There’s a lot to like in a classic car. After a few decades, it becomes something else, removed from the constraints of the world around it. Flaws become charming. Issues become talking points more than something to be remedied. You have to be a kind of person to own something like this, and you have to take the bad with the good in a way you don’t in a new car. So, there’s a lot to like in any classic car. But as a BMW fan? As someone who loves these old BMWs? It’s tough to pick out the highlights. Here’s an attempt.
Old Things Feel Alien Now
Chase Bierenkoven
Chase Bierenkoven
Everything you touch in a new car feels so unlike everything you touch in a classic like this. My favorites, by far, are these contrasts. The fact that the only light in the car is organic. These gauges rattle a bit in their housing when you start the car. Because there is a physical connection between them and the engine, they hunt around a lot while you drive. I won’t lie and say this shifter is excellent. It’s not. But the wood? Wow.
Chase Bierenkoven
This kind of feel is absent in something newer. Stuff from the ’70s and of that same vintage has this wholly indescribable feel to it that cars of this era exemplify so well. You’ll never feel that in a new car, just as you’ll never feel this kind of metal under your hands. Things have just changed too much, so even when you touch metal in a new car, it feels different.
These Beautiful Hinges
Chase Bierenkoven
The way this seat folds is so intricate; I love it. It hinges only the backrest, and on this hinge that looks stunning. It’s polished steel, I think. It’s really hard (banged my knee real nice), and it feels heavy. Modern automotive applications cover this sort of thing, maybe because it’s safer or cheaper, or whatever. The point is, this is good design applied to something wholly mundane. Now, it feels special. You can find this today, but not in a somewhat reasonably priced luxury coupe. Today, you have to go to Rolls-Royce or similar for this kind of stuff.
Carbs Rule
Chase Bierenkoven
They’ll play a carbed inline-six like this when they pull the plug on me one day. It’s maybe the last thing I want to hear, right after the wind in pines. Again, technology has moved on and left something behind. New engines are better, but the sound isn’t. Shockingly, some of today’s BMWs retain the noises this thing makes, but only some. There is no substitute for this I6, even if it might make only a few hundred horsepower.
Old Cars Have So Many Good Sounds
Chase Bierenkoven
These buttons all sound so good. I think this is nostalgia, but we don’t get switches this loud anymore. This feeling of tactility is again something left behind over the decades. The turn signals are awesome. They click “hard,” like something you can feel. I love the little bit of metallic detent in these window switches (and that many BMWs kept this layout later on). Even the doors sound different.
About the author
Chase Bierenkoven is a US-based journalist with more than five years of experience covering the automotive and transportation industries. From his home state of Colorado, he writes news, features, and reviews of new vehicles, with his work appearing in outlets including Edmunds, AP News, CarBuzz, and AutoGuide. In addition to his writing, Chase manages his own YouTube channel and regularly appears on camera for the publications he contributes to.