Definition of classic car

hi, Friends What do you understand by classic cars. Here is my review about classic car- Classic car is a term frequently used to describe an older car, but the exact meaning is subject to differences in opinion. we can also called classic cars antique cars.

Raj

New Cars - New Cars

Possible canoe (sig)?

This is one of these discussions that will have 20 posts and no consensus. The true Classic car community (Duesenbergs and the like; see CCCA ) get really irritated with everyone who 'misuses' the term. My own state adds to the confusion by stamping out license plates with the classic word for any collector vehicle that is between 10 and 25 years old and considered noteworthy. Personally, words and terms such as this interest me little. I've got more important things to worry about than what classic means, or what the definition of a sports car is. Detracts from the time spent driving them.

Classic-Over 40 Years old. Antique-Over 60 Years old.

That makes it easy. Now the hard part is deciding what is collectable or worth restoring. It becomes an individual choice. Your money, your garage, your time. As there is in our time, there were cars from those periods that were average, bad and awful.

I think the final part of the puzzle is where the car fits in our lives, as a car community and as individuals. As a community, there are some that mark an era we all acknowledge. That's easy to pick them out.

Then there are cars that are significant but hold special meanings to us due to our personal history.

The queston I'd like to ask to ask one of us one day is "If you never showed this car, if you never got the pat on the back of 'Nice car' or the recognition of a 'Wow', if all you could do was drive it once a year on a quiet road where no one would see it, would you still do it? Would you do it just for the pleasure of saving a piece of history and be it's caretaker?

Truth is, I'm sure if you came across a guy who collected and restored Yugo or Trablants you'd have to question his sanity. But 100 years from now......

Classic Car: An older vehicle sitting in someone's garage that he (or she) is crazy about and treats better than his children.

HEY!!! I resemble those last two remarks!! But theres no "snobbery" in my garage, most all old cars are cool. There are two TRABANT's in there as well as a Skoda several types of soviet era motorcycles, a 66 sprite, 1980 mini cooper, 1973 celica, 2002 MINI and the daily's 07 suzuki SX4 and 07 tacoma Xrunner.

So I consider my sanity Questioned..... everyday.

"Boldly going where common sense fears to tread... and limping back....."

I concede that I like Coupefan's definition better than mine. Nice thing about this hobby is if you get too cerebral, there's always some one with the clarity to make it simple again. Well done..

Hey Blackrabbit.... You're just ahead of your time Brother. Would love to see pictures of the Soviet bikes...

OK! you asked for it... follow the link to my flickr page of wierd bikes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18rgrabbit/sets/72157608344963072/

and imagine them all in colorado.

I was just thinking about this very thing... are all old cars "classic?" To me there are neat "old cars" (the ones I like to look at but wouldn't want to own) and then "classics" the ones that have stood the test of time and stand out as being a prime example of what cars can be. (i.e. the ones I would like to own)

I think classic is in the eye of the beholder.

Classic cars have to be old (at least 40 years) Classic cars need distinctive lines and styling. Classic cars need rarity(If not at manufacture,now)

The definition of a classic car is very individual. It's like the statement about Porn. "I can't define it exactly but I know it when I see it."

Hmmm ... I would think that "classic" connotes representing a class well. One-offs and unique cars are specialty cars, and may be fascinating vehicles, but they are not classics. Legal definitions are just machinations for tax purposes.

I think it’s a matter of opinion. To me, a “classic car” is something like a stately ’30 era Mercedes, Caddy, Duesenberg, full-fendered Bugatti, etc. probably because that’s what those cars were called when I was a kid in the ‘50s and ‘60s developing an interest in cars. I don’t remember ever seeing the word “classic” back then used to define something like a 1929 Model A coupe or an old race car. More recently, “vintage” and “historic” are used and I personally prefer to call my ’68 Spitfire a vintage sports car. It’s certainly not a classic by my definition. I don’t think it has anything to do with actual definitions of the words, but rather what I personally relate to.

Blackrabbit,

Having been a BMW/Steib hack pilot for 32 years, I really appreciate your 3 sidecar rigs. Thanks for posting them.

Love the NSU. You wouldn't have a DKW (Der Kleine Wunder) sittin around would you?

So is a VW Beetle a classic car? Is a low end stock Rambler? An AMC Pacer? Will a Hyundai Pony one day be a classic?

I guess it is all in the mind of the responder, and it reminds me of the definition of pornography - "I don't know how to define it (for a law) but I know it when I see it!"

To me a classic car is a vehicle more than 25 years old (arbitrary cut off) that brings a smile to someone's face when they see it drive by. It's classic because it makes an impression on someone.

You don't have to be old to be recognize that the car's a classic. I've found that my Spitfire is a babe magnet for teen age girls (lucky me) who are all younger than my floor mats.

They didn't have one when they were young (like me) and have fond memories of their youth associated with it (I do). They probably never saw one before, have no idea what it is but they recognize style and proportion of a classic, just like old farts do.

Is a K-car a Classic? Right now, no. It doesn't inspire anything in me when I look at it. Ask again in 50 years, you may get a different answer.

my two pence

mike

You'd have to plate a k-car in gold for me to think nice thoughts about it.

I think it'd be cool to have a wood-grain-panelled K-car wagon with a built 2.2 Turbo and a suspension built up from the best of the Mopar parts bin. Not a classic, but it'd be stupid fun.

Wow! Tim, that's a fantasy of mine. It'd be the ultimate Q-ship. My wife thinks I'm nuts whenever I see one on the road and tell her what I'd to do to it and how cool it'd be. There aren't many K-cars around the Northeast anymore, but when you do see one for sale it's dirt cheap, a few hundred bucks at most.

Yeah, it's hard to get wive's on board with the ultimate k-q-car fantasy. But you could probably build a screaming quick little wagon for a grand or two.