ALL cars 25 years old are classics

Dave Fields · August 17th, 2009

According to National Public Radio's All things Considered ( a liberal news program), all cars 25 years old are classics, and therefore are not part of the Clunker Program. You can hear it, just like I did on my radio. This aired Thursday August 13th, 2009:
Is 'Clunkers' Helping Or Hurting The Environment? : NPR

Note the hobby publication they quote.

alsancle · August 18th, 2009

It's best to not admit to listening to NPR in the first place. If they got the definition of Classic wrong then it matches the accuracy of their other "content".

BJM · August 22nd, 2009

Dave and Alsuncle,

It is recognized as a rolling figure for acceptance in many clubs for judging. That's it. It never referenced FULL CLASSIC and CCCA, and you knew it would not.

The mention of it is exceptional. When Cash for Clunkers and other legislation gets thought about, reviewed, debated by politicians, everyone in our hobby gets alarmed.

This recognition means we and our lobbyists are making a point - getting our message across. Otherwise, with funding - a whole lot of older-then-25-years-old cars would come out of the woodwork for scrapping.

I am conservative, usually a Republican and always a Libertarian, but I like NPR and All Things Considered. I am smart enough to recognize liberal positioning in their reporting but there is a lot more to NPR then events reporting. They have human interest stuff, reviews - that I would not get anywhere else.

Dave Fields · August 23rd, 2009

Jake, the concern is: Does the public know that? The word Classic, as used in this hobby seems to always mean "exception, better, a cut above the rest." This a classic Chevy is a 55, 56, 57, or a classic Mustang means a 1960's Mustang. This is in the same sense that anything spectacular in our vencaular is a Duesey.
I felt that the impression given was that we were a bunch that were wound up over anyting and everything 25 years old and older.
I too am troubled by NPRs slant on things, but it is a great source for current even topics for my college classes.

West Peterson · 4 Weeks Ago

According to the latest CCCA Bulletin, there is now thought and discussion going on about "recognizing" post 1948 "classics." sic transit gloria mundi

Restorer32 · 4 Weeks Ago

I figure since they have now bestowed knighthood on Chrysler Town and Countries it is only a matter of time until my '48 Buick Woody is a "Full Classic". The CCCA kinda reminds me of my college experience. When I enrolled the school was all male, had been for over 150 years and had something of the atmosphere of an English Boarding School. During my residence there the school went co-ed in the name of progress and long term financial survival. While the introduction of women to the campus was certainly a plus in many ways, there was some indescribable "something" that was lost as well. If the CCCA loses that "something" it would be a shame in my opinion. A 1947 Cadillac Convertible and a 1947 Buick Convertible share the same, identical bodies and conv top assemblies, no differences whatsoever in the basic body shells yet the Caddy is a Full Classic and the Buick is not. I fail to see the logic. Similarly, all '48 Buick Woodies began life as sedan bodies which were shared with the '47 Cadillac. Why should a stock '47 Cadillac be considered a Full Classic while a custom built (in this case by Hercules) Buick Estate Wagon is not?

West Peterson · 4 Weeks Ago

And the Buick is a much smoother running car as well. I did a comparison test this past weekend of some very nice examples. Not that the Cadillac is bad, but the straight-eight Buick runs soooo much smoother than the V8 Cadillac, giving a much more luxurious feeling while driving... which is what a Classic ride should feel like.

Trunk Rack · 4 Weeks Ago

Seems to me it is time to start up a new club, which might be called the NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA.

I propose that the NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA include in its HANDBOOK a"SIGNIFICANT CLUB POLICY" statement, in which it could delcare its interest in co-operating with "classic" car people, but insist that "dillution thru deviation of its principles is the power to destroy".

Lets keep those "classic" cars out of our new NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA!

What kind of cars would be eligible to participate in the NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA? Simple, only NON classic cars.

How do we tell a car that would be ineligible to participate because it is a "classic"?

Simple!

All you have to do is go to a magazine stand selling publications related to used cars. Look around at the cars that are called "classic" by today's used-car salemen-"promoters". Classic T birds. Classic Edsels. Classic Chevies. Classic hot rods. Classic low riders. Classic pick-up trucks. Classic Fords. Classic...why...heck...EVERYTHING made after the 1930's is a "classic" today! Why stop at post-war Buicks ?

How to find out which cars WOULD be elegible to participate in our new NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA?

Simple - why not just find an old HANDBOOK of the CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA, say, one prior to the mid 1960's, and use that list for "acceptability"..?

We'd have to be firm on keeping "classic" cars out of our new NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA. The danger would be obviousl You'd certainly want to use an early list - otherwise, sooner or later some guy would claim his 1941 Cadillac 60 Special Fleetwood was a NON CLASSIC and want to join. And we all know where that would lead...

Now of course if we limited participation of our new NON CLASSIC CAR CLUB OF AMERICA, just to cars on that old CCCA list, we'd have a teenie weenie insigificant dying useless club...wouln't we. Kind of like the CCCA was prior to the "dillution" (which began in the mid 1960's)...how terrible things were for the CCCA in those days. Only about 2,000 members. Things were SO terrible then, werent they....

Trunk Rack · 4 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by West Peterson

. . . . , but . . .Buick runs soooo much smoother than the V8 Cadillac, giving a much more luxurious feeling while driving... which is what a Classic ride should feel like.

WES IS SO RIGHT. HIS REASONING IS FLAWLESS. THAT IS WHY I CANT WAIT TILL MY TOYOTA RAV IS TWENTY FIVE YEARS OLD & AND THEN IT WILL BE A CLASSIC ANTIQUE TOO. AFTER ALL, IT IS SO MUCH SMOOTHER, FASTER, AND BETTER RIDING THAN SOME OLD BUICK.

gary1943 · 4 Weeks Ago

Dave Fields,

A liitle off the thread so excuse me. Are you from Enid, OK?

Thanks,

Gerald Cline
Las Cruces, NM