The current state of automobiles is no good (bring your emotional support Iguana)

[Boris3]

1. M42 close to 300k (odometer broken in 2012 at 235k and new gears didn't fix it), m20 still racing at 190k, M54 ZHP bought with 154k...hoping for longevity

2.) I became a car enthusiast as a kid in the mid-1960s, still am one so there's hope. Cars of interest just change 

3.) It's VW/Audi, they'll be under indictment for something...no worries

4. Cold dead hands. Prefer not becoming cold/dead by either autonomous cars or idiot drivers.

5. The wild card is what is "too expensive"?  Not worth it or can't afford it. Depending on what I'm looking at the answer and reasons vary.

[B C]

1. I Dont have much data, but E60 N52 doesnt seems too frightening which would also include the 2007 E90 330i

2. @i_love_cars incredibly good point about the internet making things easier for car enthusiasts today. Did not even think about that. I remember back in 1997 going to the city library to see if they had a Chilton manual for a Mazda 626 because my dad was attempting to tackle a broken timing belt repair (non interference)

.... to be continued

[wally509]

1)  I sort of decided that after an N52 powered car, I was giving up on BMWs.  I don't want to mess with turbo and direct injection.  Part of why I am looking at a 2011 f10 528i.  Of course I said I was giving up on BMW forever when the e36 came out (whenever that was) because at the time I thought it looked like BMW was going to be building Hondas from here on out.
And here I am with an e92 and looking at...

2. Right now I think it's easier because just about everything has a turbo on it.  Crank up the boost and bolt on a bunch of junk and you're flying. 20-30 years ago you had to do some serious and extremely expensive engine internals to do what a computer chip can do now.  Not sure if that's what's meant by being an "enthusiast".  If you're talking enthusiast in the traditional sense, it's way easier now with the internet.  ~30 years ago you had to join a marque club and if you wanted to actually converse with anyone, you had to go to a once a month meeting and then you'd only talk with the guys who were the type that went to meetings and were local to your area.  The rest would come from the club's usually crappy once a month (or worse) magazine.  Now you just jump on a forum and can interact with hundreds or thousands pretty much immediately.

[ChrisO]

I'm just going to say that I hate how much automakers change designs now. They are constantly redesigning front and rear ends of cars literally yearly. I hate that shit. Seems like every day I see another car that has been completely face-lifted after just a year (not just slightly updated)

I know that it's good for business, I just hate thats how it is. New stuff doesn't satisfy anyone for more then a year now.. They change car designs like iPhones

Heres a quick example that comes to mind because I work with Elantras so much

2016

2017

2019

Lets compare 80s/90s bmw now

1984 3-series

1992 3-series

I know that the e30, e36, e34, e39 etc. received several small design changes over the years, but not complete front/rear end overhauls yearly.

[HipMF]

All of the American marques used to facelift/redesign their cars yearly up until the late 70s/early 80s. If anything, this is a return to normal.

1)  See #5. Not too concerned about long-term reliability, because I can do my own repairs. If your M10/M20/M30/M42/M50/M52 grenades it's self, you just buy another one for a few hundred bucks and drop it in. I think in 20 years the situation will be similar with today's cars.

2)  About the same IMO. The internet is great for connecting with other enthusiasts, buying and selling, looking stuff up. Also great for connecting with deadbeats, spreading misinformation, and making you feel bad about your sub-500hp build. Cars have been getting more complicated and integrating more technology since before most of us were even born, and "enthusiasts" have been complaining about it just as long. People are still modifying their cars...

3)  Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. Repeat. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. Internal combustion engines are also really inefficient at turning chemical energy into mechanical energy. Huge amounts of waste heat is generated and simply vented to the atmosphere. Not much of a choice here.

4)  I don't know much about autonomous cars, but I wouldn't mind being able to get around on a daily basis without having to drive. 99% of the roads I drive on a daily basis are boring city streets and interstates that I've driven hundreds of times. On the other hand, I like to drive. Even if autonomous cars become a real thing, I will still own a car and drive it, just not as often. If I had to choose one, it would be driving.

5)  Maybe new cars are. I don't want to spend over $10k on car, so I don't really pay any attention to what's available beyond that price. I don't make that much money, but I have a daily and a project car and I'm fairly satisfied with both of them. If you're someone who's obsessed with whatever the best new thing is, you'll never be satisfied with what you have. I'm sure if I had more money, I'd drive better cars, but I don't know that I'd be any happier or better off because of it.

[ChrisO]

HipMF said:

All of the American marques used to facelift/redesign their cars yearly up until the late 70s/early 80s. If anything, this is a return to normal.

TIL

I'm only 21 

[HipMF]

ChrisO said:

TIL

I'm only 21 

Damn kids!

Kidding. It's all about changing the the style of what looks "new" faster so that cars that are still relatively new start to look old and out-dated faster.

From the 'pedia of wikis:

Planned obsolescence, or built-in obsolescence, in industrial design and economics is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so it will become obsolete (that is, unfashionable or no longer functional) after a certain period of time.[1] The rationale behind the strategy is to generate long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases (referred to as "shortening the replacement cycle").[2]

[GunMetalGrey]

suspenceful said:

1. As one of the few "modern" BMW owners/enthusiasts on this forum, my N54 seems more reliable than any "M10/M20/M30/M42/M50/M52 etc. powered BMW" on this forum. It seems that everyone with an E30 is constantly fixing it or trying to get it running again for the next meet.

Keep in mind that some of the older cars here are still using their original engine

[GunMetalGrey]

snap said:

1. "New BMWs suck. My old M10/M20/M30/M42/M50/M52 etc. powerd BMW ran for 400k miles with only 3 oil changes, a spark plug, and 1 alternator belt replacement, now you can't even drive a new one 100k without some big issue....."         What, in your opinion, is the last BMW chassis or engine that you personally wouldn't hesitate owning to 200k or more.

I think the E90 is pressing where I feel normal, but that may simply because that's the newest chassis I've dealt with. I do know that newer stuff requires more software to be able to work on. The bolts and clips are all still about the same.

2.) Is it harder to be a car enthusiast today than it was 10 or 20 years ago and why/why not?

Not at all, if anything it's easier! There are so many forums and other quick resources that you have access to. You can find pretty much any info in a matter of minutes.

3.) VW/Audi claims their next generation of IC engines will be their last. These will be rolled out in 2026. Are your jimmies rustled, or are you anxiously awaiting the electrification of vehicles.

I think electric is cool. Have I personally driven one? Nah, but I would like to. I do think the lack of easy modifications and cool noises will be sad though.

4. Autonomous cars are scary because they will be hacked/what happens when a computer has to choose between a pedestrian vs its own occupants etc.   vs.     Human-driven cars are scary because humans are idiots.  vs. I will NEVER stop driving my own car ("from my cold dead hands!!")

Autonomy is scary because you are leaving the critical decisions in the hands of the software. The software will choose the least number of people to harm, and that may be you and you have no control over that. I think the overall benefits are massive, but for those benefits to be possible we largely need to eliminate the human involvement in all vehicles and that I'm not a huge fan of. 
 

5. Cars, in general, are way too expensive

New cars or old cars? 
New cars are getting increasingly more expensive largely in part to what I would assume is the ever increasing amount of standard equipment required in new vehicles. Things like airbags, TPMS, Reverse cameras, increasingly complicated emissions systems, and many non required safety options (lane departure, blindspot monitors, adaptive cruise).

[wally509]

HipMF said:

...

3)  Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource. Repeat. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource...Not much of a choice here.

...

Not disagreeing with you but I'm a sarcastic smart-ass and can't help myself...not sure if it warranted a "repeat" because I don't think it's really relevant to this discussion.  If VW/Audi said they were phasing out IC engines in 2226, then maybe.  The ability to extract it from the ground and/or refine it into something burnable by the current form of internal combustion engines being (effectively) legislated out of existence is, however, a definite concern as that can happen at just about any time in the future.

So we're all going to drive electric cars, and that electricity will be generated by burning coal.  Sounds like a plan...

[suspenceful]

Earl said:

Didnt you kill an n54 already? 

Sure did! But I don't think it's an apples-to-apples comparison to cars on this forum. I don't consider reliability to be expected on a stock motor 700whp/wtq car.

GunMetalGrey said:

Keep in mind that some of the older cars here are still using their original engine

Now I'm actually curious how many of the E30's on this forum haven't done a motor swap. Roll call?

[jc43089]

suspenceful said:

Now I'm actually curious how many of the E30's on this forum haven't done a motor swap. Roll call?

The only engine swaps I have done were pulling out running engines for better running engines.

My e36 has 295k on the original M50. 

I have overhauled an M20 that had an unknown mileage over 280k and the crank and pistons were all still in spec, it just needed a light honing and new rings (I did install a re manufactured head because the original was cracked.)

They don't break unless they are horribly neglected.  Most of the swaps are either an M20 ETA to I swap.  Or of course the M20 to or M/S50/2.  Or the e36 game of M50/2 swap to S50/2.

[Jdesign]

I have a love / hate relationship for new cars. I get it, I understand why, but I also am nostalgic. Everything has its place, and I look at it from a more "fits the criteria" perspective. The modern car makes sense from the typical modern owner. Its very similar to owning a condo vs. a house. 

If you enjoy working on your own car, older cars tend to fit the bill more often due to cost and complexity. 

Think of it this way too, a lot of us daily a more "modern" BMW than the one we work on. Why is that? 

Enthusiast will always be enthusiast. It goes far beyond the date, tech, fuel as we all have our preferences to "fit the criteria". I believe its more of the emotional experience that makes the enthusiast exist. 

The current state of the automobile will always evolve, and I never look at this as a bad thing. With that evolution always comes new experiences and more knowledge.

[SteelBlue]

Jdesign said:

Think of it this way too, a lot of us daily a more "modern" BMW than the one we work on. Why is that? 

I don't know if I can go back to not having a heated steering wheel.

[i_love_cars]

Jdesign said:

I have a love / hate relationship for new cars. I get it, I understand why, but I also am nostalgic. Everything has its place, and I look at it from a more "fits the criteria" perspective. The modern car makes sense from the typical modern owner. Its very similar to owning a condo vs. a house. 

If you enjoy working on your own car, older cars tend to fit the bill more often due to cost and complexity. 

Think of it this way too, a lot of us daily a more "modern" BMW than the one we work on. Why is that? 

Enthusiast will always be enthusiast. It goes far beyond the date, tech, fuel as we all have our preferences to "fit the criteria". I believe its more of the emotional experience that makes the enthusiast exist. 

The current state of the automobile will always evolve, and I never look at this as a bad thing. With that evolution always comes new experiences and more knowledge. 

emotion is a pretty key concept here. At the end of the day, the people who love something are always going to care more and be opinionated about it. So those of us who truly love cars are attached to the concept of what we love. 

I enjoy driving my E46 more than my E92, but I daily something from 2018. Pretty much in line with what you're saying. We all want to drive the older stuff but many people aren't dailying those things. I also think not having something like an older M3 as a daily, and instead as a weekend car, makes it more special. Same way that bringing a car out of storage feels in spring time. People can say whatever they want - the fact is everyone becomes numb to a certain degree to their routine. Cars are no different - if you drive a classic BMW every day, it doesn't feel as special. Intellectually you know what you're driving all the time, and as an enthusiast you are like "cool" and have some level of appreciation but it's not quite the same as leaving your modern daily for something special to you at the end of the week, or whatever.

[B C]

You definitely need contrast in your life to enjoy/appreciate things to their fullest

[Earl]

Up until a few weeks ago my newest car I had ever bought was a 96. I still don't want to even daily something newer than 2000 lol. I'm just weird and really prefer older vehicles for fun cars and daily duties. Maybe as I get older I will change my tune and be accepting of an automatic newer car. At this point I still will not own an automatic car for any purpose.

[B C]

I thought for sure id be 55 or older before I wanted a soft ride, low end power, spacious interior, taller ride height, easy to enter/exit, quiet etc.

but holy crap, it has hit in my early 30’s 

I now completely understand why floaty 70-series sidewall Cadillacs exist. 

But again, its about contrast. Too much of a soft cushy thing makes you yearn for the opposite thing

[B C]

Earl said:

Up until a few weeks ago my newest car I had ever bought was a 96. I still don't want to even daily something newer than 2000 lol. I'm just weird and really prefer older vehicles for fun cars and daily duties. Maybe as I get older I will change my tune and be accepting of an automatic newer car. At this point I still will not own an automatic car for any purpose. 

If you ever procreate, safety ratings suddenly become more important. I dont want my family driving around in something that doesnt have side impact airbags. They make a hell of a difference. I never thought id become this guy. Its frightening

[Earl]

snap said:

If you ever procreate, safety ratings suddenly become more important. I dont want my family driving around in something that doesnt have side impact airbags. They make a hell of a difference 

If I'm being honest even at that point I probably won't care about safety ratings. If I did I would 100% drive an early 90's Volvo over anything else.