Dilbert and restoring old cars.

[Louis Smith]

Cars looking too much alike, or complaints about such, is far from unique to today.  This has been a complaint from some people going back 50+ years.

50 years ago?  1963?  Not the way I remember it.  I think the different marquees were still very distinguishable.  Enthusiasts still could tell make and year a block away.

I can still give you year and make of these cars.

[Louis Smith]

Despite similar looks, they did sell well at the time.

Yes they did a decent job of selling, but the total sales was on the decline since 1986.

[Big Apple Caddy]

50 years ago?  1963?  Not the way I remember it.  I think the different marquees were still very distinguishable.  Enthusiasts still could tell make and year a block away.

I can still give you year and make of these cars.

Yes, even back the 1960s.  Below is part of the copy from a Chevrolet ad in 1962 as just one example.  Advertisements, newspaper columns, editorials, etc. have had comments about cars looking alike for many decades.

As the same time, it is not uncommon for people to be more "connected" to and be able to more easily identify cars of their youth than modern cars.  It happens generation after generation, decade after decade.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Yes they did a decent job of selling, but the total sales was on the decline since 1986.

But sales still stayed above 260,000 through the end of the 1980s.  It wasn't until 1991 when sales took a dive to below 215,000 and then to 180,000 in 1995.

[Louis Smith]

Yes, even back the 1960s.  Below is part of the copy from a Chevrolet ad in 1962 as just one example.  Advertisements, newspaper columns, editorials, etc. have had comments about cars looking alike for many decades.

As the same time, it is not uncommon for people to be more "connected" to and be able to more easily identify cars of their youth than modern cars.  It happens generation after generation, decade after decade.

Advertising is meant to be sell products and shouldn't be taken as gospel.  I remember a local Chevrolet dealer in the 70's that showed the front of a Cadillac and the front of a Cadillac, and said why pay more?  The same was done by a local used Cadillac dealer that advertised why spend more for a Chevy, then a quality "previously owned"  Cadillac. 

[Louis Smith]

But sales still stayed above 260,000 through the end of the 1980s.  It wasn't until 1991 when sales took a dive to below 215,000 and then to 180,000 in 1995.

260,000 is a far cry from the from the 1978 total of 350,000! 

[Big Apple Caddy]

Advertising is meant to be sell products and shouldn't be taken as gospel.  I remember a local Chevrolet dealer in the 70's that showed the front of a Cadillac and the front of a Cadillac, and said why pay more?  The same was done by a local used Cadillac dealer that advertised why spend more for a Chevy, then a quality "previously owned"  Cadillac.

The 1962 ad is no more gospel than the Lincoln Continental commercial you responded to but as I said, it was just one example.  People have been commenting and complaining about modern cars of given eras looking alike for generations!

[Big Apple Caddy]

260,000 is a far cry from the from the 1978 total of 350,000!

Yet not nearly as bad as the sales drop to 180,000 in 1995 and then 170,000 in 1996.  Despite a slow start to the 1980s due to economic factors, average sales of the 1980s were still largely in line with sales of the 1970s.  It was the 1990s that became a different story.  Competition from the nouveau luxury imports that started to take hold in the 1990s is what hurt Cadillac.

[Louis Smith]

The 1962 ad is no more gospel than the Lincoln Continental commercial you responded to but as I said, it was just one example.  People have been commenting and complaining about modern cars of given eras looking alike for generations!

The Lincoln ad was based on fact.  There really isn't denying that the Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks of that era were sometimes difficult to tell apart, especially to those that aren't what might be called car enthusiasts.  Agreed people are and have been always complaining about cars for generations.  The difference was the complaints have changed over the years.

[Big Apple Caddy]

The Lincoln ad was based on fact.  There really isn't denying that the Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles and Buicks of that era were sometimes difficult to tell apart, especially to those that aren't what might be called car enthusiasts.  Agreed people are and have been always complaining about cars for generations.  The difference was the complaints have changed over the years.

The Lincoln commercial was no more or less "fact" based than the 1962 Chevrolet ad I posted or the sample ad copy clips I've included below from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. 

I for one had and have no trouble distinguishing the 1980s FWD Buick Electra from the Cadillac DeVille from the Oldsmobile 98 but once again, this issue with cars looking alike has been a complaint of some for generations and therefore has also been used in marketing pieces for generations.

[Louis Smith]

The Lincoln commercial was no more or less "fact" based than the 1962 Chevrolet ad I posted or the sample ad copy clips I've included below from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. 

I for one had and have no trouble distinguishing the 1980s FWD Buick Electra from the Cadillac DeVille from the Oldsmobile 98 but once again, this issue with cars looking alike has been a complaint of some for generations and therefore has also been used in marketing pieces for generations.

Both my remarks concerning the Lincoln add and the similiar looks of the Buicks, Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles pertain to the 1985-86 models.  I don't ever remember growing up in the 50's ever hearing about cars looking the same.

[bcroe]

I could never understand why since the beginning, cars of a similar year
looked so much alike.  Why did it take DECADES to get rid of the running
boards, and widen the passenger compartment to the same as the fenders? 
To be really conspicuous, I take the yellow 79 Eldo. 

The basic issue with keeping old cars on the road, is periodic maintenance. 
But my late 70s cars require far less maintenance than 50s & 60s.  I don't
think they are getting much better any more, just more expensive.  My
well maintained 77 has made many a trip from the north to south borders
of the US, and also east coast trouble free at average speeds around 66 mph. 
And 19 mpg for a 6.6L 4150 lb car that only cost $4000.  It is now a contest
to see if it can outlast a Honda here, which has been to the dealer a lot more. 
The number will be more than 300,000 miles.  Bruce Roe

[Louis Smith]

I could never understand why since the beginning, cars of a similar year
looked so much alike.  Why did it take DECADES to get rid of the running
boards, and widen the passenger compartment to the same as the fenders? 
To be really conspicuous, I take the yellow 79 Eldo. 

The basic issue with keeping old cars on the road, is periodic maintenance. 
But my late 70s cars require far less maintenance than 50s & 60s.  I don't
think they are getting much better any more, just more expensive.  My
well maintained 77 has made many a trip from the north to south borders
of the US, and also east coast trouble free at average speeds around 66 mph. 
And 19 mpg for a 6.6L 4150 lb car that only cost $4000.  It is now a contest
to see if it can outlast a Honda here, which has been to the dealer a lot more. 
The number will be more than 300,000 miles.  Bruce Roe

Are cars really getting more expensive?  Yes the prices are up there, but adjusted for inflation, are they really any more expensive then years gone by?  I really don't know. For a true comparison, we would need a total car cost, including maintenance, comparison.  I think cars today are better built and have better warranties.

[bcroe]

Are cars really getting more expensive?  Yes the prices are up there, but
adjusted for inflation, are they really any more expensive then years gone by?  I really don't know. For
a true comparison, we would need a total car cost, including maintenance, comparison.  I think cars
today are better built and have better warranties.

The measure is, how many months does it take a middle class wage earner to make the price
of a mid range car?  Its way up.  Part of that is because they are far more complicated.  They
do OK until repairs are needed.  A broken headlight for my 77 is $10; new molded in can be hundreds. 
Overhaul kit for my alternator $25, install the alt in 10 minutes.  A Honda alt is $500 and you have
to remove part of the suspension to install it.  ON and ON.  Once the wiring starts to go, the new cars
are doomed; no problem on mine.  Warranties are OK initially, but they are irrelevant when cars are
well past 200,000 miles (like everything here, including the Honda).  See my 77 bumper sticker. 
Bruce

[Big Apple Caddy]

The measure is, how many months does it take a middle class wage earner to make the price
of a mid range car?  Its way up.  Part of that is because they are far more complicated.  They
do OK until repairs are needed.  A broken headlight for my 77 is $10; new molded in can be hundreds. 
Overhaul kit for my alternator $25, install the alt in 10 minutes.  A Honda alt is $500 and you have
to remove part of the suspension to install it.  ON and ON.  Once the wiring starts to go, the new cars
are doomed; no problem on mine.  Warranties are OK initially, but they are irrelevant when cars are
well past 200,000 miles (like everything here, including the Honda).  See my 77 bumper sticker. 
Bruce

Thanks to longer term financing opportunities and low LOW payment lease deals, new cars are more easily attainable today than in the past.  This is particularly true for one time luxury brands.  Cadillac lease payments in the $200s?  Unheard of in the past, adjusting for inflation.

Pricing is lower on many cars too.  Since Honda has been mentioned, 30 years ago a Honda Accord sedan (which was actually smaller than today's Civic sedan) without even air conditioning started at nearly $20,000 in today's dollars.  A Civic LX, LOADED by 1980s standards, starts at only $19,000 today.

Today's cars are also lasting notable longer as far as both years and mileage.

[bcroe]

My experience, a 50s car was pretty worn passing 120,000 miles.  By the 60s
cars could coaxed past 200K with a great deal of maintenance.  The late 70s
with electronic alternator & HEI would do 200K with far less maintenance. 
Those engines if properly serviced, seem to be capable of many more miles. 
Heading to 300K takes a lot more of mufflers, suspension rebuilds, U joints,
water pumps, etc, but is doable.  I think the latest cars don't reach that point
as soon, but when they do, they are entirely unaffordable to repair.  Once
they reach the age of the cars I drive, the electronics will fail with no new
parts available, and they are doomed (this is already starting to happen). 

When I was at the Ho..da dealer waiting for repairs (too complex for me to do),
I noted there was nothing below $30K on the floor for the tinyest car there,
and $40K and up for anything else.  That doesn't jive with the above at all;
however these cars all seemed to have some kind of outrageously expensive
wheel & trim package.  Maybe that was the wrong dealer.  Bruce Roe

[Louis Smith]

The measure is, how many months does it take a middle class wage earner to make the price
of a mid range car?  Its way up.  Part of that is because they are far more complicated.  They
do OK until repairs are needed.  A broken headlight for my 77 is $10; new molded in can be hundreds. 
Overhaul kit for my alternator $25, install the alt in 10 minutes.  A Honda alt is $500 and you have
to remove part of the suspension to install it.  ON and ON.  Once the wiring starts to go, the new cars
are doomed; no problem on mine.  Warranties are OK initially, but they are irrelevant when cars are
well past 200,000 miles (like everything here, including the Honda).  See my 77 bumper sticker. 
Bruce

I couldn't agree with you more.  The only thing I could add is that I think a cars are affordable if people stay within their budgets, and don't buy a car they really can't afford.  It seems to me that a low range car, has more standard equipment then cars 20+ years ago.  Yes there is no such thing anymore as a cheap repair.  It is for this reason that I have been leasing for over 20 years.  No surprises!  I know up front what the costs of ownership is going to be.  All I have to pay for extra is gas and oil changes.

[Big Apple Caddy]

When I was at the Ho..da dealer waiting for repairs (too complex for me to do),
I noted there was nothing below $30K on the floor for the tinyest car there,
and $40K and up for anything else.  That doesn't jive with the above at all;
however these cars all seemed to have some kind of outrageously expensive
wheel & trim package.  Maybe that was the wrong dealer.  Bruce Roe

The Honda Fit, slightly larger than the Civics of decades ago, starts at only $16,200.   Even the Accord which is much larger than any car Honda had offered decades ago starts at only $22,500.  And these are for LOADED cars by yesterday standards.

[Big Apple Caddy]

The only thing I could add is that I think a cars are affordable if people stay within their budgets, and don't buy a car they really can't afford.

This goes for houses too!!   Look at how much the average size of houses has grown over the years.  People were no longer satisfied with a reasonably sized, comfortable house and instead continued to want more and more and more, sometimes going beyond their means.

[Louis Smith]

This goes for houses too!!   Look at how much the average size of houses has grown over the years.  People were no longer satisfied with a reasonably sized, comfortable house and instead continued to want more and more and more, sometimes going beyond their means.

Ah the infamous "Real Estate Bubble"!  Not sure, but I think currently prospective buyers have to qualify themselves before they can purchase cars or homes.  I think this is especially true, when leasing cars, as it seems more and more manufacturers are offering deals, with no money down and very reasonable monthly payments.