Plastic may not rust, but how easy is it going to be to find replacement parts for these cars in the next thirty years? The difference is, that the cars produced in the fifties and sixties were built to last, or at least built to be restorable. If my little Nissan makes it through another ten years, it will be very lucky. We have evolved into a disposable society, and it is even built into our cars. The thin sheet metal and plastic will not hold up like our old Imperials. I believe in 50 years from now, you will be seeing very few classic cars from our present era, unless someone has put one on ice. Today's cars are beautiful machines, loaded with luxury items, horsepower, and tremendous handling, but unfortunately not built to last, but built to throw away. I have a coworker who just bought a new Honda Civic Hatchback, who is constantly searching the Internet for an older Honda Civic.
When I asked him why he wanted another car, his reply was, in order to save wear and tear on his new Civic. My thoughts are why buy a new old piece of crap, to save a new piece of crap! I like my '91 300ZX, and it has held it's value in today's disposable car market, but when I sell it, it will most likely go into the hands of a drug dealer or teenager with enough money to pay the insurance, who will drive it into the ground, or destroy it, and then make it's way to the crusher. My Imperial on the other hand has been neglected for years, but due to it's nature is able to be restored to showroom condition. Let me see one of today's cars in 43 years looking as good as my Imperial. This is something that can never happen with the cars of today, nor would anyone want to preserve them. After all, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
Bill '59 Crown
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