Have the golden years passed us by?

>gas is inexpensive
Gas is so expensive in Europe I'm legit considering working in Saudi Arabia to live my Mad Max fantasies.

kek

No, not even close. I mean it must be kinda popular if Discovery is giving cars an entire week like they do with sharks. You nostalgiafags are the worst.

Electric cars have had an enthusiast demographic since before you were born. People are eventually going to make an AI racing league or something too.

>Also power is so cheap today and gas is inexpensive

Yeap, cars are a shit ton faster than they were back in the day and gas still costs about the same as it did in 1970.

>just don't live in a nannystate emissions/strict inspection area.

But California has the best car scene in the entire country.

>tfw poorfag in a country where owning a car is expensive as shit
>tfw you'll never attack the roads at 3 am with your buddies in your beloved, slightly riced JDM shitboxes.
It hurts, bros.

>tfw your car friends all live 4 hours away
>they send you pictures and videos of them racing and going to meets
>they have cool 80s cars, FC, Z31, AE86
>kind of rice, but well built and fast cars
>i have an aw11
>my only car friends where I live have an RSX and an IS350
>they never want to hoon
I just want to drive with my friends on deserted roads

>mfw people make fun of california all the time but i smash the mountains every week with a group of Veeky Forumstists

feels bad..for you

I don't understand the slander against california, though I don't live there.
>hot dry weather so little rust risk
>mountain passes
>desert haighways

obviously

look at this massive cuck. go slurp your daily semen, you faggot.

yes motor sport are expensive and the multiple economic crisis just made people focus on something else

>when someone talks like an underaged child and projects their homo nature on to you

>only friend has a shitbox that can't keep up and even if he did we have nowhere fun to hoon except the highway
Fuck.

Racing and rallying still go on, organisers just need to stop focussing on getting manufacturers involved and make regulations that allow private teams to race. Look at touring car racing, TCR has exploded in popularity (with racers) because it's relatively cheap to be competitive.

>nowhere fun to hoon except the highway
More than enough.
Exact, they are tons of regional rallies growing.

Here is my take.

Rally, no. Because the cars today are safer, faster, more agile, and allows a driver to be their purest. I believe rally is the ultimate form of motorsport as a test of true skill.

Racing, I believe is an excellent platform for the automotive industry to test and practice their experimentals and research advancements. However, the industry has stopped doing this almost entirely. Advancements are now either leaked as a marketing ploy or released systematically in a car show that only the media and elitists are invited to. I miss the days where cars were released at a public event and a huge party was thrown. And there seems to be a complete and absolute lack of competition in track events. Everyone just talks shit about car compoenents and how they added to or took away from the driver's success. But the truth is, those drivers are often trying to avoid admitting that they could have driven better, or needed more prep time, or simply shouldn't be paid at all because anyone with a million dollars invested in them could do the same thing. Everyone has this grandiose delusion that you have to get into Motorsports at 5 years old to have any kind of talent, but really, some of the best drivers I've ever seen didn't get into a car till they were in their teen's or even late 20's. This is the reason track-based racing is so dull for people today. Nobody who likes it is allowed in, everyone who is allowed in bitches all day long about technology. This won't return to the glory days until someone like myself or yourself can show up with a car and attempt to compete with the big boys. Obviously there should be some kind of track history you have to show up with, but to flat out deny people because of hur dur opinions is destroying the culture.

I can't speak for racing, but car culture seems to be past its prime. Maybe if the US economic situation ever swings back to a decent position where young people can afford to buy new cars again we will see a resurgence. That is, if there are any new cars worth buying by that time.

Street Racing. I'm speaking purely from the US, but we need to remove police interactions from the streets. In all aspects of road travel, but especially street racing. Yes, there are those idiots who should be hung because they are taking their shitty civic or integra and blipping around freeways with innocent people on the road. However, I believe we should be removing drivers licensing from nearly 80% of the population, the test to get one should be extremely difficult, and freeway travel should be limitless. This would allow much safer drivers access to roads that would be far less populated, especially in large cities where beautiful circuit tracks already exist (freeway interchange loops, ftw).

More to be said about this, I've been a part of some responsible groups, and I've been a part of very irresponsible groups. Honestly, I don't see why the police have any problem with the responsible groups. We wait till cars are gone, we wait till business are off work, and we keep tabs on each other to make sure we are all safe. Almost to the point I would say we are better than most scca events held as far as safety is concerned. Especially since many of the street racers attend scca events.

Car culture as a whole hasn't gone anywhere, it just got smaller and more exclusive. There is a comment I read a while back on this board that street racers and car enthusiasts are just loners that can't get girlfriends to spend time or money on. It has always kind of been true, because even amongst fellow loners with cars, they never really mingle. They may have some friends, but unless you grew up with them, I've found it hard to be accepted by new groups. And so have my friends that I still keep in touch with. If we can change that mind set, I think the culture as a whole would sky rocket passed what we know now. And since "culture" is undefined as to what it actually represents (drifting, mopeds with lights, retards in civics, rock crawlers, etc), then the potential is technically limitless if we all just start accepting new people, younger generation, new tech, etc.

tldr: Has the golden years passed us? Only if you let it.

Are you implying the automotive industry has NEVER changed... Ever? Wow, are you 5?

It's ok user, i feel the same way. I hope we're both going to make it.

imagine a future where even late-tier enthusiast cars like the honda s2k, e46 m3, and c5 z06 are no longer available

Good answer Satan.

They will always be available, but they will be as expensive as 60s/70s classics are today.

>yfw we will be the new boomers

ill be real with you that hurts even more
what's worse all the good cars going out in a bang or all of them sitting in some faggot's garage waiting on some retard to conjure up 40 bajillion dollars for a car worth about 20k when it was factory new

>cali has the best scene meme
Florida shits on you and your mexi-mustang scene

Florida is so shit nothing ever makes it worth it. Still leagues behind Cali when it comes to cars.

That's true. It's nice knowing that all those 2nd Gen Eclipses died after being thrashed by teenagers rather than having them sit in someone's garage for FatF collectors value.

It's easy to understand now. To them, those classics aren't just cars, they're their youth, and they embody a time when everything was better. We will no doubt turn out the same.

>It's nice knowing that all those 2nd Gen Eclipses died after being thrashed by teenagers rather than having them sit in someone's garage for FatF collectors value.
this is pure sour grapes. Being glad cars have been destroyed is seriously odd.

Cali is full of rich boomers that arent legally allowed to wrench so they get bmw and tesla
Florida is a lawless wasteland where you can weld two I6s together in your backyard until nature decides it's time to give your entire city a bath
There is no in between

So Florida is an awful shithole, like I said. Doesn't hold a candle to the state that birthed car culture.

Florida is indeed a shithole but to say cali birthed car culture is delusional

Not really. It's kinda like that motorad in the museum in new Kino. It was made to be used, to hit the road and go fast, not just sit there unused while its value appreciates.

It's really not, not in the slightest. So-Cal alone basically did everything.

Car culture, no. There era of plentiful and affordable performance cars? Done. Most car manufactures are shifting towards basic economy cars and focusing on fuel efficient and comfort. Performance cars are either overpriced for little power or very expensive exotic cars

>There era of plentiful and affordable performance cars?

When was this ever a thing?

>It was made to be used, to hit the road and go fast
Yes but not destroyed by young faggots. I'd rather see a valuable rare car archived and preserved. And normal cars are meant to be driven yes, but I can't say I'm glad to watch drift faggots destroying S13 chassis one after another as long as they can. I wish I could summon a hoard of boomers to save those cars from being destroyed for a meme.

90s to 2000s

>When was this ever a thing?
Maybe the 60-70's muscle era was pretty close. Didn't do the inflation calculations, but maybe he meant that base model muscle was kinda affordable back then.

How?

About the only cheap performance cars were things like the Camaro and Mustang, so same as today.

It was about the same as it is today, anyone with a decent job could get one.

see everyone? aren't you guys glad bush did 9/11?
gas would be like 7$ a gal otherwise

the slander comes from emission laws, highway patrol, and sadly Mexicans ruining shit

>So-Cal alone basically did everything
do you even live in North America

If you only consider 400+hp to be performance then never but if you're in your right mind and consider 200+ to be performance than 90s - around 2005-ish. I think user meant "enthusiast" cars though

>"goy if you let that eclipse sit in your garage for 50 years you could make a $1000 profit selling it"
leave this board if you dont like driving cars

>>"goy if you let that eclipse sit in your garage for 50 years you could make a $1000 profit selling it"
Pretty sure no one thinks like that.
>leave this board if you dont like driving cars
Driving cars doesn't automatically mean "butchering to follow a trend".

>be user in 2070, 80 years old grandfather
>stand in your garage
>look at your old BMW E30 that you treasure like your own son at this point, a car that you've went through thick and thin with and invested stupid amounts of time and money into
> >gas is a meme at this point, barely sold anymore and it's expensive as shit, so you barely drive it, on top of feeling insecure due to age
>grandson comes for a visit, he's in his twenties, successful and "driving" his self-driving BMW E276 Soydrive Green Eco-Boost electric sedan
>look back at your E30 and remember when you were hitting the roads with your buddies in your late twenties after work and you invested half your money into car parts, maintenance and gas
>cry a little bit
>Grandson asks: "What's that thing, gramps? Looks weird."
>"That's what I was driving when I was your age. A BMW E30 325i. it's powered by a combustion engine, delivering 170..."
>"A combustion engine? What the fuck are you doing, gramps? This thing belongs into a museum, not on the road. You fucking old people with your dumb old and dirty """technology""" I swear. I'll never understand you."
>Cry more.
>tell him to fuck off and have some "fun" in his BMW Soydrive
>tfw we'll be the next boomers

>do you even live in North America

Duh, that's how I know. Read a book some day.

>Thinks hp has anything to do with being a performance car

No, there was never a period of plentiful performance cars that were cheap.

>implying
hot hatches are everywhere
stang is pretty affordable
camaro too but muhh visibility
>subarus and focuses aka vapemachines
fucking lotuses can be had for 10k
bimmer m2 is also alright and used prices seem to become affordable

STOP THIS FA.M

>fucking lotuses can be had for 10k
If you're a bong and you're talking about 1st gen Elises with a blown headgasket maybe

fucking megane does sub 8 on ring
there are fast italian twingos
its not that bad unless you want some roided out black 911 or red ge te arr cuz muhh memenight club

>Street Racing. I'm speaking purely from the US, but we need to remove police interactions from the streets. In all aspects of road travel, but especially street racing. Yes, there are those idiots who should be hung because they are taking their shitty civic or integra and blipping around freeways with innocent people on the road. However, I believe we should be removing drivers licensing from nearly 80% of the population, the test to get one should be extremely difficult, and freeway travel should be limitless. This would allow much safer drivers access to roads that would be far less populated, especially in large cities where beautiful circuit tracks already exist (freeway interchange loops, ftw).

>hurr just take away the rights of the population so I can drive like a dangerous retard on the roads they paid for I'm totally safe because I feel like a safe driver and haven't had an incident that I couldn't justify as my victims fault

If serious you should stop driving anything bigger than a wheel chair

>fucking lotuses can be had for 10k
>all used lotuses around me are at least 30k
what are you smoking

No one will ever believe we're in a golden era due to nostalgia clouding their mind.

Prices for given models change a lot depending on the place
>mfw a convertible smog-choked camaro is on sale for 49k€

id fucking kill for 90s mememachines, but cars right now are p good

I guess it depends on the definition of a valuable car. I guess that even though those eclipses, s13s, and similar cars weren't ever supposed to be high end collectibles, their legacy has given them value. I was wrong to say I would rather see them destroyed, but I still get bothered seeing stuff that was made to be used sit around and collect dust.

>I guess that even though those eclipses, s13s, and similar cars weren't ever supposed to be high end collectibles, their legacy has given them value.
Exactly. The more pigfat and computer assisted cars get, the more valuable past sportscars get.
Especially when they became symbols of their time.
>I still get bothered seeing stuff that was made to be used sit around and collect dust.
Depends if you mean Jay Leno preservation, or boomer "I know what I got" rotting away.

*laughs in Texan*

*cries in french*

*shoots self in Dutch*

As far as speed goes, we are definitely in a golden age. But I'm hesitant to call this a total golden age because most young people that want them can't afford these new cars. So they're stuck in this situation of not being able to buy the new stuff while the old stuff is quickly increasing in price, in some cases beyond what it's really worth.

It's that boomer mentality that bothers me. My dad isn't a boomer, but he had two classic cars sitting in his garage for long time that he never drove and didn't even run. He finally sold one, but the other will never be sold, and it just sits there. He's busy with a lot of stuff most of the time so he doesn't get to tinker around with it much, and it was his first car so I know why he keeps it, but I still get a little sad seeing it never get used.

lieterally lmaoing right now dude

>sp95 at 1,75€
This is bullshit, gasoline shouldn't be so expensive.

Ah I see. Yes I get your feelings, your dad is just being a hoarder. Maybe ask him to sell you his car ? What cars are those ?

I'm pretty sure it's a photo from one of those highway stations which are always total kikes, but even the cheap ones charge like €1.70/l.
At least it's pretty easy to hop the border to Germany and get

The one he sold was a 66 Impala and the one he still has is a 60 Falcon. He offered me the Impala, but I live in a garageless apartment while going to school so I wouldn't have had the proper facilities to work on it.

from germany it's easier to hop the border to get gasoline for 1,17€

Maybe your dad just values his Falcon as a souvenir. Mine doesn't and changes cars without too much nostalgia, but people are different.
When you'll be able to take car of it, I'm sure you'll be glad to work on that Falcon.

>watered down North American piss water
>engine making any real power
Pick one

>it's another yuropoo doesn't know how octane ratings work episode
Yuros use RON, burgerfats use AKI, or RON+MON/2. There's a 4-6 number difference between what they're labelled as, but they perform the same. Our 93 is the same as your 98, for example.

>picking on people uninformed about american particularities
Mean. He proabably saw his fail after posting.

Still, your 87 is equivalent to our 91. Most places around here don't even sell anything below 94.

may or may not be because that's like the 70th time I've had to explain this to someone on this board being condescending and uppity for no reason

>tfw own E30 and restoring it bit by bit
>plan on keeping it forever and ever
Right in the feels

let them embarass themselves. I say this as a Euro myself, if their first reaction wasn't googling it to understand but to act all smug and condescending they're probably iredeemable retards.

>People are eventually going to make an AI racing league or something too.
As someone that has been playing racing sims for over a decade, this sounds absolutely vile.

>letting your grandson speak to you in such a way
my ass wouldve gotten smacked and rightfully so

youtube.com/watch?v=T3f2xPjZ81U

I bet it happens in another 10 years or so.

Yes. In 12 years half of earth's total population will be dead through disease, war, famine or natural disaster and the rest of us will be huddled into super-cities with no form of personal transportation while the %1 get to drive cars freely and racing will return to its "Gentleman Drivers Only" feel of the 1940's & 50's.

>People are eventually going to make an AI racing league or something too

I highly doubt it. A bunch of perfect drivers wouldn't be very entertaining.

Phenomenal photo and beautiful car, user (at least I'm assuming it's yours). Where was that taken?

This is the irrefutable truth. Get out there and enjoy it gents. The time is now.

le flying e34

That pic is old af, every fuel got +10 eurocts/l at this point.