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Auto Express Car Reviews
Mike Brewer's column
Will future classic car shows feature the current crop of cars?
14th November 2006
With every generation of new car comes a big leap in technology. It was only a few years ago when we saw power-steering for the first time, then ABS arrived, along with electric windows and central locking. Today, all that is fitted as standard plus a lot more besides, and hi-tech gizmos keep on coming with every new motor.
A few years ago, sat-nav was reserved for the rich and famous. Last Christmas, we all wanted one. So what's next? Radar-sensitive cruise control, vibrating seats and hand-warming steering wheels are just around the corner, and they will become the norm in a very short space of time.
But with every new leap of faith, I feel we could be losing sight of what made us love our cars in the first place. I have just had three of my best days ever presenting the Classic Car Show at the NEC exhibition hall in Birmingham. Now most of you might think that this is a small collection of rusty metal relics, along with a few blokes with beards begging to talk about them. In truth, it's four big halls with more than 1,000 cars on display, and over 40,000 people coming to see them.
And the visitors aren't just people wandering around with a passing interest. They are real petrolheads: people like you and me who love motoring. Fortunately, many of them want to keep our heritage alive, and spend almost every hour nurturing their cherished vehicles for us to enjoy.
During the three days I was there, I realised how much I'd forgotten about what made me get into cars in the first place. The thrill of climbing behind the wheel of an old Ford Cortina or a Rover P6 brought memories flooding back - that smell of musky leather is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. But it was the challenges faced by the owners that got me thinking. Running a classic car isn't only about polishing the shiny bits. It's a way of life. For owners, it means more than just popping into a car superstore for a wiper blade or an oil filter. They have to build a network of contacts around the world who can help with bits and pieces to keep the things running.
One fellow called Rob that I spoke to has a mid-Fifties Citroen DS. He had to source parts from America, Australia, Sweden, France and Spain just to get the car to the show. So as he said, it's kind of ironic that all classic car owners have to embrace the latest computer technology to find components on the Internet from across the globe. Of course, the really amazing thing is that these cars are so simple, with no special braking systems, no power-steering, no electric windows, nothing. But they all keep on going. Only one car suffered a mechanical failure at the show - a Ford Capri with a faulty immobiliser. It was the only modern piece of kit on the motor!
I just wonder if, in the future, we will have classic car shows with today's motors and think of them with similar affection. In my opinion, the current crop of cars don't have the same character and don't need the level of care that the old-timers required just to keep them running. And it's in that sense that I don't think we worry about our modern motors in the same way. They're a commodity we simply use, abuse and sell on.
Somehow, I just can't see myself as a grey old man talking at some classic car show of the future about the Citroen C6 in quite the same way.
Mike Brewer presents ITV's Wrecks to Riches and Revved Up, the British Rally on Channel 4 and Wheeler Dealers on Discovery Real Time
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| Running a classic car isn't only about polishing the shiny bits. It's a way of life | |
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A few years ago, sat-nav was reserved for the rich and famous. Last Christmas, we all wanted one. So what's next? Radar-sensitive cruise control, vibrating seats and hand-warming steering wheels are just around the corner, and they will become the norm in a very short space of time.
But with every new leap of faith, I feel we could be losing sight of what made us love our cars in the first place. I have just had three of my best days ever presenting the Classic Car Show at the NEC exhibition hall in Birmingham. Now most of you might think that this is a small collection of rusty metal relics, along with a few blokes with beards begging to talk about them. In truth, it's four big halls with more than 1,000 cars on display, and over 40,000 people coming to see them.
And the visitors aren't just people wandering around with a passing interest. They are real petrolheads: people like you and me who love motoring. Fortunately, many of them want to keep our heritage alive, and spend almost every hour nurturing their cherished vehicles for us to enjoy.
During the three days I was there, I realised how much I'd forgotten about what made me get into cars in the first place. The thrill of climbing behind the wheel of an old Ford Cortina or a Rover P6 brought memories flooding back - that smell of musky leather is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. But it was the challenges faced by the owners that got me thinking. Running a classic car isn't only about polishing the shiny bits. It's a way of life. For owners, it means more than just popping into a car superstore for a wiper blade or an oil filter. They have to build a network of contacts around the world who can help with bits and pieces to keep the things running.
One fellow called Rob that I spoke to has a mid-Fifties Citroen DS. He had to source parts from America, Australia, Sweden, France and Spain just to get the car to the show. So as he said, it's kind of ironic that all classic car owners have to embrace the latest computer technology to find components on the Internet from across the globe. Of course, the really amazing thing is that these cars are so simple, with no special braking systems, no power-steering, no electric windows, nothing. But they all keep on going. Only one car suffered a mechanical failure at the show - a Ford Capri with a faulty immobiliser. It was the only modern piece of kit on the motor!
I just wonder if, in the future, we will have classic car shows with today's motors and think of them with similar affection. In my opinion, the current crop of cars don't have the same character and don't need the level of care that the old-timers required just to keep them running. And it's in that sense that I don't think we worry about our modern motors in the same way. They're a commodity we simply use, abuse and sell on.
Somehow, I just can't see myself as a grey old man talking at some classic car show of the future about the Citroen C6 in quite the same way.
Mike Brewer presents ITV's Wrecks to Riches and Revved Up, the British Rally on Channel 4 and Wheeler Dealers on Discovery Real Time
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