Now you see it, now you don't.

[Squire_Dawson]

What happened to that chod? Why do cars disappear off the face of the earth and their names lost in the mists of time? There is regular discussion here about vehicles which were once common and now all but forgotten about. I was leafing through a 1966 Daily Express Earls Court Motor Show Guide, and thought about just how much has been lost over the years. I don't think natural corrosion and decay are entirely to blame, rather I believe it is a combination of wear and tear, obsolescence of desirability, being unappreciative of the car at the time and the difficulty of obtaining spares. Plus the fact that a car, if you are not regularly using it, is hard to store.

For instance, a quick look at howmanyleft.com shows Volga to be in single figures, a car which was sold RHD in this country, albeit in small numbers. I've never seen one. The United States had hundreds of car manufacturers which disappeared during the Depression, their products now equally obscure. It's true that nothing lasts forever, but interesting to see how times move on and things are forgotten about.

Now, if I could go back in time and have a nice, large, empty outbuilding... 

[FakeConcern]

This will only get worse as cars are harder/more expensive to repair and cheaper second hand.

[eddyramrod]

This will only get worse as cars are harder/more expensive to repair and cheaper second hand.

And the cars that can be repaired shoot up in price, as they already are.

[Squire_Dawson]

Oh, I don't give a hoot about modern shit, I'm rueful over the proper cars and machines that have been lost. Though the principles are the same.

[FakeConcern]

Oh, I don't give a hoot about modern shit, I'm rueful over the proper cars and machines that have been lost. Though the principles are the same.

I know what you mean, but may feel differently in 10 years time when modern stuff is old!

[danthecapriman]

It's the stuff that once was common that amazes me. I can remember Cortina's, Mk1/2 Granada's, Capri's and stuff like that being all over the place when I was younger but you just never seem to see them now. If common cars like these can disappear like they have then there's even less chance for the rarer more obscure stuff like FSO's, Wartburgs and the like.

[mercrocker]

Interesting.....Don't be too misled by the likes of Volga, though.  RHD listed and Earls Court attendees they may well have been (think they would have been Belgian with  Perkins diesel engines) but I only ever saw one - on a caravan site in Sussex.  I was an avid car-spotter - if they were around I would have seen 'em! 

 

Knowing I was a car geek, back in the 1960s elderly visitors to my parents would always tell me of the cars they had and I would sit goggle-eyed at the mention of Wolseley-Stellites, Napiers, Swifts, Beans and so on.   The names meant little to me but as I learned more I realised some of these had been major players in the industry - as Squire says - just Gone! 

 

A great-uncle of mine had the holy grail of Italian chod - Fiat 2300 saloon.  I was awe-struck when I saw it but all he wanted was to be driving around in a Willys like he did during WW2.   The Fiat inevitably rotted and was replaced with a pre-Farina A55 - he just didn't care about Fifties and Sixties cars and I suppose he was pretty typical of people who bought Standard Vanguard Sportsmans, Minx Californians, Morris Isises and so on.

 

Some of that 50s and 60s stuff I love so much was in all honesty pretty finished with by the time it was 7 or 8 years old, too.

[rantingYoof]

When I was growing up Sierras were about the most common place car I can remember seeing.

 

I get genuinely excited when I see one now. I saw what might have been a 2.8 the other week...but of course it's probably easier to buy badges/trim than find one of those that still runs.

[RoadworkUK]

It's because not enough people care.

 

There may well be somebody out there still desperately clinging to their twin-tub Hotpoint.

 

Come to think of it, whatever happened to all the 1987 calendars?

 

(Although I see what you mean and naturally wish the roads were clogged with old tat as well)

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Cars only tend to become rare if the majority don't give two shits about them as they become 'older motors'. Prime example is mk2 Cav vs. Capri. Cav was loved when new and sold in massive numbers. As soon as it was 3-4 years old, reps moved on, and no one else liked them enough to save them. Mass slaughtering ensued.

The Capri was popular when new, but still liked by many even when aging.