Almost no old cars where I live. I may see the occaisional 240, but that’s as old as things get. I’ve seen two W124s in recent memory, and the same number of classic BMWs, not including mine or at meets.
Even though pickups in general aren't very popular here compared to other parts of North America, ones from the early '70s to early '90s are still a regular sight. They definitely skew much older than other vehicles. The runner-up is Volvo. Old 240's and 740's seem much more common to me than other cars that age, especially considering quite a few of the 240's I see around are pre-facelift ones from the late '70s to early '80s.
Old American cars, mostly GM are found where I live. The most common ones are Chevys, Pontiacs, and Buicks because parts are so cheap. Most of those cars have the 3800 or 3100 V6. The best condition old cars by far are old Buicks from the 1980s and 1990s because elderly people own them so they are super low mileage and often garage kept. EDIT: Worn out Toyotas and Nissans are common here too because they have such a high tolerance for neglected maintenance.
That's the point. We have old cars a block away from late-model luxury performance stuff. --- Post updated --- We tend to have a similar thing with old cars in Poland - once in a rather long while, you see an old guy rocking a 125p/Wartburg/W123/80s Toyota/Mazda, or any other car that should have landed on the junkyard years ago, like it's 1995.
Most older cars aren't even driven by the elderly anymore, a lot of the older cars are driven by millenials and younger people who can't afford new cars. Not many people consider older domestic luxury cars even though they are great vehicles because of the stigma surrounding them, it really is a shame.
If you mean that being parked a block away from an SQ7 means that the W124 is now revered,,you're wrong. It's still an old car, just a rather nice one.
I'm pretty sure I remember an AR12 video where Nick said that his parents' Audi's engine broke, and that 1 in 5 of those engines break at an earlier time than expected.
There is one component on those v8s notorious to fail. Just one. A guide for the timing chain. But, it fails, the motor gets chewed up from being an interference design. Most of the bad reputation comes from the USA where you can't get spares, versus Europe where you can. Except ironically that one plastic guide, for which the reinforced aftermarket replacement is an American company.
The OHC Ford Cologne V6 did it, too. Plastic just isn't strong enough to be used inside an engine, even as just a guide. However, it's easy to see why they use it. Metal guides would wear the chain much faster, as opposed to the chain wearing the guides.
Unfortunately at the end of the day, it affects the bottom dollar. Say a composite timing chain cassette is an extra 30 cents to make, a manufacture would up the price of the car 2-3 thousand dollars in order to cover the R&D associated along with the increased material cost.
