If you’ve been paying attention, there have been some significant waves in the automotive industry relating to the use and rise of the electric car. Tesla, Chevrolet, Ford, Lamborghini, Audi - all automotive players looking into the future of green energy and electric vehicles, instead of mechanical and gas-powered vehicles. It’s funny to me because we’ve seen something similar in the past, but will the same outcome occur?
In the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry dealt with the rise of the Quartz movement, with Japanese brand, Seiko, leading the charge. A battery-powered movement that required minimal maintenance and was far more convenient than the typical mechanical watch. The Swiss watch industry would attempt to create their own Quartz equivalent, the Beta 21, but couldn’t keep up with the dominance of Seiko’s technological efforts and advancements.
The Quartz era would dominate the 1970s into the 1980s, when the mechanical wristwatch would suddenly rise again. This was largely due to the collectors or hobbyists becoming re-engaged, and celebrity endorsement of the almost derelict technology. All the Swiss watch industry had to do was sit back and wait for people to realize the quality craftsmanship and work that went into creating these timepieces. In saying that, if we fast forward 30 years into the future, there is a similarity between mechanical watches and gas-powered cars. Gas-powered vehicles with mechanical engines are beginning to feel a similar squeeze from electric cars to what Swiss mechanical watches felt in the Quartz era.
1997 Porsche 993 4S / Credit: James Edition
Looking back at classic cars, vintage sports cars, or any form of an older car, there is craftsmanship and a level of pride in each one. With consumerism and mass production, the modern automotive era is less quality-driven and more quantity. As we go through generations of vehicles, more technology seems to take over, more electronic components, more computers. Thus, leading us down the electronic path, which could lead to an electronic heart or engine in vehicles in the next ten years - the ‘automotive Quartz era’, if you will. In comparing the two, the electric car could be a fad for the next 20 years, seeing a return in gas-powered engines and vintage-styled vehicles much like we’ve seen with timepieces. Is it a stretch? Maybe. A level of nostalgia always brings back things from the past, and some things stay.
There is a chance that the automotive industry will have its own Quartz era. And due to pure enthusiasm around cars from all age groups, we may see gas-powered and mechanical engine vehicles make a strong comeback from it, if cars really do enter an all-electric stage in the future. There could also be a rebirth of modern-vintage cars, we’ll have to wait and see.
By: Tyler Frederick
A vintage Seiko Grand Quartz 4843-5011 with a silvery textured dial, for sale on Toronto Vintage Watches