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Car guy here. Yeah, I’m with you. My favorite car was a ‘96 Tercel with mechanical steering and a 4-speed manual. It even had manual roll-up windows. It had les

Car guy here. Yeah, I’m with you. My favorite car was a ‘96 Tercel with mechanical steering and a 4-speed manual. It even had manual roll-up windows. It had less than 100 HP, but it was simple as hell to operate, very fun to drive, cheap to maintain, and extremely reliable up until I sold it with nearly 400k miles on the odo. I put an aftermarket stereo and speakers in it and I was set. Only reason I sold it was because my wife hated it and a friend needed a cheap reliable car for his idiot son who proceeded to neglect and destroy it quickly after taking possession. Modern cars are absolutely terrible in the UX department, but they are a hell of a lot safer, so there’s that.

jrwoodruff 5y ago
Those mid 90s Japanese sedans were awesome. Relatively compact overall, zippy little 4 cylinders engines and manual transmissions. I had an Accord from that era, and loved driving my dads nerdy-as-hell Nissan Sentra. That car was shockingly fun to drive.
- GeorgeTirebiter 5y ago
  I still drive my '94 Lexus. California is kind in that way.
- throaway46546 5y ago
  92 Civic owner here. Love my car.
- beckingz 5y ago
  Mid 90s Accords were incredibly long lasting.
- dzhiurgis 5y ago
  Just sold my 1990 Bluebird. Didn't pass warrant of fitness, but otherwise drove amazingly well.
- tim333 5y ago
  1990 mx5 still going! It's a good car though a little rust. The only thing I miss from more modern cars is the engines are a bit more efficient in modern ones - more power less fuel. Re electronics the sound system and sat nav (iphone) are boxes you tack on and don't have to be part of the car.
itsoktocry 5y ago
>My favorite car was a ‘96 Tercel with mechanical steering and a 4-speed manual. It even had manual roll-up windows. I had a 1993 Tercel, same gearbox, manual windows, vinyl interior. It had a leaking head gasket when I bought it, and I drove it for 150,000 km without putting a dime into it outside of oil changes and tires, filling the coolant as needed. Simple cars are basically indestructible.
clairity 5y ago
> "Modern cars are absolutely terrible in the UX department, but they are a hell of a lot safer, so there’s that." tangentially, "safety" is highly cargo-culted. things that seem so obviously safer are taken without question as better, but in many cases, such features really only provide a false sense of security along with substantive unintended consequences. most safety features in cars (e.g., lane-keeping) allow people to be less skilled and less attentive at driving, rather than lowering crash/injury/death rates. the better solution is to make people better and more attentive at driving through more rigorous training/testing, more thoughtful design, and importantly, culture, rather than just technology for its own sake.
- IgorPartola 5y ago
  For anyone wondering what progress in terms of safety looks like, give this 77 second video a view: https://youtu.be/xtxd27jlZ_g https://youtu.be/xtxd27jlZ_g
  - PhantomGremlin 5y ago
    This is a great video that everyone should watch. But part of the problem with the 50 y/o car may be that the steel has rusted (based on the rust-colored cloud of particles). That may be why the older car just disintegrates. OTOH the weakening of the steel because of rust creates a de-facto "crumple zone"? A minor improvement? :) Older cars were much too rigid and the body didn't absorb much energy. It was all transmitted to the occupants. Also, forgetting about design improvements in safety, I'm not sure I want to "bet my life" on 50 year old brake lines, etc. That sort of stuff just wears out.
    - IgorPartola 5y ago
      The nice thing about those cars is that you can actually replace things like suspension and brake systems with modern equivalents relatively easily. It’s not like swapping in an F-150 brake system into a Corolla. As far as rust, I’m sure you can find some rust free cars in AZ or CA.
  - 5y ago
duped 5y ago
Counterpoint, I'm not a car guy and I think too many people own them. But when I'm in a car my priorities are safety, mileage, seat comfort, climate control, sound quality, and smartphone support. I don't really care how much it costs to maintain, and I haven't changed my own oil in over a decade. Modern cars are fine in the UX for what I do. I'd rather not own a car than drive manual, and even vehicles from 10 years ago aren't competitive in creature comforts or gasoline consumption.
- rightbyte 5y ago
  I find it more stressful to drive automatic. You need to be more careful with the gas pedal to get just the right amount of acceleration, since too much will make the car shift down and rev up. Also there is the risk of uncontrolled acceleration by mixing up the gas and brake pedal and not having the clutch as a double safe.
- neoromantique 5y ago
  >gasoline consumption. That's only true if we talk about hybrids. >even vehicles from 10 years ago aren't competitive in creature comforts That depends a lot on your priorities, I drive a nearly 20 year old premium car that holds up very well against many new cars
potta_coffee 5y ago
I have a 97 Miata and a 95 4Runner. Both high mileage, both amazing cars mechanically. They both have power steering and power windows but everything works on both cars: every knob, button, window, still works. I've had several newer cars that have degraded much more quickly than these two. Both cars are much better to drive IMO than newer cars, with some caveats. You can't drive like a dummy and expect these older cars to kick in computerized traction control systems to save you from yourself. I personally like a car that lets me be the driver.
giardini 5y ago
The mid-90's Toyotas were wonderfully reliable vehicles but the plastic parts are failing. Maybe I'll give up and dive into retro cars fully with a post-war Citroen 2CV? Naah!

jrwoodruff 5y ago

Those mid 90s Japanese sedans were awesome. Relatively compact overall, zippy little 4 cylinders engines and manual transmissions. I had an Accord from that era, and loved driving my dads nerdy-as-hell Nissan Sentra. That car was shockingly fun to drive.

GeorgeTirebiter 5y ago
I still drive my '94 Lexus. California is kind in that way.
throaway46546 5y ago
92 Civic owner here. Love my car.
beckingz 5y ago
Mid 90s Accords were incredibly long lasting.
dzhiurgis 5y ago
Just sold my 1990 Bluebird. Didn't pass warrant of fitness, but otherwise drove amazingly well.
tim333 5y ago
1990 mx5 still going! It's a good car though a little rust. The only thing I miss from more modern cars is the engines are a bit more efficient in modern ones - more power less fuel. Re electronics the sound system and sat nav (iphone) are boxes you tack on and don't have to be part of the car.

itsoktocry 5y ago

>My favorite car was a ‘96 Tercel with mechanical steering and a 4-speed manual. It even had manual roll-up windows. I had a 1993 Tercel, same gearbox, manual windows, vinyl interior. It had a leaking head gasket when I bought it, and I drove it for 150,000 km without putting a dime into it outside of oil changes and tires, filling the coolant as needed. Simple cars are basically indestructible.

clairity 5y ago

> "Modern cars are absolutely terrible in the UX department, but they are a hell of a lot safer, so there’s that." tangentially, "safety" is highly cargo-culted. things that seem so obviously safer are taken without question as better, but in many cases, such features really only provide a false sense of security along with substantive unintended consequences. most safety features in cars (e.g., lane-keeping) allow people to be less skilled and less attentive at driving, rather than lowering crash/injury/death rates. the better solution is to make people better and more attentive at driving through more rigorous training/testing, more thoughtful design, and importantly, culture, rather than just technology for its own sake.

IgorPartola 5y ago
For anyone wondering what progress in terms of safety looks like, give this 77 second video a view: https://youtu.be/xtxd27jlZ_g https://youtu.be/xtxd27jlZ_g
- PhantomGremlin 5y ago
  This is a great video that everyone should watch. But part of the problem with the 50 y/o car may be that the steel has rusted (based on the rust-colored cloud of particles). That may be why the older car just disintegrates. OTOH the weakening of the steel because of rust creates a de-facto "crumple zone"? A minor improvement? :) Older cars were much too rigid and the body didn't absorb much energy. It was all transmitted to the occupants. Also, forgetting about design improvements in safety, I'm not sure I want to "bet my life" on 50 year old brake lines, etc. That sort of stuff just wears out.
  - IgorPartola 5y ago
    The nice thing about those cars is that you can actually replace things like suspension and brake systems with modern equivalents relatively easily. It’s not like swapping in an F-150 brake system into a Corolla. As far as rust, I’m sure you can find some rust free cars in AZ or CA.
- 5y ago

duped 5y ago

Counterpoint, I'm not a car guy and I think too many people own them. But when I'm in a car my priorities are safety, mileage, seat comfort, climate control, sound quality, and smartphone support. I don't really care how much it costs to maintain, and I haven't changed my own oil in over a decade. Modern cars are fine in the UX for what I do. I'd rather not own a car than drive manual, and even vehicles from 10 years ago aren't competitive in creature comforts or gasoline consumption.

rightbyte 5y ago
I find it more stressful to drive automatic. You need to be more careful with the gas pedal to get just the right amount of acceleration, since too much will make the car shift down and rev up. Also there is the risk of uncontrolled acceleration by mixing up the gas and brake pedal and not having the clutch as a double safe.
neoromantique 5y ago
>gasoline consumption. That's only true if we talk about hybrids. >even vehicles from 10 years ago aren't competitive in creature comforts That depends a lot on your priorities, I drive a nearly 20 year old premium car that holds up very well against many new cars

potta_coffee 5y ago

I have a 97 Miata and a 95 4Runner. Both high mileage, both amazing cars mechanically. They both have power steering and power windows but everything works on both cars: every knob, button, window, still works. I've had several newer cars that have degraded much more quickly than these two. Both cars are much better to drive IMO than newer cars, with some caveats. You can't drive like a dummy and expect these older cars to kick in computerized traction control systems to save you from yourself. I personally like a car that lets me be the driver.

giardini 5y ago

The mid-90's Toyotas were wonderfully reliable vehicles but the plastic parts are failing. Maybe I'll give up and dive into retro cars fully with a post-war Citroen 2CV? Naah!