People forget how crap cars were. I can't believe how reliable and well built they are these days.
I was a qualified motor mechanic from 1979-1989.
Lets see...
oil changes every 3000km / 3months - at least you got to know your customers really well - I even dated a few
spark plugs every 10,000km (leaded fuel)
Points every 10,000km
Air and fuel filters (if fitted) every 20,000km
Mechanical EFI systems were a nightmare (esp Kugelfucher or whatever it was) but so were twin carbs and SU/Solex and webbers.
Not to mention all the other stuff (uni joints, ball joints, tie rod ends that needed greasing and still wore out before 100,000km.
A car was considered old and worn out at 160,000km.
And they were gutless!
My 4.2L VB Commodore was <90kw
My 5.9L Chrysler 2BBL was around120kw about the same as my current 1.8tsi Octavia. The Chrysler averaged 14mpg (20L/100km) if I took it easy. 6mpg (47L/100km) if I gave it some stick.
Plus all the safety stuff on modern cars like ABS and stability control.
I know there's some useless tech on modern cars but I'd hate to go back to an older car as a daily.
carandimage The place where Off-Topic is On-Topic
I used to think I was anal-retentive until I started getting involved in car forums
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