Old Cars vs. New Cars

As long-time readers of Militant Ginger might have realized, I have an allergy to modern automobiles (with some notable exceptions.)

While the style and character of older cars is inarguable, the practicalities of driving vintage (and in my case, not-so-vintage) vehicles is debatable. They're not as reliable, they often cost more to run and definitely cost more to maintain. But how much more?

I'd always lived by the assumption that my classic car saved me money. Running a clunker meant no monthly payments to make, cheaper insurance and no big outlay when you bought the thing. But how does that pan out in reality?

Well, for the first time ever I challenged my assumption and ran a comparison between my wife's fairly new Toyota Rav4 and 'The Locomotive' - my '89 Town Car.

You won't be surprised to learn that I was right - I do save money driving a 'clunker' - but not nearly as much as you might imagine. In fact, over five years, the cost of driving my classic is only a couple of thousand dollars short of what my wife pays.

It makes for astonishing maths. I've broken it down here - obviously, rounding up some of the figures and balancing others out (the Rav4 doesn't do the mileage The Locomotive does, for instance, so I did a miles-per-gallon comparison based on my commute.)

The assumption is that the sticker price on a 'new' car is ten times higher than that of a classic - meaning you're out of pocket from the very beginning. In fact, it doesn't mean that you lose out - especially since a newer car runs leaner, cleaner and more reliably than a clunker.


I'll clarify a few things from my chart. 'Monthly costs' includes maintenance bills spread out over the year, along with any car payments - for example, The Locomotive's two visits to the shop totaled $1,950 - a monthly cost of $163 - while the combined maintenance costs of the Rav4, plus the monthly hire-purchase payments, came to $250.

At the end of the day, I do come away almost $500 richer a year thanks to driving my Lincoln instead of the Rav4 - even taking into consideration the fact that it's thirstier and less reliable. And while I'm very happy with a 'monkey' in my pocket each year - that's still not nearly what I expected to be saving - especially given the fact that my car's paid for outright.

In fact, if we'd walked into the Toyota dealership and bought that car outright, instead of on hire-purchase, it would have ended up costing us less money than my Lincoln after five years. We'd have been saving $165 a year.

Mind you, when I'm in the financial situation to walk into a dealership and buy a nearly-new car in cash, perhaps I won't feel the need to quibble over a few hundred dollars - in which case, I'd still pick classic style over Japanese reliability any day of the week.

'Cops and Rodders' Classic Car Show

I've been too busy to post my pictures from the North Brunswick Classic Car show, sponsored by Malouf, the local car dealership. So finally, here they are!

It was in support of the local emergency services and a very pretty girl was walking around with an adorable dog taking donations.


The show itself was interesting. Unlike the Flemington Classic Car show, there were a wide variety of cars on display including many modern vehicles and lots that were modified in a way the classic-car purist might frown at. This Corvette with wing-style doors was a prime example.

There were also plenty of cars from my vintage, including quite a few Camaros that were the same age as Tiffany III. There were a couple of the latest generation of Firebirds and even an '88 Trans Am that didn't look that much smarter than mine!

Here's a very sexy Camaro from the seventies - just the sort of car I used to lust after.

This Ford F40 shouldn't even qualify as a classic car! It's a modern reinvention of the endurance-race classic. But it was lovely.

This Thunderbird was fascinating because it was 'unrestored.' That meant chipped paint and the odd ding - but not much considering the car was nearly sixty years old!

Right next to it was the restored version - which looked beautiful (but I secretly preferred the dented version.)

And, of course, no 'cops and rodders' show would be complete without some Hot Rods to enjoy.

This is a Dodge Viper truck, just like my brother-in-law Justin has.

This coupe (pronounced 'coop') had fold-up seats for extra passengers - as long as they didn't mind getting wet! Next time you're in your air-conditioned back seat, be thankful!

Compared to the Flemington show, the Cops and Rodders event was a little more low-key, but I enjoyed the cars they had on display a bit more. These were 'real' classic cars. The sort that got taken out and driven on a regular basis. That's what it's all about, if you ask me.

Monster Truck!

After a brief jaunt in my brother in law Justin's truck, I was grinning so hard my cheeks hurt.

He's got a limited edition Dodge Ram Viper. That's a Dodge Ram pick up truck, powered by the V10 engine of the Dodge Viper - a 200mph sports car.

Justin's added his own special touches to this incredible beast, including a supercharger and drag racing slicks. It's an incredible machine. It can do a standing quarter mile in 11 seconds! And it still has three seats up front and a flatbed for moving your mate's wardrobe!

Here's a video of our standing start!

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The Tiffany Connection: Triumph to Volvo

The Triumph TR7 will always hold a place in my heart.

It was my first car. It was a fast car. It was red and speedy and had pop up headlights.

Now when we bought the 480 Volvo, I didn't think it would come close. But research on the internet suggested a link perhaps nobody had thought of before.

The Triumph TR7 was designed to restore the fortunes of British Leyland, the zombie car company that artificially extended the life of the BMC and the British Car Industry.

During those heady days before the British Motor Trade slipped firmly down the pan, there were experiments into some kind of 'coupe' or even 'sports estate' featuring the floorplan of the TR7. The idea was the develop a 'hatchback' - something that did eventually arrive on and dominate the car market.

This was what they created. The Triumph Lynx. There was a similar model called the Triumph Broadside.

Now have a look at the good old Volvo 480 and it's possible to see quite a strong similarity.

It's Red. It has Pop Up Headlights. Have we been here before?

Well, Bebop the Renault it no more, so for a couple of days I was left using what in Britain is laughingly referred to as "Public Transport." The trip to and from work cost almost £30 a day and I didn't get home until 20h30 one night!

Tina and I spent this weekend looking for a new 'ride.'

Ironically, we found her in the next door parking space. In fact, actually IN our parking space more often then not. Our neighbour has an impressive collection of cars (three Volvos and two Minis) and Tina was inspired enough to ask if he had any for sale.

Behold a maroon red Volvo 480.



When I was a kid, I remember my father having a turbo edition of this same car and telling me how he once got up to 120mph in it. When I discovered The Saint I always wondered if an eighties version of Simon Templar would drive Volvo's only 'sports' car since the P1800.

And it was red and had pop-up headlights.

So we bought it.

Feeling Old

As I was filling up Bebop today, it occured to me that I'd been driving for over ten years.

And, in that time, petrol had almost doubled in price.

That made me feel very old. Especially as I found myself explaining to the sixteen year old behind the till that "back in my day, four star was only 54p a litre!"

Back in 1996, I was driving a lovely red Triumph TR7 called Tiffany. Sadly, they've double in price too. If only they'd doubled in reliability. Then maybe I'd have talked T into letting me have one!