So you all associate "classic" with "valuable" then!
fiatracer,
Feb 21, 10:05am
nope.Peronally, I associate it with interesting and quirky. But then that rules out Mustangs etc.
fiatracer,
Feb 21, 10:07am
My pic for 'post war mainstream daily future classic' status - any oleopneumatic Citroen - particularly the odder ones - BX, GS/GSA, CX. Having owned 9 "hydro" citroens, I can testify that already people can't believe they rise/fall, let alone the relative oddness of interior and exterior styling.
phillip.weston,
Feb 21, 10:23am
for some reason it's been incorrectly badged a Sigma SE (that's the name given only to the top of the range NZ-new model with digital dash, retracting wipers etc). It looks to be a Galant Super Exceed.
mugenb20b,
Feb 21, 10:26am
I reckon that's the best suspension a car can have. No matter how much load you carry, the ride height will remain the same. And if you want to go "off road", you can just raise it to avoid any damage, in fact you don't even need a jack to change the tyre, just a block of wood.
foxdonut,
Feb 21, 10:35am
How about "Old, average to low mileage car"!
bestgames,
Feb 21, 12:58pm
A "classic" would have to define a car, or in fact any other cultural artifact, that represents a defining moment or a pinnacle in the cycle or evolution of whatever it represented.
It has nothing to do with being rare, the number produced, the condition of the vehicle or other item. A classic coke bottle is still a classic coke bottle if you smash the thing. And it isn't any less a classic design because they made 100 million of them that year.
The *definition* of classic being something that is judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind. Quality can be subjective encompassing ideas of good design, aesthetic appeal and popularity.
If the Mitsubishi Sigma SE 1984 was judged the best of it's kind after a retrospective period of 28 years then it has earned the title.
Would a Mitsi enthusiast claim this to be the best of similar offerings! Was it a good car by the standard of cars it was competing with in the market at the time - price, reliability, style etc, or even just in terms of the evolution of the Sigma!
phillip.weston,
Feb 21, 1:20pm
^^ very well said.
I think it's rare to see a car of that age in such a condition with low kms and only a one or two owners - but that doesn't necessarily make the car rare itself.
They were an OK car at the time, perhaps suffering from a decline in reliability over the outgoing previous RWD version with the change over to an all new FWD platform.
Definitely not a classic by a the standard definition, but perhaps could be classed as 'nostalgic' or even becoming 'retro'.
duke250,
Feb 21, 1:23pm
1980's were a bad year for Jap cars as they went from well built RWD to mass produced FWD tin cans. IMO
foxdonut,
Feb 21, 1:24pm
"Old"
Say it with me now.
"Old"
phillip.weston,
Feb 21, 1:28pm
You could say similar about American cars of the 70s, or European cars of the 90s etc.
phillip.weston,
Feb 21, 1:30pm
Yeah they are indeed 'old' but to many people that era of cars has quite a bit of nostalgia attached to them. The 60s and 70s weren't retro in the 60s and the 70s. The 1990s are the new 1980s. and thus cars from as early as 20-25 years ago are beginning to be more desirable again. Unsure about that Sigma though. would perhaps take another 28 years.
bestgames,
Feb 21, 2:19pm
The retro cycle is 20-25 years. That is the point where elements of the period a few decades before finds repeated popularity.
We are on the cusp of the 90's becoming retro - We had 70's become retro in the late 90's with flares etc. Now it is all boomboxes and neon and notions of what the mythical 80's meant, then ground up, filtered and spat out for the consumption of 17 year olds.
What the hell will 90's retro look like! Those god awful black boots with chrome plates on their heels! Will black, grey and chrome and brushed aluminium be the coolest kind of bathroom once again! The 90's was when culture woke up to the fact there was no culture - just television.
If it is not recognised as retro then chances are it is crap. If it older than the last retro cycle it is 'vintage' ie representing a past cycle (but not currently 'retro'). Older than vintage it is antique. Antique merely meaning an item that achieved an increase in value *because* of its age and its corresponding rarity of all its peers being junk.
This looks in good order. It is certainly 'retro' being not the early 70's or 90's and recognizable by it's origins in 80's. It will be a vintage car in few years and even an antique by merit of the bottom having been rusted out of all it's peers and it being worth what it is for being in the condition it is.
A 'classic'. Not for me to say. Don't know dick about cars.
bellky,
Feb 21, 2:28pm
load of crap.
IF SOMETHING WAS GOOD QUALITY WHEN IT WAS NEW. THEN CHANCES ARE IT WILL ALWAYS BE GOOD QUALITY (CLASSIC)
think about it!
mohaka,
Feb 21, 2:33pm
You must be joking,very few jap cars make the grade
socram,
Feb 21, 2:38pm
Interesting posts."Daily usage" or "retro" always depend on your age.My stepson is a classic(!) example.To him, an original Triumph Bonneville is an old shi**er, as is an original 1275cc Cooper S or a Mark 2 Jaguar, even an old front engined Ferrari. Those of us who grew up in the 50s and 60's have a totally different perspective on older stuff to those brought up in the 80s and 90s.
In its day, a 1920's Austin 7 was a cheap runabout with rubbish brakes, skinny tyres and a miserable top speed.(You could pick them up for a fiver when I was a teenager.) You could say the same about a 1959 Mini.The difference is a Mini set several design benchmarks whereas the Austin 7 didn't, yet both brought motoring to the masses.
A Mitsi Sigma or any saloon Mitsi wasn't innovative in any any shape or form, so it will always be just a car representative of the period.
Equally, I have been selling off my collection of Dinky toys, which are representative of the period, (all in less than perfect condition) but many people now avidly collect them and they have proved a better investment than jewellry for example, but if you'd asked me in 1954 if my 2/- Cooper Bristol was ever going to be worth anything, I'd probably have laughed at you. Will people avidly collect mass produced Japanese sedans in 50 years time!
phillip.weston,
Feb 21, 2:43pm
Curious to know what jap cars exactly made the grade, and what cars from other continents you think exceeded the grade!
bestgames,
Feb 21, 2:52pm
Retro is *totally* independent of your age. I have lived through the 70's being retro and now 80's. Retro is a cycle a couple of decades behind what is contemporary. When what is on the cusp and contemporary right now, what defines culture today, becomes "cool" again then it will have become retro again. What is retro is not individual -- but cultural.
bob1088,
Feb 21, 2:58pm
looks like an import - definitely not an NZ New SE IMO - great condition tho.
socram,
Feb 21, 2:59pm
My "Retro Classic" car is a 'V8 special' that could have been built in the 1970s - but wasn't.
trogedon,
Feb 21, 2:59pm
An Austin (or Nash) Metropolitan was never a good quality car when new but is a (classic) now.
think about it!
phillip.weston,
Feb 21, 3:03pm
It is an import indeed. 1984 model but came into the country in 1991. It would have originally been badged a 'Galant Super Exceed' but the dealer probably just slapped some Sigma SE badges on it to make it easier to sell to the unsuspecting public. It probably would have had fender mounted mirrors also.
bellky,
Feb 21, 3:04pm
wow. a nash metropolitan is a classic car. well it's still a heap in my book
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