Aesthetics, a matter of choice.

[GHT]

Rich said, in one of the threads, breakdown truck, probably: "GHT, is there any car that you actually like?"
Today, reading about Rolls Royce and a forthcoming auction at Burghley House, Stamford I see a couple of Rollers. One is a 1952 Silver Wraith

Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_Fixed_Head_Coupe_1952.jpg (28.48 KiB) Viewed 2743 times

The other's a 1980 Camargue

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The auctioneers estimate the Wraith at £15K/£20K whilst The Camargue is estimated around £28K/£30K.
The Wraith has it's bodywork built by Freestone & Webb, coach builders. The Camargue is solely in house when RR were based at Crewe.
To me, The Camargue doesn't even register on my radar, whilst The Wraith is something that I might even go to the auction for. Is it a case of: "Old Fart Syndrome?"
Was it John, I think so, who told me that my wife's Scala, is a very collectible classic. My thoughts to his remarks were: "Seriously?" Old fart syndrome again.
If a new car doesn't appeal to me, you can be sure that time will not be kind, not in my eyes. But I'm learning, I've owned, brand new Minis, Maxis, Allegros but I was a case of needs must. I didn't like them, they were just there when a car was a necessity. I couldn't love one now even as a former owner.
Whenever I see the drool emoticon and the car that's being drooled over, it just makes me think: "Should I have kept it?" Is it a generational difference or does anything with a few years under it's belt, float your boat?

[JPB]

Aye, Sciroccos generally are sought after, but Storms and Scalas always attract the most interest at shows, they do have aesthetic prowess on their side, IMHO, but I favour far more prosaic vehicles with few exceptions. Things that are old enough to cause people to utter the usual phrases such as "where did they all disappear to?", "I'd forgotten completely that they even existed." and such tend to be heard in the club circles within which I move but for me, the first word of the magazine's title always means more than the second.
The Royce is rather bonny but can it tow a fully laden four wheeled car transporter trailer for hours on end without protesting? OK, it probably could, but that trailer would be far better suited to an old Land Rover or something with similarly little in the way of rear overhang, low gearing and traction.

Even when I'm looking at vintage and immediate postwar tin, my mind is always looking for a purpose to which a car may be put. I reckon that a 1946 Morris Ten - the model which has a grille that makes it look like a fencing enthusiast - would be excellent as a car for the tip run, it's narrow, its looks inspire affection so the grumpy guard will offer to help take out all of the bags of hedge cuttings that are where the back seat used to be and best of all, unlike some properly old jalopies, the wee Morris is actually really good on the fuel. But all of that relates more to the car's practicality than to its appearance.

[GHT]

John I appreciate your input, thank you. Aesthetics are a strange phenomenon, they are intangible, like politics and religion, people's perception's differ widely from one end of the spectrum to the other. Previously I've mentioned that The Range Rover, when it was first introduced, was perceived as a work of art in France, to the point where a Range rover model was displayed in The Louvre. Similarly when the Ford Ka was first introduced it was displayed in The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, despite the fact that the model was never sold in the USA. Some would argue that the accolade those cars received were well worthy of their praise, some would go as far as saying: "Should have gone to Specsavers." And yet others accept them both as classics with the passing of time. Each to their own I guess, but it does invoke lively debate at classic car shows.
There is a time in a car's life when it's no more than a concept, even those very early horseless carriages were a concept in the engineer's mind. Today, concepts that never made it into production can achieve squillions at auction, how strange. The reason most concepts never make it is because the public's reaction to it is most unfavourable. What, I wonder will those who follow us on life's path, think when they look back at the latest Rolls Royce concept?
Might it be: "They argued the aesthetic difference between a Camargue and a Wraith, all we have is the Vision 100.

Serious or ridiculous? See here.

[JPB]

Hmm, I think it's ridiculous, but I'm going to vote serious just for a laugh in the massively mistaken belief that nobody would agree with me, thereby assigning the serious tag to the car, for the foreseeable future, with precious little hope of its ridiculous status being reinstated.

[rich.]

John I appreciate your input, thank you. Aesthetics are a strange phenomenon, they are intangible, like politics and religion, people's perception's differ widely from one end of the spectrum to the other. Previously I've mentioned that The Range Rover, when it was first introduced, was perceived as a work of art in France, to the point where a Range rover model was displayed in The Louvre. Similarly when the Ford Ka was first introduced it was displayed in The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, despite the fact that the model was never sold in the USA. Some would argue that the accolade those cars received were well worthy of their praise, some would go as far as saying: "Should have gone to Specsavers." And yet others accept them both as classics with the passing of time. Each to their own I guess, but it does invoke lively debate at classic car shows.
There is a time in a car's life when it's no more than a concept, even those very early horseless carriages were a concept in the engineer's mind. Today, concepts that never made it into production can achieve squillions at auction, how strange. The reason most concepts never make it is because the public's reaction to it is most unfavourable. What, I wonder will those who follow us on life's path, think when they look back at the latest Rolls Royce concept?
Might it be: "They argued the aesthetic difference between a Camargue and a Wraith, all we have is the Vision 100.

Serious or ridiculous? See here.

[GHT]

The girl is rather nice Rich, but I'm sure that your missus is far prettier.

[rich.]

while the girl is "tres jolie" i will give her a miss.. wifey would cut them off! as for the car it comes without mother in law & is very attractive

[GHT]

The car might not have a mother-in-law, but as the old saying goes: "If it's got t*ts or tyres, sooner or later there's going to be trouble."

[rich.]

cars can be left in the garage for years if they give me trouble.. try that with the missus

[gazza82]

Paint it Pink and it wouldn't be out of place in a kid's programme/film about a strange family living on an island!