Thought and Contemplation

Talk about E-Types here
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Simon P
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#41 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by Simon P » Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:25 am

You're forgetting that we're British. We're born with a unique ability to get all nostalgic about things we're too young to have experienced or which never actually existed.....

:wink:
1969 S2 FHC - 1R20258
1993 Lancia Delta HF integrale Evo II

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H7OB
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#42 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by H7OB » Fri Jan 04, 2019 2:36 pm

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for posting whats evolved to be a really interesting topic for discussion! Its brought out lots of interesting points, personal backgrounds as well as lowering my perception of the average age of an E Type owner! I bought mine just over a year ago at the age of 45 so, whilst initially disappointed not to be the youngest, Im actually now very pleased that there seems to be more younger owners managing to make the step! :bigrin:

Ive very much been a petrol-head all my life, 2 and 4 wheels and probably somewhat inherited from my dad (though my brother doesnt have the same passion). My first was a 1976 Suzuki AP50, that I paid £25 for at the age of 10 /11. At 50p per week pocket money that was a lot of saving, washed cars and other child labour jobs in those days! Since then Ive been through multiple dirt, then road bikes, then cars that included a Spitfire MkII, Alfa Spider S4, Ferrari 308 GT4, Westfield, Griffith 500, Lotus Elan +2, Air & Water cooled 911s etc. All of which were at the upper end of what I could stretch to then, just like the first £30 bike! For us, saving enough for and buying the E was, and still is, a big deal. I spent around 2 years following nearly every car for sale in the UK and ended up buying a car that Im very pleased with. My boys are 4 and 6 so it had to be a 2+2 to be something usable for the whole family. Luckily, my wife also 'gets' just how special an E-Type is. Clearly stating the obvious and despite the growth in value, there still are no classic cars that combine that level of beauty, performance and desirability at that price point. Much as Id love a DB5, is it really 10 x better / faster / more beautiful than my car?? I still go into the garage just to check its still there and get just as excited as I did at the age of 10 with my first bike purchase!

The future of mobility, the internal combustion engine, the values of the next generations and how that affects the future of our vehicles can only be described as being as complex as it is changing. We are seeing the beginning of massive change in both what powers our vehicles as well as how we will use them. I work in Automotive Design and the explosion of new technology and what that now allows us to be able to do makes this a very exciting time. Its true to say, as excited as I am about new technologies, I still have the same passion for classic cars. For me, regardless of how the next generation of transport evolves, an E-Type will always be beautiful and desirable! I think if electrification drives cars to be more of a tecchy, on-demand, instant experience, that will only heighten the contrast between this and the visceral excitement that you get from driving an E type or similar. (Im working on the theory that the two can co-exist!) If that leads me onto anything, its that I feel very lucky to own one of the world's most desirable cars and so the best thing to do is to keep driving and enjoying it! Hopefully my lads will do the same when theyre older!

:thumbsup:
Paul
'68 Series 1.25 2+2

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Tom W
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#43 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by Tom W » Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:29 pm

I think there will be a generation of cars soon that, with a few exceptions, never make classic status. They’ll be too complex to be fixed at home, and too expensive to pay specialists to sort out, compared to the value of the car. I think younger enthusiasts will then look to more established classics they can fix at home or pay a specialist to service on a more realistic budget. Most of my cars are older than me!
Tom
1970 S2 FHC

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politeperson
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#44 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by politeperson » Fri Jan 04, 2019 8:37 pm

Well Paul, an E type would be worth as much, if not more than a DB5 if they hadn't made 80,000 of them.

Just goes to prove people dont know a good thing when they see it.

As far as new tech goes, having completed 100,000 miles in a Tesla Model S,that definitely is the future. Actually, I would say the future is the Hyundai Kona.

However, my E type is far more exciting. No question.
Its true, but Enzo never said it
Too many E types
XK120 SUs

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christopher storey
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#45 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by christopher storey » Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:27 am

The DB5/6 , though nice to look at, as a driving experience is not a patch on an E type, feeling rather lumpen and lorry like in comparison . Its quality also is very debatable, with the engine being rather fragile ( literally so in the case of the car of a friend, which had cracking of the block at main bearing level ) and the superleggera construction makes the E's bodyshell seem bomb-proof by comparison. The market is also rather a false one, with the astronomical rise in prices paid resulting from repeated purchases by two foreign potentates , neither of whom now seem all that secure .......

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driver
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#46 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by driver » Sat Jan 05, 2019 5:57 pm

I brought my e type at 56 after always wanting one from my youth. Having had most of the popular cars of the seventies Tr6 triumph stag ,MGB, Jensen healey and a xj12 jaguar but I could not quite stretch to an e type.The closest I got to buying a e type was when I went to view one at steve Barratts (sng barratt),but I had already booked a very expensive holiday to the florida and a cruise to the Bahamas and I did not want to let this very pretty blonde girl friend down, yes I know you do some silly things in your youth.
Fast forward 34 years 2kids 1 detatched house all paid for what next ? well you can guess ,but can I really afford one ? if I thought how I usually think the answer would be NO! but you only live once and my son said go for it dad so I did ,knowing with his approval my wife would not question it.
This was a project car which after 2 1/2 years is on the road and 95% complete.
AND I LOVE IT wether its driving it, polishing it, looking at it or maintaining it ,a mate of mine who has a Porsche summed it up when he said ,when people see a Porsche or a similar car they don't really take a second look ,but when they see an e type they just stop and stare :bigrin: :swerve: :swerve: .
and that's why theres only one car in town for me the XKE!. and by the way the pretty blonde in the story as been my wife for 35 years, and this year we went on another cruise but not until the e type was on the road. PS.she reckons the passenger door dosent open from the inside,it does when I try it ,I think she likes me to open the door for her , but who cares.
v12 etype 2+2

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Jeremy
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#47 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by Jeremy » Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:57 pm

christopher storey wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 10:27 am
The DB5/6 , though nice to look at, as a driving experience is not a patch on an E type, feeling rather lumpen and lorry like in comparison . Its quality also is very debatable, with the engine being rather fragile ( literally so in the case of the car of a friend, which had cracking of the block at main bearing level ) and the superleggera construction makes the E's bodyshell seem bomb-proof by comparison. The market is also rather a false one, with the astronomical rise in prices paid resulting from repeated purchases by two foreign potentates , neither of whom now seem all that secure .......
Couldn't agree more Christopher. We had a DB5 years ago, gorgeous to look at (if somewhat stately and upright), but a big letdown to drive. A decidedly primitive feel. Steering heavy and unresponsive, disappointing lack of punch when you put your foot down, indifferent ride, noisy, and several really bad bits of detail engineering. I assumed that was the best the 60s could offer...until I drove my E. It utterly outclasses the Aston dynamically and the sheer flair of so many aspects of the Jag design has completely won me over. 750k for a DB5 - that's for people for whom wealth means nothing at all...
Jeremy
1967 S1 4.2 FHC

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Barry
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#48 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by Barry » Sun Jan 06, 2019 5:51 pm

It is heartening to read some of the responses from younger members. Well, I am 67, and have owned a total of 107 cars from the age of 17. I inherited the “disease” from my father; forever a Jaguar man. He bought a new Jag every year “when the ash trays were full!” His first a new 1956 Mk1. His last a Series 3 XJ6. My two sons are undoubtedly keen petrol heads, one who can afford the hobby at 37, and the other who can’t at nearly 34. They will inherit my cars, and will no doubt fight about who owns my unique 6.0 litre S3 OTS E, unless I intervene before the inevitable happens! (A long time hence I hope!) When I was 27, just married, I bought a concours 1968 Alfa Duetto Spider for the princely sum of £2500 courtesy of a Lloyd’s Bank loan. I was a newly qualified architect not earning more than £4000 a year. My mortgage was for £11,750, on a house worth £14,000. That, I think is what the problem is in terms of present day ownership of Classics cars. That Spider today would be worth £50,000, and the same house I bought in 1978, is approximately worth £250,000. Cheaper classics, I gather from certain dealers are well sought after, and in E-type terms, that means 2+2’s, which are very popular. Putting aside certain economic and political uncertainties Cars over £100k are not selling, and that applies especially to the E-type market. It relies on us older owners to pass on the bug to our children, and just maybe there will be a price re-alignment in the next few years. It happened in 1990, which saw an overheated market caused by speculation, and using too much borrowed money. One piece of optimism comes from leading lenders Oracle. They say they still lending huge sums of money to real enthusiasts, a shift from the market a couple of years ago.
Barry

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SEJohnson95
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#49 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by SEJohnson95 » Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:29 pm

There's certainly been some fascinating discussion on this topic already, and I've been trying to find the time to respond myself!

I would say it can be a combination of factors that gets young people interested in classic cars in general - a hands-on approach, their relatively simplicity in comparison to modern day cars, maybe a family interest or something which comes out of nowhere.

I don't come from a family of petrol-heads, nor classic owners (aside from my Dad having a Triumph Herald when I was young) but so far as where the interest in the E-Type came from... I can't place it now. I think I have always been aware of them and the curiosity and the interest grew progressively, with me taking a proper interest in them about 6/7 years ago now.

The E-Type owners' demographic is a lot more varied than I expected it to be - but it depends on how you get into it, to an extent. My friend Richard only got into ownership because he restored them himself and spread the costs accordingly - he's always been fixing cars. He's somewhere around the 50 mark now and got his first E-Type 10 years ago, although had he not had other hobbies/interests he reckoned he could have bought one much earlier. Then you have people who have owned them for years, or have been passed down through the family, and all sorts.

The biggest challenge facing the future generations of owners has to be their (current) values - even as a restoration project, they are an enormous amount of money, and trying to juggle that amount of money along with a young family, house, other interests has to be a major sticking point. As it stands, I am wondering when I would be able to afford one (PhD students aren't exactly the best paid of the bunch!) but I suppose the money, good jobs and pay come later in life - ideally in 15-20 years time when I might actually need it! I hope the costs come down, otherwise the younger enthusiast may not be in a position to fulfill their dream.

Another point is experience with classics - I am used to being around E-Types and with a bit of help, I could probably have a go at putting one together (!) Richard and Paul Brown have always been very helpful with explaining how they go together, how to look after them and I've no doubt picked things up from the forum too. I have never really worked with a classic car, and I think I would like something a little less pricey to get used to the idea of running a classic. Perhaps an MGB, or a Spitfire, or nostalgia kicking in and wanting our little Herald back - if it were still in the family I would never be away from it! We do have our Mazda now which is the "looked after car" of the bunch - 8K dry miles in 4 years - but it's still not quite the same.

Oh, rest assured I still REALLY WANT ONE though! And it will happen.
Simon Johnson
Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Nottingham
E-type Club magazine contributor
Chasing the dream of a S1 4.2 OTS, but plan on getting an E ASAP!
Lucky passenger in a 1962 FHC - See restoration thread

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Gravygraham
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#50 Re: Thought and Contemplation

Post by Gravygraham » Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:52 am

I’m sure nostalgia does play a significant part in the desire of E-type ownership, but obviously as time marches on there will be fewer of this class of buyer. Our cars really do hold their own when out and about though, the number of head-turns and comments we get from youngsters who don’t even know what make and model she is clearly demonstrates the aesthetic allure and pulling-power of the E which leaves me in no doubt there will be a strong pool of wannabe owners for at least a couple of decades to come.
Oh, and about your age theory, I’m guilty as charged - we bought our E four years ago when I was 51.
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