The Allure of a Well-Preserved Disposable Car
The in-your-face, status-shouting value of owning a Bugatti Chiron or a Pagani Huayra is undeniable. You’re practically guaranteed a front-row valet spot and a crowd of admirers anywhere you go. In the right setting, however, that crowd can quickly be pulled away from even the most rarefied exotic. Let’s say someone shows up in something like a perfectly preserved early Volkswagen Scirocco, rust-free and complete with shiny original paint and funky plaid seats. The old VW is now the most interesting thing on the block. I’ve seen this scenario play out multiple times at car shows, and the massive crowd shift drives the supercar owners bonkers. There’s clear, crowd-pleasing power in owning a time capsule, an extraordinary example of an ordinary car.
My recent purchase of an insanely nice 1978 Porsche 924 is driving this point home to me. Of all the Porsches that suffer from “not-a-911” syndrome, the 924 gets hit the worst. It’s not even close. Sure, the 914 garnered its share of hate, but at least it has tons of Porsche DNA. The front suspension, and some of the interior fittings are pure 911. And most importantly, it’s air-cooled, and there was also a Porsche flat-six engine option.
The 924, on the other hand, was a VW/Audi sports car project that died on the vine. Porsche did the design work on the car and then took it over as its new entry-level offering upon its abandonment by VW. Most 924s were used, abused, and discarded. At the average Porsche event, you have a far better chance of seeing a 959 or a Carrera GT than a pristine original 924. And that, in a nutshell, is a large part of how owning a nice example of a fairly “ordinary” vintage car has a huge appeal. Yes, Porsche sold 924s in six-figure quantities, but that was decades ago, and attrition means they’re actually quite rare today. While the collector car world tends to judge “rarity” based on production numbers, it’s the survivorship numbers that tell the real story. I’d wager that there are fewer truly good-quality examples of the 924 in the U.S. than there are Carrera GTs, (of which just 644 sold here). With the exception of some high-profile accidents, most of those 644 Carrera GTs are still with us, while the vast majority of the 100,000 or so 924s sold in the U.S. have been recycled, perhaps several times over.
Another significant part of the appeal of owning a great example of an unremarkable car is the fact that they’re infinitely more relatable. For a brief period of time, I owned a crazy nice Volvo 940 Turbo wagon. In addition to the fun I had with its easy wrenchability and the solidity of an Easter Island moai, the relatability of cars like this is off the charts. I lived in suburban Washington, D.C. at the time, and it seemed like at least one person at every gas station had memories of being toted to their Bethesda or Chevy Chase prep school in the back of one. Some even had relatives who were original owners still in possession of their classic boxy Volvo wagon from the 1990s. It was a multiple RADwood attendee where it never failed to gather its share of admirers.
Cars like this weren’t anything particularly special 30 years ago, but they certainly are now. Over the course of my life I’ve owned some really lovely, and often rare, cars like a Ferrari 308, a Jaguar E-type, a Lotus Esprit, and a Porsche 911 Turbo. None have succeeded in gathering more attention, and good-natured conversation than that militantly rectilinear Volvo.
Finally, the backstory of a well-preserved, but fairly ordinary car is almost always compelling. The how and why that explain a car’s unlikely survival and state of preservation are generally interesting and sometimes even inspiring. We react to a perfect, low-mileage Chevette in much the same way as we do to an unopened can of pork and beans from the late nineteenth century, with a sense of curiosity and amazement. And if you know some of your car’s backstory, it’s always fun to play detective and try to piece more of it together.
Need more proof of the allure of a well-preserved disposable car? In just 10 years, Hagerty UK’s Festival of the Unexceptional has become one of Europe’s most beloved car shows. A review of the show in the UK’s Rush magazine put it this way: “Never will you experience an automotive palate cleanse that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling as you do at this show. It shows that this hobby really can cater to everyone and that there is always a car that’ll be special to someone.”
I once owned a 1982 Porsche 931 – a turbocharged 924 of around 170 HP. Mine had upgraded 928 16 inch wheels and 911 brakes. Yes it was fast, could stop on the proverbial dime, and the handling was second to no other car I’ve owned. It was fun putting my foot in it and feeling her rear up and buck when the waste gate popped off. I sure miss that car. 😀
Great article Rob. The focus of my modest collection of vehicles has always been a variety of 80s-90s models. While popular when new, most have now all but vanished on the roads these days. I’m all about driving them, not tinkering. Most vehicles from this era are equipped with A/C, fuel injection, decent suspension, acceptable safety features, etc, and can keep up with modern
traffic. I added most to my collection when they were most affordable, so in case one has a major failure or accident the end result isn’t catastrophic.
My experiences with my 1989 Pontiac Firebird Formula perfectly align with this article. The third-generation F-bodies (Firebird & Camaro) were absolutely throw-away sports cars; they were relatively inexpensive to buy when new, rapidly lost their value, and the succession of owners usually drove them until they were unceremoniously towed to the scrapyard or left to rot in a driveway or field. Mine is almost completely original, save for the usual wear items, still runs like a top (obviously with some effort on my part to keep it so), and it always draws people to it wherever it goes since it’s so unusual to see one on the road at all — much less one in the condition mine is in.
I’ve even managed to cross paths with someone who out-did me in keeping an all-original SECOND-generation Firebird on the road and looking sharp!
As the saying goes: they’re only original once; and to chat with the owner of one of these rolling time capsules always invites an interesting story.
Gee, I would really like to attend a Festival of Unexceptional cars.
Bought my Bright Island blue 02 Ranger Flareside the original owner. Attracts more attention than I could have imagined. Teens and 20 year olds think it is “so sick”.
I’ve always been a car guy! I won a 1999 Toyota 4 Runner at the estate of a local physician. The vehicle was a one owner car, sub 100k mile, loaded including sport hood, emerald dark green and loads of receipts.
Great article, Im always hunting another bargain..
I’ve been doing that with Ramblers since 1979! No one wanted them, especially the homely looking 61-63 Americans that I grew to love. A teenage girl getting ready to get her first car saw one of mine I had for sell in the early 90s and said “it was so ugly it’s cute!” and wanted it. I told her to bring her dad around and we’d talk. Never saw them! If he’d been a car guy able to do some maintenance it might have worked out, but I doubt he’d have been interested in a Rambler. I still have two. They aren’t so cheap and unwanted any more, but are compared to other makes of the same era. So they are still appealing budget classics.
Do you ever do articles on Toyotas? I have a 1984 Toyota Celica Supra that I’ve owned since 1984. ,my husband and I bought it in September of that year and it had 17000 miles on it at that time. I store it during the cold months. I still enjoy driving it and occasionally take it to car shows. It’s stock and still in good condition a
Having just sent a one owner Scion xA with 266,171 miles on it to the great beyond I have to admit that it was oddly satisfying that the car still looked and drove great, but after replacing a starter, alternator, transmission, and head gasket within 6 months, I was done when the pin in the crank shaft the clocks the harmonic balancer broke. Sometimes it can be just a one dollar part that kills what was a perfectly good car.
It’s funny. My 1991 Miata with 190 k miles kind of fits this category, at least in terms of being cheap and bringing a smile and a thumbs up to a broad swath of the public. Many have been disposed of as they were a cheap blank canvas to be souped up and personalized. But in some ways the Miata doesn’t fit, because people have always appreciated them as more than just a regular disposable car. I think even most people who have disposed of them understand that then and do now. I’m never disposing mine.
“None have succeeded in gathering more attention, and good-natured conversation than that militantly rectilinear Volvo.”
The only car I’ve ever driven that caused other owners of the same make wave every time we passed each other was a ’65 Volvo 544S. Not the same model, mind you, just a Volvo. This was back in ’70 or ’71. I wonder if that car would get the same reaction now?
I have 2 Saab 96 V4s I drive daily. Both white. My trusty rusty all weather ‘67 with maybe 200k miles and a lovely survivor ‘68 DeLuxe with around 50k. 4-speeds on the column with vintage rally car handling. Easy to work on and they draw more thumbs up than a Lambo. Love them.
Time for an ‘unexceptional’ show in the US… perhaps Phoenix!
I would recommend the 924S as it has a 944 engine
Same experience with a ’91 CRX (not the Si); people stop me on the street either asking me to sell it or recounting fond memories of driving a CRX 30+ years ago.