The Future of Motoring: Driverless Cars vs Restomods. Has Driving Become So Miserable We’re Ready to Give It Up?

Artificial intelligence is bringing us closer than ever to autonomous cars, yet at exactly the same time classic cars and restomods are booming. Coincidence? I don’t think so

The other day I found myself driving around London. Well, “driving” might be stretching the definition somewhat because most of the time you’re crawling along, staring at the back of somebody else’s hatchback while trying to remember whether this particular road is still 30mph, has become 20mph, or was quietly changed last Tuesday while you weren’t looking. And it got me thinking that perhaps the future of motoring isn’t going to be electric versus petrol, hydrogen versus batteries or even SUVs versus saloons. Perhaps the real battle is going to be something entirely different. Perhaps the future is going to be driverless cars versus restomods. Bear with me, because the more I thought about it, the more it actually started to make sense.

Let’s start with driverless cars, because that future feels almost inevitable now. Cars that drive themselves, navigate traffic, anticipate hazards, read road signs, make decisions and generally do everything while we sit there drinking coffee or answering emails. A few years ago I’d have laughed and said we were still twenty years away from that. Today? Having watched the frankly astonishing pace at which artificial intelligence is evolving over the last couple of years, I’m not so sure anymore. Five years? Ten years? Perhaps even sooner.

Driverless taxis already exist, they’re being trialled in more places than ever before, and although they’ve had their fair share of embarrassing moments, ending up in cul-de-sacs, getting confused by roadworks or becoming overnight sensations on TikTok for all the wrong reasons, they’re learning. AI is learning. That’s the crucial difference. It’s no longer simply a question of cameras and sensors. It’s about intelligence, anticipation and decision making, and AI is improving at a frightening pace.

What really triggered this train of thought, however, wasn’t reading another story about autonomous vehicles. It was simply driving around London and realising just how utterly joyless the whole experience has become. Honestly, it’s horrible. There are so many factors conspiring against you that driving has become less about enjoyment and more about survival. Cameras everywhere. Restrictions everywhere. Endless traffic. Variable driving standards. Roadworks. Bus lanes. Cycle lanes. LTNs. ULEZ. Congestion. Twenty mile an hour limits. Every journey feels like you’re threading a needle while someone is standing behind you with a clipboard waiting for you to make the slightest mistake.

The thing that really struck me was that even when you’re not speeding, you still feel as though you’re about to get caught speeding. That’s an absurd state of affairs. When the speed limit has been reduced so dramatically across huge swathes of London, suddenly doing 24 or 25mph becomes something that makes you glance nervously at every roadside camera. Technically it’s speeding, of course it is, but instinctively it doesn’t feel like it. Instead of looking ahead and enjoying the drive, you’re looking for signs, cameras, average speed checks and hidden enforcement vans. You’re constantly worrying about your licence. You genuinely feel that London isn’t designed to help you drive anymore. It’s designed to catch you driving.

That conversation reminded me of my old BMW E30. Those of you who’ve followed the channel for a while know how much I loved that car, and how reluctantly I sold it. I still miss it because there was a direct connection between me and the machine. You could feel every input, every movement, every nuance through the steering wheel, the pedals and the gear lever.

Recently I was chatting to a friend about perhaps buying an older Honda Civic Type R. Not one of the latest ones because they’re well beyond my budget, although if I’m being honest these days pretty much everything is beyond my budget, but one of the older VTEC cars.

My immediate reaction was, “What’s the point?” Those glorious Honda engines only really wake up at the top of the rev range, yet with 20mph limits everywhere you’ll be halfway to losing your licence before VTEC has even cleared its throat. But my friend said something that completely changed the way I was thinking about it. He pointed out that even at 20mph you’d still enjoy the steering, you’d still enjoy changing gear, you’d still enjoy feeling the chassis underneath you. You’d still have all those analogue sensations that modern cars have slowly been filtering out. And do you know what? He was absolutely right.

Because that’s exactly what’s happening. Modern cars are becoming easier, smoother, quieter and more capable, but they’re also becoming less involving. Automatic gearboxes have replaced manuals, electric power steering has replaced proper steering feel, driver assistance systems intervene constantly, lane keeping nudges you back into line, adaptive cruise controls your speed, emergency braking jumps in before you do and the car is slowly taking over more and more of the driving. We tell ourselves these systems are making life easier, and in many situations they undoubtedly are, but little by little they’re also removing the engagement that made us fall in love with driving in the first place.

Which brings me to something I’ve been wondering. Are we, perhaps without really noticing it, being gently shepherded towards accepting driverless cars? I know “groomed” is a loaded word, but I genuinely couldn’t think of a better one while I was recording the video. Think about it. Driving becomes more stressful. More restricted. More monitored. More expensive. More frustrating. More exhausting. Eventually people throw up their hands and say, “Fine. If the car can do it, let it.” Not because they’ve suddenly developed a burning desire to sit in the back while AI takes over, but because driving has been made into such an unpleasant chore that they simply don’t want to do it anymore. That’s quite a sobering thought.

And yet here’s the delicious irony. We all grew up watching Knight Rider. We all wanted KITT. A talking car. An AI companion. A car that could drive itself. Every kid of my generation thought that was the coolest thing imaginable. So why, now that technology is finally catching up with our childhood dreams, are so many petrolheads pushing back against it? Somebody left a brilliant comment that really made me think. They pointed out that although KITT could drive itself, Michael Knight almost always chose to drive. KITT would come and collect him. KITT would rescue him. KITT would perform incredible stunts. But once Michael climbed into the driver’s seat, he wanted to take the wheel. We didn’t dream about never driving. We dreamed about having the choice.

At exactly the same time another fascinating trend has been gathering pace. Classics are booming. Younger enthusiasts are buying classics in increasing numbers, which is wonderful to see because it proves these cars still have an emotional pull that transcends generations.

The trouble is that the people who grew up knowing how to tune carburettors, rebuild engines and diagnose faults by ear are slowly disappearing. Parts are becoming harder to source. Skills are becoming harder to find. Meanwhile, this younger generation still expects Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, navigation, decent air conditioning, reversing cameras and reliability. They love the shape of a classic, but they don’t necessarily want the inconvenience that comes with owning one. And honestly, neither do I. I’m not ashamed to admit I’m not a DIY bloke. I love classic cars, but if one refuses to start on a cold February morning my first instinct isn’t to strip the carburettor on the driveway, it’s to call for help!

Which is precisely why I think the future belongs to restomods. They represent a fascinating fusion of nostalgia and technology, taking everything we love about classic cars while quietly fixing everything we don’t. Modern engines. Better brakes. Sharper suspension. Improved steering. Modern cooling. Contemporary electronics. Connectivity. Cameras. Reliability.

Cars that still look like they belong in 1969 but behave like they were engineered yesterday. When I visited the London Concours recently they had an entire section dedicated to what they called “Remastered” cars. Different label, same philosophy. Classic shapes lovingly reimagined for modern roads. Companies like Charge Cars have taken the concept even further by wrapping cutting-edge technology inside iconic Mustang styling. Others are fitting modern Coyote V8s into classic Fords or LS engines into old Camaros. It’s difficult not to admire the ingenuity.

Which is why I don’t think the future is going to be one or the other. I think there will be a backlash. Driverless cars will become increasingly common because, frankly, they make sense for huge numbers of people. But there will also be those who deliberately seek out involvement. Who still want to master a manual gearbox. Who still want to heel-and-toe into a corner. Who still want to feel the steering loading up through their fingertips. Who want to drive because they enjoy driving, not because they simply need to get from A to B.

And that’s exactly where I think restomods will flourish. They’ll preserve the soul of the past while embracing the reliability of the future, and perhaps, just perhaps, they’ll become the perfect answer to a world that’s rapidly forgetting why we fell in love with cars in the first place.

So what do you think? Are we heading towards a future where AI quietly takes the wheel and we all become passengers, or will enthusiasts fight back by embracing beautifully engineered restomods that keep the joy, the involvement and the sheer magic of driving alive? I know where I’m putting my money, but I’d genuinely love to hear where you’re putting yours. Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to watch the full video.

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