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> Cars of today aren't exponentially better than a 1955 Caddy. You're talking about cars that cost around $70k in today's dollars with 6.0L V8 carburetted push

> Cars of today aren't exponentially better than a 1955 Caddy. You're talking about cars that cost around $70k in today's dollars with 6.0L V8 carburetted pushrod engines that go 0-60 in 15 seconds, no standard AC, 4 speed transmissions....they looked cool, but you can buy a $30k Infiniti nowadays that is lighter, has just 60% the engine displacement, has fuel injection and variable valve timing/lift, goes 0-60 in 5 seconds, has 4 wheel disc brakes, a 7 speed transmission...the list goes on. Oh, and standard A/C. I'd say that getting 3x the acceleration at half the price, with multiple times more reliability (try driving a 1955 Cadillac 300k miles without rebuilding the engine or heads), traction control, airbags, intelligent cruise control, and all the modern comforts is indicative of rapid growth. And it keeps going! Now we are seeing electric production cars and autonomous street legal vehicles. Exponential? Maybe not. But aside from computers, it's hard to think of technological developments as exponential. They tend to be intermittent, with advances coming in fits and starts.

GlenTheMachine 8y ago
And both will get you to work at exactly the same speed. They even get approximately the same gas mileage. All of the other stuff - better acceleration, air bags, automatic transmissions, A/C - those are refinements on a capability that fundamentally didn't change. They both drive on roads at around 60 mph at approximately 25 mpg.
- totalZero 8y ago
  A '55 Caddy Eldorado will get 10.5mpg highway according to these folks: http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1955/326075/cadillac_eldorado_hydra-matic.html http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1955/326075/cadillac_e... They're cool cars but today's $70k luxury cars are faster, stronger, more reliable, and functionally better. The old Caddies do look damn good, but I'll take a DOHC versus an OHV any day. My point is that the technology has clearly progressed. To your point, maybe not exponentially, true. But there has definitely been a whole heap of engineering work over 60+ years that has resulted in unequivocally better, more reliable, markedly different vehicles.

GlenTheMachine 8y ago

And both will get you to work at exactly the same speed. They even get approximately the same gas mileage. All of the other stuff - better acceleration, air bags, automatic transmissions, A/C - those are refinements on a capability that fundamentally didn't change. They both drive on roads at around 60 mph at approximately 25 mpg.

totalZero 8y ago
A '55 Caddy Eldorado will get 10.5mpg highway according to these folks: http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1955/326075/cadillac_eldorado_hydra-matic.html http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1955/326075/cadillac_e... They're cool cars but today's $70k luxury cars are faster, stronger, more reliable, and functionally better. The old Caddies do look damn good, but I'll take a DOHC versus an OHV any day. My point is that the technology has clearly progressed. To your point, maybe not exponentially, true. But there has definitely been a whole heap of engineering work over 60+ years that has resulted in unequivocally better, more reliable, markedly different vehicles.