Its 1979 and you are driving down the road in your Lincoln Mark, your Cadillac even your Ford LTD. The roads are not getting any better but that’s hardly a concern to you as you float down the road in absolute comfort.
You have the R12 AC on full blast and its freezing you out even though you have the smokers vent windows open. Tony Bennet is bellowing out on the 8 track as you grab your factory built in CB radio to chat with some friendly truckers.
Life is good.
Now lets just focus on thing here, how did we go from cars that could deliver you down the road in absolute comfort to everything having low profile tires and suspensions sprung more suitably for an ox cart.
WHY DO VEHICLES RIDE SO ROUGH NOW? And why do we the people accept it? The most popular vehicles in Indiana for many, the pickup truck, they ride like log wagons, skitter over rough patches of road ect. Even cars ride rough now.
Im so tired of it I am looking at a 70s Lincoln Versailles so I can ride in some comfort. There is no way im the only one whos tired of these rough riders we have to drive in “modern” times.
You overlooked the part where the car screeched horribly and leaned sideways when you tried to make a turn at a decent speed, partly due to the complete lack of feedback through the steering wheel. Once people experienced foreign cars during the gas crisis that didn’t do that, some of us never looked back, as those cars were more fun to drive.
And you are wrong again . You really need to relax . We have the 2010 Volvo and a 2018 Ford Fiesta and they both are comfortable . The air and heat work just fine . And I for one do not want a floating land barge like these vehicles you think are so great.
I’d rather have sharp handling than a pillow-soft ride. Also newer cars are heavier than cars of yesterday (mandated equipment, more rigorous safety standards,etc.) which means that you need bigger brakes, which means you need bigger wheels to clear the bigger brake discs, which leads to lower-profile tires.
Our Honda Odyssey has living room comfortable captain’s chairs, is quiet, and a soft ride likely from the long wheelbase and well sorted suspension. It’s like a limousine and at a reasonable price.
A friend’s father bought a new Impala, circa 1972, and every time that his kid sister rode in that car she threw up from the constant–nauseating–upward and downward movement. After he got tired of cleaning up the kid’s vomit, he traded the Impala in on a new Dodge, which did not produce the nausea effect.
My 2011 Outback still rides very nicely, but I have to confess that my brother’s 2020 Outback has an even better ride.
A few months ago, I rented a Camry sedan, and it rode very nicely, even though it was difficult for me to extricate myself from the low-positioned driver’s seat.
My friend’s 2021 Forester rides incredibly smoothly–with a ride that rivals that of a luxury sedan. The 2022 Lexus NX that I test drove had the best ride of all.
Like everyone else so far–with the exception of the OP–I much prefer the ride, the handling qualities, and the great brakes of all of these modern vehicles, and I hope that we never have to return to the days of marshmallow suspensions.
A little bit off topic but I had a 1969 (?) MGBT in the 70’s. I loved that car but eventually sold it to a friend. I moved away and 30 years later I went back to visit and he asked would I like to drive it again. I was thrilled at the idea and couldn’t wait.
After 15 minutes I couldn’t wait to get out of it.
For most people, their recollections of the past–whether it concerns vehicles, or public health, or their standard of living, or virtually anything else that affects their lives–are always better than the reality of those past times. The Good Old Days were not really very good–in many ways. Frequently, a dose of reality will bring people to their senses, but… not always.
You proved to be rational, after re-experiencing your old MG. Now, if we could only drag everyone in this forum into the realm of reality…
My cousin-in-law in Canada has an MG.
The times we’ve gone to visit I take it for a drive.
And it is a unique and mechanistic pleasure to drive … for about 20 minutes on an empty country road.
When I returned from graduate school, we lived in a duplex. The husband of the residents in the other apartment was a salesman for a foreign car dealership. This dealer had the Nissan and MG franchises. My neighbor was in the National Guard and had to be on duty one weekend a month. On the weekends when he had guard duty, he would bring home an MG Midget demonstrator and bring me the keys. He explained to me that the MG Midget was like a fine race horse and needed to be exercised every day. Being a good neighbor, I made sure that the MG Midget got its daily exercise. I really thought thought the MG Midget was fun to drive.
About the closest thing today to the MG Midget is the Mazda Miata. My doctor wrote out on his prescription pad that for my Geezeritis I should have a Mazda Miata. I brought the prescription home and Mrs. Triedaq said she would take the prescription and have it filled. She returned home with a Toyota Sienna minivan. When I said that the Sienna wasn’t a Mazda Miata, she said she had the prescription filled with a generic substitute. Now I drive the Sienna and take my daily dose of Geritol® for my Geezeritis.
I’ve got to agree with Rick on this one. I’d spend a lot of money to have a new car with 4 doors, a 126" wheelbase, bench seat, steering column shift selector, cast iron V8 of >=400 cubic inches, body on frame construction, and rear wheel drive.
The MGB-GT seems to be remain popular as a classic in these parts, but I personally like those older MGA coupes. Very classic-style front grill. There was a recent article in a UK classic car publication about taking a trip in a 1960 MGA in a big circle all the way around the island of Great Britain. Non-stop, alternating drivers, took 48 hours. The MGA was up to the challenge, no problem, made the entire trip without a single break down. True, the engine threatened to stall a couple of times. But always fired right back up.
OP’s point, well said. Time doesn’t go backward though. OP could do what I do, drive a 1970’s vehicle as their daily driver. I can’t really say that my 50 year old truck has great ride quality though. But it does have robust wing windows. And that’s a good thing.
Have you ever priced-out a replacement wing window for a classic vehicle? Way expensive. As I recall for for my truck a replacement wing window is over $250. Each.