How time changes our perceptions...

[Monolith2001]

I was surfing Youtube and came across a retro review for a car that was considered the gold standard of performance sedans (it's modern namesake still carries clout but others have caught on). The car I speak of is the BMW M5. I remember my love for the E34 M5 when it came out and I was a junior in college. Crazy fast and crazy expensive, I just knew that it was unlikely I'd ever own a vehicle with so much performance on a regular working man's salary.

BMW made their home in my neck of the woods and donated an M5 to the SC State Troopers. I actually got to see it do a high performance 180 on some poor sap. I remember it like it was yesterday...cruising down Wade Hampton Boulevard in Taylors, SC right in front of the old K-Mart. Shock and awe is what it was! Seeing that thing step out as he power u-turned and watching it jet off in the opposite direction brought tears to my eyes.

So what is my point? In looking at the review, it dawned on me that that ferocious E34 M5, made less power than our 3.8 V6s and the car was no quicker to 60 or through the quarter. Yet we now view such performance as pedestrian. Anyway just a random thought on how our perceptions of performance have changed.

Here is the review of the E34 M5 for those bored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4PMkQLT3rE&list=PL8HILNMicoi6frBzfDro05x0W-44D1ZWz&index=1

 

[Aquineas]

Cars are just an order of magnitude better than they were in the past, plain and simple. Faster, safer, more reliable, better handling, and comparatively speaking, are more fuel-efficient. I laugh when people talk about "the good old days." Some still insist on how steel etc is better than composites and aluminum, and for those folks I simply refer them to this video.

 

[ksoze]

I was lucky enough to own it's predecessor, the E28 M5. I pick up a low mileage '88 M5 around 1990, after owning a 1987 528i and lusting after the M5. Compared to todays cars it would be a dinosaur, but the 256HP M-sport engine and Getrag 5-speed was a dream and the exclusivity was a bonus (only around 1,200 in NA). I was also lucky enough to get vanity tag "M5". Sold it a few years later for more than I paid and am grateful for the chance to own one and be a part of M-sport history.

 

[PMCErnie]

I owned a '70 BMW 2002 from the day it was born. Drove it in Germany, including the Autobahn, for six months before bringing it to its American home. Same feelings.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Yes, how times have changed. What was considered fast back then is considered slow nowadays. Think about this... Not too long ago the Toyota Camry was actually faster than the C4 Corvette. That's the most "vanilla" midsize family sedan you can buy and the C4 Corvette wasn't really THAT long ago - and it was the epitome of American automobile performance. I will say that after Camry owners complained about bad gas mileage they actually recalled all of them and made them slower. But still - times have changed...

That Corvette had 250 horsepower. Not exactly impressive these days...

 

[commodore]

Having owned [at one time or another] most of the collectible 'performance cars' produced form 1961 to present my definition of 'the good old days' speaks to the drama of those cars - not to the true performance numbers they could generate.
A base, entry level 2015 Corvette driven down the 1/4 mile by someone with absolutely no racing skills will eat the lunch of ANY factory produced [stock] performance car from the 'good old days'.
What's missing today is much of the drama we've left behind. Drama was a very big part of any performance car from 'the good old days'.
Things like getting a little sideways all the way through second gear (always came with a smile), the sound of roaring engines, the smells of roasted tires, tortured clutches, unburned hydrocarbons and the anticipation of a show - there's your drama. Those that were part of 'the good old days' will know exactly what I mean.
Today I take for granted the safety, reliability and the ease of operation that comes standard in cars that can repeatably produce performance numbers only dreamed of back in the 'good old days'.
Glad I was there.

 

[Aquineas]

I guess my use of the term "good old days" in a somewhat less-flattering fashion comes from discussions I've had with (typically inebriated) extended family and friends at holidays. I was a kid in the 70s and I remember how bad the American cars were then. My parents owned two consecutive Lincoln Continentals that the headlights would randomly turn off. The panel-gaps were probably 3/8" and uneven. Driving a lot of cars from that era on a straight road required constant steering corrections just to keep the wheels straight. And yet up until very recently I have had to listen to family members (and their friends- mostly their friends, actually) that speak glowingly about "how cars aren't made the way they used to be."

So I'm truly sorry to say, I haven't had the journey you've had where you've owned collectable performance iron and driven them at their limits. That sounds awesome, and stories like that I'd gladly listen to over BBQ!! I'll admit that I'm envious! My experience unfortunately, is driving down the road in Calumet City and having the lights turn off without warning.

Alas, in a twist that I will candidly share at the risk of revealing my own hypocrisy, I've kinda/sorta been looking at old Lincolns to possibly buy and restore. Maybe I can finally figure out why the headlights would turn off.

 

[ksoze]

Alas, in a twist that I will candidly share at the risk of revealing my own hypocrisy, I've kinda/sorta been looking at old Lincolns to possibly buy and restore. Maybe I can finally figure out why the headlights would turn off.

Go for it!

 

[commodore]

Go for it!

The one to keep an eye out for is a 1963. The 1963 Continental had curved side glass and twin pod dashboards and to me was one of the best looking US sedans ever built.
If you try to corner one of those wonderful old Continentals at anything above 20 mph you'll scrape the suicide door handles right off but in a straight line those old land yachts were magic carpet rides. I'd love to have one if only for cruise nights.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Alas, in a twist that I will candidly share at the risk of revealing my own hypocrisy, I've kinda/sorta been looking at old Lincolns to possibly buy and restore. Maybe I can finally figure out why the headlights would turn off.

Well I hope you're planning on signing up at the Lincoln Owners Group.
[B]http://lincolnforums.com/[/B]

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