CASA GRANDE, Ariz.—Given the choice between a sporty new Chevy Corvette and his 1963 Dodge 330, Bob Hughes will take the 60-year-old classic any day.
The simplicity of automotive design from yesteryear has its virtues, Mr. Hughes said, relaxing in a lawn chair next to his former “daily driver” at the Thunderfest Car and Bike Show in Casa Grande, Arizona, on Nov. 4.
“You can change the plugs—you can see the plugs—which is something you can’t do on most new cars,” he said.
“I built this thing from nothing. It was a $75 body when I bought it.” That was in 1970.
All around the big parking lot were classic hot rods and muscle cars—tricked-out mechanical masterpieces from when vehicles were easy to work on if you had the tools and the skill.
It isn’t the same with newer automated vehicles, vintage and classic car enthusiasts say.
“For one thing, the electronics can screw you up,” Mr. Hughes, 76, told The Epoch Times.
“You mess up the electronics by arcing the battery. I'll walk before I buy an electric vehicle. And I can’t hardly walk at all.”
Mr. Hughes of Casa Grande isn’t alone in criticizing the new car technology.
Mary Jo McDonald, a senior from Glendale, California, held similar views as she sat under an umbrella watching over her husband’s 1959 Pontiac Bonneville convertible with the hood open.
She said comparing vintage cars and newer models is like comparing cats and dogs.
“My husband is an electrical engineer. But the new stuff? It’s like Star Wars,” Ms. McDonald said.
Though her husband, Donald, has tried working on the newer cars, he’s been having trouble “getting all the bells and whistles to work,” she said.
“It’s complicated. You can figure out how the older vehicles come together and come apart. This car, he completely tore down and redid the whole thing.”
“There’s no comparison,” Ms. McDonald told The Epoch Times. “There are definite advantages to the new technology. But being in my 80s, I would rather have it the old way.”
According to national insurance company Progressive, the main differences between old and new vehicles are in their design, components, handling, and safety.
“Modern engines are much smarter, smaller, more powerful, and more efficient than older ones,” Progressive’s website states.
“Since they lack automated features, classic cars have a more hands-on driving experience, and they can be easier to work on yourself. And while newer cars will depreciate with age, classic car values tend to appreciate due to supply and demand, especially for well-maintained cars.”
The merger of automation and vehicle technology has taken decades since German carmaker Volkswagen introduced the first vehicle using a transistorized, electronically controlled fuel injection system in 1968, according to Chipsets.com.
The following year, Ford introduced the company’s first computer-controlled anti-skid braking system. Chrysler vehicles now feature Electronic Engine Control (EEC) technology introduced in 1973.
“Have you noticed a change in the picture you see under the hood of your car?” the Drivin‘ & Vibin’ Team wrote in a May 27, 2022, online article.
“Vehicle repairs are certainly a lot more complicated than they used to be a couple of decades ago, and for a good reason.”
Compared with vehicles manufactured before 1990, newer cars and trucks have fewer moving parts, and they have onboard computers that control most engine functions, making things more complicated.
“It takes a lot more schooling to educate a professional mechanic properly,” the Drivin‘ & Vibin’ Team wrote. “When designers came up with new car concepts back in the day, they focused more on making the vehicles easy for the typical owner to repair.
“Engineers designed vehicles to have more open space under the hood, and they had fewer electrical components to manage.”
Travis Rees-Fleming, 38, of Snowflake, Arizona, said he prefers simpler auto technology to the newer vehicles.
His 1962 Ford Ranchero was his favorite car.
“I’ve owned more cars than I have fingers,” Mr. Rees-Fleming said. “Other than oil changes, I don’t do any maintenance on the newer cars due to the increased amount of electronics they put into them.”
He said having in-laws who own an automotive repair shop makes repairs more convenient. But even they’re finding it more challenging to hire technicians with the skill set to fix newer vehicles.
“On top of that, you have the updated computer programming. You have to lease from the companies to be able to service their vehicles,” Mr. Rees-Fleming told The Epoch Times.
“It makes them harder to keep on the road if they have electronic issues. It can leave people stranded—dead in the water.”
“Up here, with the rats, if they chew through even one wire, your vehicle is down. You’ve got to get a tow to a dealership. The local service shops need technicians to work on those cars.”
Supply chain issues mean repairs take longer to complete. The average turnaround for body shops is 30 days, Mr. Rees-Fleming said.
He said it can take even longer with electric vehicles using complex lithium-ion batteries because of a lack of infrastructure to support them.
When the batteries finally lose their charging capacity, replacing them can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000 for a hybrid vehicle.
AAA said the average yearly cost of owning and operating a new vehicle in 2023 is $12,182.
“This is a sharp increase from 2022, when the average yearly cost was only $10,728, or $894 monthly,” AAA’s website stated.
Robert Kennedy, assistant professor of Transportation Technology at the New England School of Technology, said auto manufacturers have focused on making their technology safer—not to make things more difficult for the consumer or small auto repair shops.
“As technology advances, do-it-yourselfers are finding that they may need to rely on professional automotive technicians to perform what were once simple maintenance tasks,” Mr. Kennedy told The Epoch Times.
“Most small independent automotive shops have access to purchase the necessary tools and equipment to perform these jobs, but many have elected not to make the investment for business purposes.”
Mr. Kennedy said electric vehicles require much less maintenance since there is no engine, transmission, differential, or transfer case.
“However, with 300-plus volts powering the vehicle, for safety purposes, owners may want to utilize professional automotive technicians trained in electric vehicle repair,” he said.
AAA Repair Manager David Bennett said that it’s generally more difficult for do-it-yourself owners to access the parts in newer vehicles, but it isn’t impossible.
“You can still change the oil. The basic things you can do,” Mr. Bennett told The Epoch Times. “They’re still accessible. It just takes more work to get to them.”
Moreover, he said some vehicle system designs haven’t changed much.
“Your brakes are your brakes. They have not changed,” Mr. Bennett said. “If you’re a do-it-yourselfer and comfortable using the proper tools and equipment and safety precautions, that has not changed.”
“If you have a check engine light, you probably don’t have the tools in your house. But you can go to your local repair facility and have them look and diagnose the problem for you.”
Even so, understanding electronic systems in vehicles today is “huge—being able to read a diagram is huge,” he said.
“It all depends on the vehicle. The average age of a vehicle on the road is 12.5 years. If the vehicle is in good shape, it’s better to maintain it long-term than buy a new one. It will likely save you money in the long run.”
For vintage car enthusiasts, such as Tony Blowers of Arizona City, Arizona, having the best of both worlds with old and new vehicle technology is a good thing.
A few years ago, Mr. Blowers purchased a 1951 Chevrolet truck body to mount on a 2000 Chevy S-10 frame with a 2000 Silverado drive train.
“I even cut the windows for that truck. I cut them out of a big sheet of glass and put them in,” Mr. Blowers said.
“Not everybody can do what I did. I built it in my garage in my spare time over three years. The only thing I didn’t do was flash the computer [reprogram the software] that came with the engine.”
The combination has proved to be great, Mr. Blowers told The Epoch Times, and Natalie Sanders, from New Richmond, Wisconsin, was quick to snatch the vehicle during an online sale.
“I liked how it looked. I liked the rust patina,” Ms. Sanders said. “I did it all over the phone and shipped it to Wisconsin.”
Technology Evolution
Mr. Blowers said he isn’t worried that electric vehicles will replace gas-powered vehicles. He said he doesn’t see it happening because of their inherent limitations.“It costs more to charge them and it takes forever,” he said.
“The advancement of [gasoline] engines and transmissions make them better today than they were 10 or 20 years ago. You look at a 1957 Chevy—when they had 80,000 miles on them, they were worn-out cars.”
“The old stuff is simpler. Today, the first thing you do to figure out what’s happening with it is to hook it up to a computer. The nice part is it also tells you where to start looking to fix things.”
Rocky Stroh of Casa Grande and his father spent 10 years rebuilding an antique 1931 Ford Model A using performance parts and turning it into a thing of beauty.
Mr. Stroh said he prefers to work on older vehicles since computer technology is “way different than mechanical.”
“On the older ones, I'll have a field day with them. Give me a new one, and I’m cross-eyed with it,” he told The Epoch Times.
Ms.McDonald said she believes there’s a downside to advanced automotive technology, and it’s people losing control of the driving experience.
“You lose so much control. You like to be able to do things for yourself and control your circumstances. But if you can’t figure out anything about your new car—that’s wrong.”
Mr. Hughes said it’s immensely satisfying to get his hands dirty fixing the cherished car of his youth.
He’s had it for so long it’s almost become a part of him—a symbol of simpler times.
“All these newer cars—it’s sad,” he said, shaking his head.
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