Vintage: What's Your Definition?

[John&Vicki]

I'm a little fuzzy about the definition of "vintage" as it applies to Airstreams. You often see it defined as 25 years old or more, but that doesn't feel right to me. For example, my trailer is a '90 so it will soon be 25 years old. But it doesn't seem vintage to me at all - it feels kind of new even. That might be because I'm an old guy and I've spent too long dealing with 50 year old Porsches, dunno.

To me Airstreams from the 50's and 60's feel vintage. With apologies to 70's owners, trailers from that era and newer ones don't.

John

[wkerfoot]

According to the Vintage Airstream Club and Tin Can Tourists, Vintage is 25 years old and older. Style does not matter.

Bill

Originally Posted by John&Vicki

I'm a little fuzzy about the definition of "vintage" as it applies to Airstreams. You often see it defined as 25 years old or more, but that doesn't feel right to me. For example, my trailer is a '90 so it will soon be 25 years old. But it doesn't seem vintage to me at all - it feels kind of new even. That might be because I'm an old guy and I've spent too long dealing with 50 year old Porsches, dunno.

To me Airstreams from the 50's and 60's feel vintage. With apologies to 70's owners, trailers from that era and newer ones don't.

John

[overlander63]

Vintage vehicles are 25 and older. At one point and in some places, it was 20 years. There was an issue a couple decades ago when someone in our government decided "antique" had to be more than a hundred years old, so anything 25-99 years old is vintage.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Vintage vehicles are 25 and older. At one point and in some places, it was 20 years. There was an issue a couple decades ago when someone in our government decided "antique" had to be more than a hundred years old, so anything 25-99 years old is vintage.

I wasn't aware that "vintage" was even considered an age category for cars. I've always heard that cars are "classic" or "antique," and that the definition varies by state with regard to obtaining license plates for an antique auto from the DMV.

[AWCHIEF]

The VAC considers an Airstream over 25 years old to be vintage. The state of Mississippi considers any motorized vehicle over 25 to be an antique. My state makes no age distinction for trailers.

[Melody Ranch]

Who cares? Why care? I "like" 60's and older.

[John&Vicki]

I don't care. It's frozen here, I'm getting cabin fever, and looking for something to talk about, m'am (as I was trained say growing up on a ranch in Texas). Hell, I don't care.

John

[wahoonc]

Well I saw a 2014 vintage trailer the other day...

Vintage is a noun, verb and adjective. There is no hard and fast rule as to what constitutes vintage when it comes to many objects.

My pet peeve is people referring to something as a Classic when it is a common piece.

However as pointed out in the case of Airstreams, the VAC considers anything over 25 years old vintage for their classification purposes.

Aaron

[Bill M.]

more than 3 segments

[John&Vicki]

Great answer!

[Tom_T]

Everything becomes "vintage", "classic", "antique", "collector", etc. at some point. There also seems to be a range of points as either year specific, or 25, 30, 35, etc. year old rolling hurdle date.

Back in the 1960's we considered 1920-30's those categories by whatever name.

The US-DOT considers 25 years to be the point where non-DOT spec import make cars/trailers can be imported to the US without being greay market or converted to DOT spec.

The insurance companies will play make & year games with you, allowing some like Porsches to be up to 1989 (some a bit later) for their classic car insurance, while the other makes must be 1972 or older!

Calif DMV started off with a 25 year old car/etc. smog exemption but then caved to the environmentalists & froze it at 1975 & older (pre-1976), so that killed the car collector market for 1976 on - which is a shame, since smog parts can be hard to find when they fail, & they are often driven only a few miles a year to car shows.

DMVs nationwide vary on their historic vehicle plate ages/dates to be eligible, & CA varies within its own various things, with one date set for historic vehicle plates, & another for YOM (Year of Manufacture) vintage license plate reassignment to a vehicle or trailer, and a few others mixed in there - beyond the smog exemption above!!!

So .... it goes something like this .... we have a 1960 Avion T20 - first registered in 1960, which is actually a 1961 Model Year (#2 T20 built summer of `60), on which I was able to get CA DMV to reassign a 1956 series yellow with black letter plate & bearing a 1960 YOM sticker as a YOM reassignment from the current year 2012 NM plates when we bought it in ABQ in July 2012, but with a 1 year interim with 2012 CA plate on there!!!!

More on point to your question for TTs - I've seen the vintage trailer/RV rallies around here seem to vary from 1972, 1979, 1980's & all over the place - depending on what year the organizers picked.

Hopefully this has now officially thoroughly confused everybody!?
.... I know I am!!!!

Hopefully this also fulfills the OP's - "I'm a little fuzzy's" - desire for some entertainment on a cold Fall day!

Cheers Fuzzy!

[jwo9958]

What is VAC?

[Stefrobrts]

VAC = Vintage Airstream Club, a sub-club of the WBCCI

I always wanted to have a vintage car for a daily driver, I just didn't realize my 90 Miata was going to become 'vintage' while I owned it. Once you hit 25 years old your car no longer has to go through the DEQ testing and can get an 'antique' license plate. I have always thought of 'vintage' cars like 60's Mustangs, seems pretty weird that my '90 now falls into that category.

[Thalweg]

I don't see how anything younger than me could be vintage. That would make me vintage. I don't feel vintage! Well, maybe somedays. So, by my math, it has to be older than 1964 to be vintage. 1980's, that seems like yesterday, so they've got to be practically brand-spankin' new.

Sorry for my pathetic sense of humor.

[r carl]

I think before Beatrice Foods took over is vintage. Some may want to include those years too.

[racoco]

I think Airstreams are:
Vintage = older than me,
Classic = from my teenage years,
New = awfully expensive!