Soul, man

[340kiwi]

I'm in the middle of reading a book called "I know you got soul" which is about machines which for indefinable reasons become more than just a collection of parts put together on an assembly line and have a kind of spirit about them that attracts people. I know that probably many owners on this site feel that way about their cars (me included) but WHY? is what interests me. Did the people that assembled these cars back in the 70's think they were anything special? and when did the 'soul' go out of cars?

[Alaskan_TA]

Time to watch Christine. Again. 

Barry

[340kiwi]

Yeah, but thats not a good kind of soul! I certainly don't think of my car as alive - though it does suck money out of my wallet like a vampire! 

[Oldschool]

Mechanical pheromones are emitted by the old cars. That's what attracts us to them......       ...Oldschool

[Cuda Wuda]

I doubt that anyone back in the day was aware of the soul of these machines. Even so, Its hard to deny that part of the attraction to restoring these old cars is the fact that every scratch or dent you encounter is part of the soul and character of the car. Its kind of like a re-birth. I know....Im wierd.

[TheCrazyCheesehead]

All the old cars have soul, it is bits and pieces of the assembly works bloody and sweat that went into them, the people that owned them before us. Not really sure what it is but yea the cars of the past have soul, and new ones don't it could just be the fact that people barelly touch the new cars, not really sure. There are people that say everything talks to you, you just have to listen. I like to think that they have soul, because the shapes, body lines, and everything about them were created for the american people, and not just shoved on to them like here you go take it or leave it, there is no alternitive. But the biggest thing why these cars have soul to me is that they are  and stand for everything this country has ever stood for. We are the people that stand united and lots of times take the unbeaten road, that later turns out to be the correct one.

Later

[340kiwi]

Mechanical pheromones are emitted by the old cars. That's what attracts us to them......       ...Oldschool

You could be onto something there Imagine if car companies could sythesize that, we'd be lining up like lemmings everytime a new model came out!

[340kiwi]

I doubt that anyone back in the day was aware of the soul of these machines. Even so, Its hard to deny that part of the attraction to restoring these old cars is the fact that every scratch or dent you encounter is part of the soul and character of the car. Its kind of like a re-birth. I know....Im wierd.

Nah Dude, I don't think you're weird. My Challenger was my everyday driver when I was in The States and we clocked up a fair few miles together. Driving flat out on the desert roads outside Reno doing the 'Vanishing Point' thing wouldn't have been quite the same in a Toyota

[Silver R/T]

As long as I've worked on the car, its more precious to me. Doesnt matter make/year of the car

[crcarch]

I don't think any man-made entity is born with or ever has "soul", but I genuinely believe an object can absorb the "life-force" of souls who have occupied it and that can be transferred to others who come in contact with it. I think the Chinese call it Chi.

For example.  Muscle Car = Good times. 30+ years of good times = lots of fond memories = mucho life force. Also, have you ever gone through a junk yard and been wierded out by one car out of the many wrecks there.  It may not even be that badly damaged, but you didn't even go near it, just because you  knew deep down that whatever happened wasn't good. 

Now this comes from someone who grew up in a certified haunted house that was over 80 years old, so I've experienced both, but believe me when I plant my butt in the seat of my ride, I'm in my "Happy Place".  Chi baby!