30 mpg from a small family car, do you really want to buy the fuel for that at today's prices ?
Yes. I'm rather averse to paying main stealer prices, dealing with depreciation and expensive insurance (and for me over here, ludicrously high tax rates on newer stuff). Then again, I appreciate that not everyone spanners their own stuff.
I wouldn't go back as far as the 50s for a daily driver. My main ones of recent times have been late 1970s, but still with 30mpg economy (therefore I can back up my willingness to fork out for fuel at 30mpg) Overall, I save due to other factors.
The shift these days is to "appliance" motoring, where you get something new with a service contract and a 7 year guarantee and bin it 7 years 1 day when it goes wrong and becomes beyond economic repair. I'd personally re-use, rather than recycle.
I like the Jazz, reliability and practicality were high up the list. I'm also aware of the pitfalls of an older one. 40k miles on rear wheel bearings is pretty poor. Leaky bodies due to cracked sealant and CVT starter clutches growling. Along with the other problems that the first owner doesn't get to see. They are certainly different problems from the past, but I woudn't describe them as better problems.
I don't dislike modern cars, but some things aren't really progress. In no particular order:
Ultra low profile tyres
Lack of spare tyres / spacesavers
Rear disk brakes
Electronic handbrakes
Daytime running lights
and a lot of modern cars that have eaten all the pies and are ridiculously heavy.
