Tropicana Nov-Dec 2017 #116 Celebrating the Classics

THE DRIVE
ALFA GT
TOYOTA COROLLA
But a person who grew up with
a Corolla, had a Corolla in the
family, learned to drive in a
Corolla – those are memories
that make a car valuable
to someone
is he likely to put big money down on the original Bentley
Mulsanne. It is different strokes for different folks, but with
that in mind it can be surprising what cars some people will
find value in – what they regard as classic cars.
To reiterate – it’s not that the Toyota Corolla from
the 1960s isn’t regarded as a classic, but rather that most
people simply won’t feel an immediate connection when
they see one. But a person who grew up with a Corolla,
had a Corolla in the family, learned to drive in a Corolla –
those are memories that make a car valuable to someone,
whether it’s a popular opinion or not. Between a multimillion
dollar concourse-condition E-Type, and a good
example of “that Alfa GT that you used to see around your
neighbourhood growing up”, there’s a strong chance you
would pick (and have more fun with) that Alfa GT simply
for the sentiment.
And it’s for that reason that cars nowadays are less
likely to have that classic status in a few decades’ time.
They’re forgettable consumer items, save for a select
special few, engineered with cost cutting measures and
planned obsolescence. Nobody wants to remember a car
that’s rife with cheap plastics and a forgettable power
plant. If anything, they’re more likely to want to forget.
We have to keep our classic cars alive, regardless of
age or class, simply because they will eventually come
to represent a part of automotive engineering that
has permanently disappeared. Tightening regulations
and laws are forcing manufacturers to move towards
electrification, and there will be a day in the future when
the internal combustion engine will be no more.
TM | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017
118