There has been a category for unrestored cars at Peeble Beach for a few years. It's nice to see cars that have been preserved and have been driven regularly. They acquire a patina that can't be duplicated. However, when a car has been sitting for years in a less than optimal storage, the deterioration is such that there is no other solution than a complete restoration. Often, the unrestored vehicles are much better drivers. Also, after spending big money for a concourse restoration, most people feel uneasy about really driving their cars. I remember watching the PB "Concoure D'elegance" and getting a kick watching these millions of Dollars restorations which could barely climb the gentle slope needed to get to the podium with huge amounts of blue smoke and mechanical noises. Many of these fine trailer queens with all their polished bits can barely run.
It's amazing how much we have progressed in technology compared to just a few generations ago. Modern cars do everything so much better than even the most exotics of the past and that's without requiring any maintenance. However, I don't see them becoming classics with all their electronics and plastics. Finding new electronic parts will be a real challenge in the future as they can't be easily duplicated.
Emmanuel[
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