Recently my 7-year-old has become obsessed with DVDs. He was born in an age where everything you could ever want to watch is on-demand. He can’t fully grasp it when I explain (in old prospector’s voice) that back in my day, you had to remember what time your show aired, sit through opening credits, endure commercial breaks, and wait a week for the next episode. Sure, DVDs aren’t that old, but they aren’t as “convenient” as Netflix either, yet he loves holding the physical disc, studying the art, sorting the boxes. I realized that very few things in his world are tangible: video games, music, books, photo albums, receipts, calculators, maps, etc. To most people, the cars JNCers love are old and archaic, but we know newer does not equal better. Here’s hoping that my son’s love for DVDs translates into a love or analog cars as he gets older, outdated as they might be.
What other ‘outdated’ things do you enjoy?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s your favorite JGTC livery?”
There are so many great JGTC liveries. We can’t really argue with a headliner like Lavender Null‘s choice of a top-dog GT500 Honda NSX in Raybrig or Castrol graphics, nor can we dismiss the colors of a Japanese institution like Autobacs on Ian G.’s Monocraft GT-300 MR-S or the Asparadrink/Matsumoto Kiyoshi warpaint on TheJWT‘s RE Amemiya RX-7.
Some liveries are just family-friendly fun, j_c‘s pick of the APR Racing’s Lightning McQueen MR-S or Team Mach’s Speed Racer Vemac. Speaking of iconic Japanese liveries on non-Japanese cars, dankan‘s Yellow Corn McLaren and ra21benj‘s Advan Porsche 964 were also excellent candidates.
The winner this week is Tom Ellis and his nomination of a plucky privateer team that went up against the big boys with a Miata:
Mazda Eunos Roadster GT300 Kagiesen Racing Team.
The red stripe down the middle was so distinctive even now you can look at old photographs and spot it a mile off. Can’t see it from the front? The spoiler uprights in the same red against the white bodywork make it stand out just as easily from the side.
Probably not as shouty with it’s sponsorship decals as some other answers you will be getting but I think that just adds to its charm.
(Plus here’s a nice bonus video of the Ex-Driver OVA featuring said Mazda – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReqjbcJWl-Y)
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Buying CDs and digital downloads – it’s not nostalgia though, stuff gets pulled from music streaming all the time and CDs often the best value way of getting a high quality digital copy of an album that’s yours forever, Digital downloads (rather than streams) aren’t as retro, but still a relic of the iPod era for a lot of people.
I enjoy reading a good, old-school, printed ink on paper Owner’s Manual for my car(s). No looking something up on the screen (which won’t work when the battery is dead and you’re looking for the jump points), no having to look something up online and then having to check the result at three different sources because AI is always wrong, and who knows if some random forum member remembers it correctly, just the official factory owner’s manual with a glossary sitting in the glovebox to tell me exactly what the torque setting needs to be for the wheels I’m rotating or the exact amount of oil to add when changing it with the filter.
A couple of years ago I got into cassette tapes. I’ve been collecting new and old tapes and listening to them on my tape deck since. I also bought a bunch of brand new blank tapes so the current plan is first get my JNC working – And then get a cassette player working in the JNC, so I can listen to self-made mixtapes on the road.
Speaking of outdated media… Love the 8-Track under dash player in my ’68 Datsun. Also like periodically changing the tunes to suit my mood in my other car by switching out the CDs in the 6-stack changer. So, what exactly is this “streaming” thing? Hopefully nothing to do with fluids under the hood onto the ground.
Besides my passion for classic Japanese cars, I also have a weakness for vintage Japanese automatic watches. Sometimes these two passions cross over beautifully, which is always a pleasure — especially when a period-correct Seiko or Orient feels like the perfect companion to an old Japanese car. Unfortunately, they also tend to compete for exactly the same money, which is considerably less enjoyable!
Yes, this!
I have a few old Seikos that regularly get mistaken for vintage Omegas. For me, they’re even nicer, and they’ve all been good investments. Even worth several times what I paid for them about 20 years ago, they’re still bargains compared to Swiss stuff that’s comparable (but never better) in quality.
You can take my BlackBerry out of my cold dead hands!
Vintage Synths – I currently have a Roland Alpha Juno and Casio CZ-101, too bad I have bare bones playing/composing skills.
Film Cameras – haven’t been active with this in awhile, but still have a few old Nikon SLRs
Video games – don’t play much anymore, but kept most of the systems around. The 16-bit era is my favorite. A Link to the Past, Final Fantasy III (6), Super Mario World, Sonic, etc.
CRT TV – I got a little old HITACHI tv to hook the older game consoles up to and get a nice warm CRT glow going on. It has woodgrain side panels, so you know it’s legit.
VCR – HD/4K is a bit much sometimes. Nothing like popping in the VHS of “The Princess Bride” that somehow hasn’t been eaten up after 3 decades and hundreds of viewings.
Cassette/Vinyl – I think I prefer cassette here, as I have more nostalgia for that format, but also a pretty small vinyl collection. The benefit being that this tends to lead to listening to full albums in their intended order. Not a random shuffle or easily skipped.
Music in General – 80’s New Wave is my preference
Books/Magazines in print – while I’ll read on a kindle sometimes – usually for things I can’t find at the library, I’d much rather have paper in my hands.
Watches – I’m not a watch collector, but I have 2 watches, both Casio. One has a *calculator*. Who needs a smart watch?
You could make those new wave music with the Juno !
Outdated things? Burning CD’s and playing them back in my CD player guy. I keep the burnt CD’s in a case. I can use my bluetooth speaker for listening to music from my phone, but no, it’s annoying.
There’s times when I’m in the garage listening to eurobeat (like we all normally do) and there’s that time when I have to look something up and the music stops to play loud YouTube ads, then the dude on the video, and then go back to the music. Minor inconvenience but mildly annoying.
Solved it by going to ebay and buying an old boombox, some cd-r’s, a usb cd burner, and just play my music. best part: nobody moves it. nobody wants it. it stays put.
what was the question? i think im done.
My old mix tapes and Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction. I can only play these in my 280ZX and 350Z. The fizzy sound of a cassette sounds good to me and I remember making a mix tape sitting around waiting for a song to play and scrambling to record it without the commercial.
Other than that, my Nintnedo and Genesis games. The older games are more fun and short and I don’t have time to play a newer game that takes 20+ hours to complete.
I drank from the garden hose.
Mid Century Modern furniture (the real stuff, been collecting since before it was cool), old hand tools and woodworking tools, rare old car and engineering books, 2-stroke Lawn Boy lawnmowers, military surplus rifles, 70s and 80s high-end HiFi (Japanese components, British and American speakers), vintage Pyrex (my wife’s hobby mostly, but I dig it too), and vinyl here and there. I really like high-end old upright and console pianos, too, but we’ve only got room for the one.
For the hand tools, I remember back in the day you would use the craftsman tools in situations you probably shouldn’t. But hey, it had the lifetime warranty and you just took it to Sears and they would exchange it.
My big one is vinyls, especially 70s-80’s Japanese stuff. I prefer getting the original pressings over the re-presses, for the simple reason that I think it’s fun to imagine who has owned and enjoyed them before me. I recently got a nice Onkyo CD player as well, since some of the 90s stuff I like wasn’t released on vinyl.
Video games are another one. I don’t play a ton of them anymore, but there’s no question they peaked around the mid-2000s. I booted up the original Mario Golf the other day and was having a blast, and I still regularly play Gran Turismo 4.
Also, shout-out to the 1983 Honda Cub I just picked up last month. Aside from scraping a knee at the racetrack, it’s the most fun you can have on 2 wheels by a huge margin
Road Bikes:
Costs for the modern ones are ridiculous. Its not worth it. Carbon Fiber frames and electronic shifters won’t make you a better rider. It will do the opposite. Electronic shifters need to be upgraded often and/or charged up daily. Lighter frames are the same thing.
Performance gains with a big money bike are meager and even non-existent if you don’t race.
Since we are here on JNC, that means we love old cars and things. Road bikes are the same way. A steel or aluminum frame are more durable albeit slightly heavier. The weigh difference is not that big. Neither is the performance. Give me a 1x chainring and a 12 speed rear derailleur and call it a day. Simplicity is key.
Mountain Bikes are a different thing and doesn’t apply here. My Murray MTB from the 90s was 50 lbs. Frames and old components amount to it being a different thing with old MTBs or even gravel bikes. Newer the better with those but road bikes…keep it simple!
I agree. With bikes it more the rider than the bike. I ride a steel triple triangle GT road bike and can keep up with friends on carbon Specialized Tarmacs. My mountain bike is a steel GT hardtail (32 lbs), V-brakes, and 120 mm travel fork. No problem keeping up with friends on modern full suspension at my local trail. Also, 26 in. wheels are more fun on jumps.
I can’t say I’m a big enthusiast, or very knowledgeable…but I wanted to get a road bike to try to get some more exercise earlier in the summer (of course, then they tore the bike path all up, so I’ve only ridden once) – so I picked up what I believe is an ’88 Fuji Ace.
Even if it doesn’t get ridden much, at least it looks nice. Unfortunately a very similar story to my JNC. :/
Man, get on that thing! Get it to a local bike shop to get tuned up and roll! Its a roadie so ride on road! Good times!
I don’t trust drivers around here to not have me killed in short order on the roads. I’m scared enough when I’m driving the cars!
I just got a radio-controlled buggy from Tamiya called the Rising Fighter. Just looking for something cheap and fun. It has a Grasshopper 2 chassis (released in 1988) and is very outdated compared to modern RC. Since it’s an old school car, the hop-ups don’t cost a lot. From watching YouTube videos on how owners modified this car, I’ll be converting the front suspension to double wishbone (less understeer) and install 3D printed rear shock mounts to reduce rear hopping. I plan to run it on open dirt, maybe track if it corners fast. It would be fun if tracks had a Grasshopper (live axle) racing class like Japan.
I still subscribe to and read hardcopies of Car and Driver magazine, even if it’s bi-monthly and sub-100 pages now. Reading online articles might be more convenient, but I find the physical picture spreads to be more fulfilling.
What about this… I still enjoy driving a car with a manual transmission.
I’m not sure if you can consider E-61 espresso machines or vintage speakers / MIDI synthesizers outdated, but my vintage computers could qualify! I am really fascinated by computers. In particular, I enjoy unique CPU architectures, Video & Sound devices, and Operating Systems!
About a year or two ago I won a Japanese auction for a Famicom edition Game Boy Advance SP. I used to play the hell out of my original GBA SP as a kid, and when the auction came up it was too good to pass up. It is pre-loved with minor wear but I think it really gives it character and adds to the soul of it. However, the early year GBA SPs had horrendous screens without backlights, so I did have to modernize it a little bit with a nice backlit IPS screen, and a flash cart to load multiple games onto one central cartridge. But nothing beats retro gaming on an original console. I spent a day off work glued to that thing and played nearly every childhood game I had. The great thing about retro gaming consoles, and older technology in general, is the innovation that had to be done to push hardware to its limits, and I feel like a lot of that has been lost in recent technology.