What Makes A Classic Car?
July 25, 2006 – 5:19 pmThe people over at AutoBlog weigh in on what they think makes a classic car, which got me to thinking. What exactly is a classic car? Are there certain requirements that a car must meet to be considered a classic car?
In my personal opinion, a classic car is a car that is pre 1972. Now, I didn’t get this from anywhere specific, but I just think that that is a good cutoff for cars tbe considered classic.
I also think that cars can both be muscle cars and classic cars at the same time. A muscle car is just a subset of classic cars.
I also think that the terms antique cars and vintage cars generally refer to cars before the 1950s, but are also considered classic cars.
Does anyone agree with me?
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2 Responses to “What Makes A Classic Car?”
A lot of people probably believe that in order for a car to be considered a classic it must have some age to it. That’s probably a common view, but not necessarily one that I share. Just because a car is old, doesn’t mean it should be automatically considered a classic. A classic automobile should have some distinguishing characteristic about it which makes it unique, or special for its time.
Using this criteria a new car might be considered a classic. Webster characterizes the term classic as: serving as a standard of excellence : of recognized value.
I own a 1962 Oldsmobile Starfire which may be considered a classic by some, but not others. It’s a matter of personal choice and taste.
Antique is another catagory. Many antiquarians now believe an object must be at least 50 years of age to be an antique….others hold the benchmark at 100 years.
Responses welcomed.
By goodguy on Aug 3, 2006
Good point.
Although you say “Just because a car is old, doesn’t mean it should be automatically considered a classic.” and you go on to say “A classic automobile should have some distinguishing characteristic about it which makes it unique…”
One might argue that a car is unique and distingushed BECAUSE it is old, therefore falling in the “classic car” category. :)
I get your point though. Anyone can make a valid arguemnt that any car can be considered classic - it just depends on who you ask! :)
By Evan on Aug 3, 2006