For me, a classic is a car which has had significant impact on motoring history. It is also a vehicle which has been out of production for a number of years, so that the manufacturer’s advertizing claims and slogans have been forgotten. “Safety Fast” was on all the brochures about MG cars, but when you think about it, very few were ‘fast’ and even fewer were ‘safe’.
I believe there is a tendency in countries such as Thailand to confuse ‘old’ and ‘classic’. For example, Fiat must have sold very well in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s judging by the number of battered old Fiat 1100’s that are still around. Some of these are now half a century old – but does that make them a ‘classic’? Were the Fiat 1100’s of that era special motor cars in some way or other? Were the later Fiat 1100 D Riviera’s with the finned tail lights some technological breakthrough?
“Classic” Fiat?
The simple answer has to be a resounding “no” on all counts. They were just mass-produced utilitarian transport, the Italian equivalent of similar motor cars built by BMC, Renault or even Nissan/Datsun.
In Thailand, these older cars have also suffered from the fact that to keep going, there has been no manufacturer’s spare parts pool, and when you lift the bonnet on one of them, you will find that the original in-line four has been replaced by that from a Toyota Corolla, or even more shuddersome, the ubiquitous Isuzu diesel!
