In an era in which nostalgia seems to be one of the “in vogue” feelings (see the example of the famous “Revenge of the 90’s” parties), I found myself thinking a few days ago: current drivers are truly privileged.
Of course, we can even look at classic cars and admire many of their features and idiosyncrasies, however, the vast majority of us don't know what it was like to drive them on a daily basis.
30 years ago, there were many models on the market that still used manual windows and referred the simple radio to the list of options, and there were also those in which it was necessary to “close the air” to enrich the air/fuel mixture.
Furthermore, safety equipment like the airbag or ABS were luxuries and the ESP was little more than an engineers dream. As for the navigation systems, these boiled down to an open map on the hood.
However, in contrast to these simple and austere times, today the vast majority of cars present drivers with equipment such as air conditioning, navigation system and even systems that already promise (almost) autonomous driving!
Three instrument panels, all of them from Fiat models. The first belongs to a Fiat 124…
In addition to all this, we have cameras and sensors that help us maneuver the biggest models on the market, systems that brake for us and even park our car by ourselves — they remind me of a teacher I had who wanted such possibilities and, knowing that I liked cars, I was jokingly wondering what day that would be possible.
Offer for all tastes
In an era where any SUV works 150 km/h “without breaking a sweat”, carries four passengers comfortably and safely and offers more space than many C-segment models 20 years ago, today we have more powertrain options than ever before.
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25 years ago it was either diesel or gasoline. Today we can add to these various levels of electrification, from mild-hybrid to hybrids and plug-in hybrids. We can even do without the combustion engine altogether and opt for a 100% electric one!
One of the engines that powered the first generation of the BMW 3 Series.
Whichever engine is chosen, it is more powerful than its predecessors; at the same time that it uses less fuel, it has longer maintenance intervals and, be amazed, it does all this with less displacement and even fewer cylinders (a real “Columbus Egg”).
But there is more. If 20 years ago it was still common to see cars (mainly North American) with automatic four-speed gearboxes, today automatic gearboxes with seven, eight and nine speeds are increasingly common, CVTs have conquered their space and even the “old lady” manual cashier became “smart”.
Is better? It depends…
If on the one hand it's great to have cars that allow us to avoid fines for talking on the cell phone, which keep us “on the line”, ensure safe distance and even remove the “burden” of stop-and-go”, there is a small if not.
It's just that as the car evolves, the less connected the driver seems to be involved in the whole act of… driving. Furthermore, many drivers seem, unfortunately, convinced that fully autonomous driving is already a reality and find themselves relying excessively on all the “Guardian Angels” in their car.
Between these two interiors of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class are about 25 years apart.
Solutions to these two questions? The first is resolved with a few rides behind the wheel of classic cars, not daily, but on special days when it is possible to enjoy all its qualities (and there are many) without having to deal with their “currencies”.
The second problem, I think, can only be resolved by raising the awareness of drivers and, perhaps, with more punitive action on the part of the authorities.
All that said, yes, we ended up being truly privileged, as today we can not only enjoy the comfort, safety and all the other qualities of modern cars, but we can also enjoy the more marked character of its predecessors.