This image popped up in my Instagram feed and made me wonder if bigger is better?

photos.smugmug.com

I have good knowledge of two of the three cars shown here...the cheaper ones!

Growing up as a kid one of our family cars was a Mini Cooper, not that our family runaround was rally material, but it certainly did make you smile when this little car was beating the world.

Mini's history in international rallying dates back to the 1960s, when the Mini Cooper S won the legendary Monte Carlo Rally on three occasions, in 1964, 1965 and 1967, as well as wins on the Acropolis Rally, RAC Rally and 1000 Lakes Rally, and the European Rally Championship in 1965.

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Since the 60's the Mini has never won another Monte Carlo Rally

The Mini was made for local driving in England where a lot of the back roads can be very small in the countryside. This road is on the way to a friends house, its a two way road by the way, this is Mini territory!

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The Fiat 500 -

Launched in July, 1957. The Fiat 500, known initially as 'The Cinquecento' was introduced by Fiat Company in July 1957, and produced under this guise until 1975. Designed by Dante Giacosa, the Cinquecento was marketed as a cheap, functional and economical town car for post-war Italy.

When I was looking for a first car, the Fiat 500 was on my radar, because it was cheap, really cheap. I very nearly bought one in the early 80's. For sale for £60/ $74, I offered £55/ $68 because it was literally all the money I had in the world, I was denied and the seller drove away.

Decades later in Italy, in the small town of Gallipoli they were everywhere, for one very good reason, the streets are tiny and it literally was one of the only car that could fit down them if you did walk or ride a bicycle or scooter

photos.smugmug.com

Obviously as the world develops and things improve, bigger is classed as better in so many societies, but is the cool factor lost?

What do you have now that is noticeably bigger than its former designs and is it better or would you prefer the older smaller version?

Maybe you want to ask a different question: whether the current 911 is the same 911 that Porsche started 70 years ago (the only thing that remained the same is the engine in the back). Whether the current Cinquecento is the same as the original one (it is not, a front wheel drive vs. rear-engine). Whether the current Mini is the same as the original one (it is not, it is even called differently, it is New MINI, not Mini). Whether the current (well, the recently produced) Beetle is the same as the original one (no, it is not, it is called New Beetle, and it is a front-wheel drive car).

So, what you see are not the same cars, not even newer versions of the original cars. These are completely different cars, styled to look like old ones to cater to a particular crowd. The New Beetle was produced for 20 years to cater to boomers' nostalgia (same for PT Cruiser, but it did not pretend to continue a specific model). Now when the target audience is dying off, manufacturers are moving on to Gen-Xers, who lived in the age of boxy hatchbacks, 8-bit synth music and CGA colors. Noticed synth resurgence lately? Noticed how VW Golf Mk7 looks like a blend between the Mk1 and Mk2? The Stranger Things? The "cassette comeback"? This is just marketing.

As for the cars you posted, you could as well compare the Ford Explorer and the Ford Fiesta, these are just different cars. Those who want a bigger car will never get a Fiesta. But besides personal preferences, safety regulations have a lot to it. Can you stick eight airbags into the original Mini? What happens with the driver in a 40-MPH offset crash? He probably would be buried with the car.

The question was more nostalgia and sized based, I am fully aware of the changes and updates of the newer versions.

What you are referring to would be a question, Is Newer Better? that's a simple yes...end of conversation, but what fun is there in that!

And the reply was that there are no newer versions. These are completely different cars, styled as the old ones to instill nostalgic urge to step into the same river twice.

As a moderator on Cake, I just wanted to thank both of you for engaging in a spirited conversation without resorting to ad hominem attacks.

🎂

All those bigger things are bigger because of the MICROchips running all the MICROprocessors and sensors and other MICRO things that need managed and monitored. Good thing the bigger things have micro things installed or they'd be really HUGE!

All the smaller things simply needed plugs, points and a condenser (and a few other mechanical parts) to run, albeit, for about 3000 miles before needing new ones.

I still have the 1968 Holley 750 dual feed 4 barrel carburetor for my (long gone and wish I now had) 1964 GTO! Seem to recall I paid about $65 for it NIB.

I prefer the smaller things.

My daily driver is a 1988 BJ-74 Toyota Land Cruiser (actually belongs to my labs, they just let me drive it), RH drive. And it's not old like those small things in Paul's images.

I had a 1971 Fiat Cinquecento when I lived in Genova in the late 70s. Loved that little thing. 2 normal sized humans could lift the front or rear end and slide it into a parking spot too tight to drive into and park. Who needs "auto park" option when you can do that!

What makes Cake special and refreshing!

Nice deployment of ad hominem !