What is tradition without nostalgia? That’s a key question for the old car world — and one that it’s going to have to face over the course of the next decade.
It’s the fundamental question behind FuelCult — a site dedicated to modern automotive intelligence for old cars and their owners.
One of the largest wealth transfers in history is on the horizon. As part of that, Baby Boomers will hand down their prized classic car possessions to the next generation of caretakers — a generation born into EFI, anti-lock brakes and power accessories. You can bet these new owners will bring new views into the old car world — views untethered from their parents’ nostalgia — which will be the catalyst for fundamental change in everything from values to events to the cars themselves.
In reality, that change is already underway, visible in pop culture references and new focus points of even the most illustrious automotive organizations and events. Think JDM cars on display outside of the Pebble Beach Concours, or the constant news of 1990s cars leading the ranks at collector car auctions across the globe.
But where the rubber meets the road, this change is most important in how it relates to the new owners of older, pre-1980s cars. And there are a lot of those cars.
Our charge is this: How does one make the old car experience better without losing the heart of what makes an old car special? What upgrades or modifications will round off the rough edges that time has exposed and nostalgia (no longer) mutes?
FuelCult is not about full custom builds and it’s not about scrapping history in the name of the future. What we are here to do is help owners make smart decisions about their own cars to make them more usable, more valuable and more fun. Sometimes the answer is restoration or preservation, full stop. But for many cars and owners, it won’t be.
We view all of this as the key to the future. Museum pieces aren’t exactly exciting. Use is the driving force for a new nostalgia and a new generation, and cars that are optimized will run at the head of that pack. Our future will be built on use, the same way the past was.
If you’re interested in bridging the gap between originality and usability in old cars, you’re come to the right place.
Welcome to FuelCult.
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