When I started driving virtually all cars were RWD with no driver aids. Heaters and radios were optional extras; they were fitted with cross-ply tyres and they didn't have seat belts. Sports cars of that era also accelerated to 60mph in around 14 secs (i.e. MGB GT) with a top speed of 104mph and fuel consumption of around 24mpg and required servicing every 3k miles. Is that what everyone who dislikes modern technology calls "raw" and is that what they really want? I don't think so!
Today, even the little runabouts perform and handle better than sports cars from the 1960s. The quicker that cars accelerate and the faster their top speeds, the more technology is required to produce that performance and the more technology required to make them drivable for 99% of the punters who buy them. For me, the biggest change in motoring in my time has been tyre technology: cars of today simply wouldn't exist if we still only had cross-plys. Technology is great: the problem is there are simply far too many cars on our roads which neuters performance cars down to the lowest common denominator of the little runabout being driven by an old woman doing her shopping.
Today, even the little runabouts perform and handle better than sports cars from the 1960s. The quicker that cars accelerate and the faster their top speeds, the more technology is required to produce that performance and the more technology required to make them drivable for 99% of the punters who buy them. For me, the biggest change in motoring in my time has been tyre technology: cars of today simply wouldn't exist if we still only had cross-plys. Technology is great: the problem is there are simply far too many cars on our roads which neuters performance cars down to the lowest common denominator of the little runabout being driven by an old woman doing her shopping.
