Will Cars of Today Become Classics?

[JimmyZ]

you are thinking old technology. Even the latest stuff can be smaller and lighter:

http://www.teslamotors.com/ <- I'd take one of those any day.

just imagine when battery technology makes its next jump.

THAT is a beautiful car! 98K is a bit steep but I'm sure that this will be a classic:) I've always been fascinated by the real Tesla's inventions. Cars like this make for a future we can hope for. Fast, beautiful cars AND clean air.

Don't get me wrong. I DO enjoy the smells of the Z and will miss them when that day comes.

2c

Jim

[ta240]

THAT is a beautiful car! 98K is a bit steep but I'm sure that this will be a classic:)

yep, all they need is the standard price drop as the technology gets better and more common. It basically runs off laptop batteries. I read awhile back about all the testing and batteries that caught fire and exploded while they tried to figure out how to keep them cool.

Just replace the engine in the Z with batteries up front and put the electric motor back where the gas tank and spare tire currently are. And no more changing oil! You just have to hum to make the engine sounds as you drive

We went on a tour of an old gold mine in the area once and they had people acting out the parts of the people that were there back at the start of the 1900's. The lady was telling a story about her electric car dieing on the way into town. Can you imagine if cars had gone the way of electric what our battery and electric motor technology would be at today?

[1 Bravo 6]

Hmmmm, yes,

I can just imagime ............

30 years from now, ..........

Young Will junior walks towards his "Classic" 2007 model whatever car with the remote opening ignition key in his hand, presses the "open" button, and nothing happens. "Oh, bugger it" he says as he unlocks the car manually and wonders where the heck he's going to get a replacement battery for the car key.

He gets behind the wheel, inserts the key and turns the ignition to on. Now, .... the thirty year old computer has been suffering from short term memory loss lately and, incorrectly, it refuses to acknowledge the key as being the correct one, thinks to itself,"Hmmm, someone's trying to steal me 'cause I'm a very valuable CLASSIC car" and, following it's 30 year old program, shuts itself down completely. Will Junior now wonders how he's going to get to the show n shine he's been looking forward to.

Poor Will Junior is now stuck with a dead 30 year old classic that not even dear old Will Senior's vast vehicle library can help solve his problem.

After listening to Junior's tale of woe, Will Senior, in sympathetic understanding, tosses a set of keys to Junior and says, "Here son, .... take the Zed".

Rick.

:devious::devious:

[The Wingnut]

It's inspiring...you can run diesel, jet fuel, just about any combustible with a low flashpoint and burn residue. The major weakness is that it's using a free turbine for power transfer.

...drop the turbine into the hatch area(put in a firewall and replace the rear hatch with a vented plex cover), use a shaft driven generator, hook the output to a transformer / rectifier. Put a small battery pack in the engine bay, and a high-torque electric motor(combined weight enough to offset the rearward shift from the turbine) on the trans input shaft. Run the motor off of the power output from the generator and dump the excess load into the battery pack, use the battery pack for electrical load balancing and emergency power.

Insane? Yes. Easier said than done? Sure! Makes cool noises? Oh, hell yes.

[karlb]

Gentlemen

I hope the Z cars become classics. I don't think they are there yet. Prices for 1st generation Z's are still rather modest. Check the prices in Hemmings or on e-bay.

Which of today's cars will become "classics" or special interest. It will be the ones the 20 something year olds are lusting for but can't yet afford. These future classics are fairly high end, moderate production volumes (not so limited that the guy next to you at the stop light won't know what it is, but enough that parts will be around for awhile), a little impractical (no granny cars or mini van people haulers) and styling that typifies the asperations of the generation. It will be the cars that they think are worth the long term costs to own.

The level of technology in most of today's cars (computerization and front wheel drive, etc.) and expense of repairs will rush most of today's cars to the scrap yard after there useful lives, eg., how many early to mid 80"s front wheel drive cars are still on the road-not many. The shade tree mechanic is just about history so the long term survival rate for the current crop of auto's will be relatively low.

My picks would be the Honda, Vette, Viper, Solistice, Sky, Gran Prix, maybe the Mustang GT 500 and the Dodge 1/2 ton with a Hemi.

karlb

[karlb]

Gentlemen

I hope the Z cars become classics. I don't think they are there yet. Prices for 1st generation Z's are still rather modest. Check the prices in Hemmings or on e-bay.

Which of today's cars will become "classics" or special interest. It will be the ones the 20 something year olds are lusting for but can't yet afford. These future classics are fairly high end, moderate production volumes (not so limited that the guy next to you at the stop light won't know what it is, but enough that parts will be around for awhile), a little impractical (no granny cars or mini van people haulers) and styling that typifies the asperations of the generation. It will be the cars that they think are worth the long term costs to own.

The level of technology in most of today's cars (computerization and front wheel drive, etc.) and expense of repairs will rush most of today's cars to the scrap yard after there useful lives, eg., how many early to mid 80"s front wheel drive cars are still on the road-not many. The shade tree mechanic is just about history so the long term survival rate for the current crop of auto's will be relatively low.

My picks would be the Honda, Vette, Viper, Solistice, Sky, Gran Prix, maybe the Mustang GT 500 and the Dodge 1/2 ton with a Hemi.

karlb

[KenshinX]

No one thinks about the Ev-1 excellent example of a replacement source to fossil fuels to bad about what happened to the car. I think if there were any left that it should also be a classic.