylinder turbo engines. They're all bog standard McPherson strut suspended. They all have the same sh*tty infotainment garbage. They all have some utterly gash cross-over/SUV/Plus/Max version of themselves. The only thing slightly interesting is the RS3, and that's just down to it's engine.....and isn't really in the affordable bracket for most people either.
They are like smart phones. There's a new, slightly improved, one every year and they all look the same. Car manufacturers, and indeed demanding customers, have turned cars into rolling computers and boy have they suffered this year because of chip shortages
Good bloody job. There's nothing like a crisis to force people to take stock and reevaluate what's actually important and desirable. The sheer volume of e-waste and vehicle waste is not sustainable.
Wind back 10 years and there was more variety and charisma in cars, again, in the affordable bracket - Golf R32, Subaru Impreza, Lancer Evo, Civic Type R etc. They all had unique characters and driving dynamics.
It's no wonder a lot of motoring hacks are urging people to revisit these old classics as they can see where the motoring market is heading - bland, generic, over produced dishwashers.
The only cars remotely interesting these days are Super and Hyper cars, which only rich people get to enjoy.....and even then, they only buy them for investment reasons.
I also despise all the stupid marketing fluff that is M Sport, S line, R Line etc. Get real, it's not an R, RS or M is it? It's just motoring apparel for folk who can't afford the real thing. Yeah I've got an M3. No you haven't. You've got a 320d with M sport guff on it. Dilution of their motorsport heritage like that just undermines what these cars used to stand for.
Anyway, I could rant on for days, but that'll do for now
