Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Literally every time

This is my constant fear, and particularly that the generation of cars that I like (late 90s/early 00s) is becoming too expensive and rare to reasonably use as a daily/family car.

Is this the last chance to have a fun ICE car?

Er.

Not just cars.

All consumer goods imo.

As if an etap gonna last 10 years...

This cloud shit scares me.

Literally turning us into taxable batteries for the Matrix overlords.

#putsonfoilhat

I guess it depends what you've had before and what's important to you.

The big skoda that we have at present, although not brand new anymore (2017) is easily the best car I've owned. VAG 220 TSi is a really nice engine.

At times I would swap it for something smaller but then I'd need something else for family holidays.

Has anyone ever bought the newest best car they've ever had and realised that the shit cars that came before it were actually better?

Not yet. Mind you, my newest car is nearly 14 years old. And has been at the garage having more work done to it since Thursday. And will be going to another garage for more major works later this year. And possibly an engine rebuild next year.

This is the reality.

In the 00's, you could get a 90's renault clio or astra for a grand and run it probably a few years on just tyres, brake pads and oil.

Now for same price point your getting a 2014 peugeot blob with every single bearing and bush hanging out of it, yet only 85k miles on it, and the interior looks like it had some wild animals tear it up.

I think this is an interesting question. I'm not sure if I answered it already.

I did that with the Superb and I think the answer depends on what your definition of "better" is.

Before the 850R I had an E39 estate (another forum car) and they both were very highly specced so had a lot of features some cheap brand-new cars today don't even have. So in terms of some features, I don't think my 2016 Skoda is miles better than a car from 1997.

However stuff I didn't have, like Android Auto built into the infotainment system, radar cruise control, electronically adjustable suspension from the screen, high performing but robust automatic transmission (6sp DSG), they all make my life easier, and therefore better (imo).

On top of that, all of those features cost less (when factoring in inflation) than they did when the cars were new.

I think the sale price of my 2016 Superb when new was slightly less than the 850R, not factoring in inflation. Just think about that. Nearly 20 years difference and the £ cost is about the same. What you can get in terms of performance and features while also maintaining reliability is multiple times "better" than you could get 20+ years ago.

If you're looking for charm, charisma, and to a lesser extent looks (which is subjective) then older cars are "better".

If you read car reviews of years ago of hot versions of luxury cars, they use words like cosseted, comfortable, quiet, powerful, creamy, and adjustable. These are all things you can get in abundance for a much lower relative cost then you could in years gone by.

I'm not sure what my conclusion is but I like both, old shit cars and new cars.