Nostalgia. Trend or weakness?

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Purchasing classics there

On the frayed edge of New Year's Eve we dreamed away for a moment about 'time'. Whether it is nostalgia, marketing or lack of fantasy? We have been bombarded with retro models for a while. Of course there are manufacturers who go retro completely off the cuff. Then you can get something like the Nissan Figaro from 1991. 20.000 of them were made - exclusively for the home market. But in the meantime, their lethality factor has also stolen a lot of European hearts. What makes the Figaro 'real'? That's its size. And the fact that it is not a 1 on 1 tribute to / a rip-off of a legendary classic.

Just like then, but bigger and rounder

And so we come to the marketing buzzes like the New Beetle, the new Fiat 500 and the new Minis. To us, all of those are "looks like, but isn't" stuff. And just because of their slow growth from the original, we don't see them as potential classics. What we were still 'waiting for'? That was the rebirth of the unsurpassed Citroën 2CV, a means of transport that was so basic in its genius that you really shouldn't be allowed to change it.

Unbeatable as original

There have been a number of tricks and set-ups over the years, but they never went into production. But in 2019, during the centenary of Citroen, the French reported stylishly: “We develop our designs by looking to the past, but what we don't want is to become a manufacturer that produces 'retro'. “We are not going to produce a new 2CV. That had its time, it was good, but it's about finding the next design that is right for the customer. ”

Less principled, but successful

That a less characterful approach can lead to successes, as proven by the new Fiat 500s and the giant Mini's. A bunch of Dutch Mini enthusiasts also proved how big such a new Mini is. They made a cardboard 1 on 1 model of a 1959 Mini. And that construction fit in its entirety in a 2010 model of a Mini Countryman. There only had to be wrinkled at the height of the center panel and under the dashboard, as with a kind of 'crumple zone 1.0'. Such a new Mini is therefore 34% longer, 43% wider and 16% larger than its example and namesake.

From the point of view of fans of clear cars with a brave combustion engine, those new retro's or name hijackers are not cars that are made to be cherished and preserved. They are the watershed between us as classic enthusiasts and 'ordinary' car enthusiasts. From the drawing board - RECOVERY: the screen - they were conceived to consist as much as possible of recyclable materials and to 'resemble'. And that such a car is called Mini Richmond Park Edition? It will.
For us, those newbies with their old names have no connection whatsoever with what we've been through and through when we drive and play with the originals.

And with all the often fleeting on-board electronics, we don't see them turning thirty, forty or fifty years old while driving.

In the past everything was ...

Before that, there will still be a lot of people, classic car enthusiasts, who know to appreciate what the technology of that time in its original form can offer pleasure. And that in the meantime we will see a lot of nice, new cars appearing in the light of day? Or the playful results of the work of free thinkers? Fortunately, we can still be sure of that.

Endearing: The Nissan Figaro

Fortunately canceled: the New 2CV

You don't get them much more classic: Two daily drivers

A facelift to look older: From Jumper to - sort of - HY. But that was conceived outside the factory

 

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11 comments

  1. Retro can be fun.
    Not everyone has the space, time and money to drive a real classic.
    Sure, the New MINi isn't about anything, of course, but the 500 is pretty funny.
    Honda also turned to retro a few years ago with the CB1100.
    There are actually no more fun, recognizable motorbikes for the older age group and not everyone really likes these “Transformers” of today.
    This is how the CB1100 was created with in mind a tribute to the CB750, because it is also an air / oil cooled, the capacity was increased to 1100 cc to still get the necessary horsepower.
    In itself it looks quite nice and drives well, but because everyone wanted comstar rims underneath and a 4 to 1 Marshall damper, Honda thought it would be good to realize this in it, However, it was said that the original 750 wire wheels and 4 dampers, the CB1100 is now equipped with wire wheels and 2 dampers.
    Because the modern petrol injection missed the irregularity of the 4 carburettors, Honda has shifted the camshaft timing of 2 cylnders a few degrees, and to make so nice tapping the hot cylinders, the slats run from thick to thinner so that there is a material tension in them. create. So we really thought about making something fun out of it. And ………… he always does.

  2. Nice things. However, I am waiting for Citroën with natural gas engine and auxiliary tank of petrol. Type Berlingo, max speed 130 km / h.
    Modern design with extremely low CW value.

  3. During part of 70's and beginning of 80's I had one Dyane 6. So, I'm very curious about the possibility of “ressurrection” of a 2CV replica. The model shown is only one “salon prototype” or could arrive to production lines?

  4. Well what can I say about this now, I used to own several minis in all versions and with their sometimes stubborn whims. I was a big fan of that little all-rounder. Something I never tried with a mini was to move with it, other vehicles existed for that. An old mini was a driver's car with a very high level of fun. In addition to a number of classic cars that I now own, there is also a modern mini, an R53 that I often use for open tour rides and it is also an S. Not that much larger than an original one but the article refers to the huge sizes of the new mini, in my view that only applies to the latest versions which in my opinion no longer have much to do with the original.
    But one of those from the first series? mm delicious row iron, especially in the S version with 170hp under the hood. Anyone who claims otherwise has not understood what it is about and mini or he has never driven it. For me it is not inferior to a classic, you can have a lot of fun with it.

  5. Once, as a true Mini-driver, I got a colleague pissed off when I helped her put some boxes in her car… you guessed it; a Bini (BMW MINI).
    As I walked into the parking lot and asked "where are you?", She let me know that "that MINI" was hers.
    “A Mini? For real? How nice! ” I called and walked (deliberately of course) past her..eh..things.
    "Where?" I asked quasi-silly while standing with my back behind her car.
    "THERE!" and she showed me her BMW thing.
    Quasi-disappointed I muttered "..and I think you were driving a Mini .."

    I never had to help her again ...

    • A BMW dingest. I can find myself in that. However good they may be. But what are brands anyway? I just read that a New Brand has been added: Stellantis, the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA, Fiat Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Abarth, Maserati, Dodge, Ram, Peugeot, Citroen , DS, Opel and Vauxhall all become Stellantissen

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