Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.There's a lot to like in a classic car. After a few decades, it becomes something else, removed from the constraints of the world around it. Flaws become charming. Issues become talking points more than something to be remedied. You have to be a kind of person to own something like this, and you have to take the bad with the good in a way you don't in a new car. So, there's a lot to like in any classic car. But as a BMW fan? As someone who loves these old BMWs? It's tough to pick out the highlights. Here's an attempt.Old Things Feel Alien NowChase BierenkovenView the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleAdvertisementAdvertisementEverything you touch in a new car feels so unlike everything you touch in a classic like this. My favorites, by far, are these contrasts. The fact that the only light in the car is organic. These gauges rattle a bit in their housing when you start the car. Because there is a physical connection between them and the engine, they hunt around a lot while you drive. I won't lie and say this shifter is excellent. It's not. But the wood? Wow.Chase BierenkovenThis kind of feel is absent in something newer. Stuff from the '70s and of that same vintage has this wholly indescribable feel to it that cars of this era exemplify so well. You'll never feel that in a new car, just as you'll never feel this kind of metal under your hands. Things have just changed too much, so even when you touch metal in a new car, it feels different.These Beautiful HingesChase BierenkovenThe way this seat folds is so intricate; I love it. It hinges only the backrest, and on this hinge that looks stunning. It's polished steel, I think. It's really hard (banged my knee real nice), and it feels heavy. Modern automotive applications cover this sort of thing, maybe because it's safer or cheaper, or whatever. The point is, this is good design applied to something wholly mundane. Now, it feels special. You can find this today, but not in a somewhat reasonably priced luxury coupe. Today, you have to go to Rolls-Royce or similar for this kind of stuff.Carbs RuleChase BierenkovenThey'll play a carbed inline-six like this when they pull the plug on me one day. It's maybe the last thing I want to hear, right after the wind in pines. Again, technology has moved on and left something behind. New engines are better, but the sound isn't. Shockingly, some of today's BMWs retain the noises this thing makes, but only some. There is no substitute for this I6, even if it might make only a few hundred horsepower.AdvertisementAdvertisementOld Cars Have So Many Good SoundsChase BierenkovenThese buttons all sound so good. I think this is nostalgia, but we don't get switches this loud anymore. This feeling of tactility is again something left behind over the decades. The turn signals are awesome. They click "hard," like something you can feel. I love the little bit of metallic detent in these window switches (and that many BMWs kept this layout later on). Even the doors sound different.This story was originally published by Autoblog on Aug 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.