Agree, however insurance is actually cheaper for us, as well as registration. Guess it depends on where you live but here, if you own a new car, you are dinged the value of the car for tags every year, and insurance is nuts. For instance a basic $50k new car can be as much as several hundred dollars a year for license plates. The DMV doesn't put much value on classics so tags are $30.
The other advantage for us is that maintenance on the classics is so much cheaper than a new car. Tires are half the price, shucks just parts in general are half the price, lol. No car payments. All the money saved easily pays for the premium fuel. And with proper tuning these cars are very respectable on mileage.
Not to mention it was actually my wife that was tired of all the creature comforts and electronic controls, and she especially doesn't like some of the safety features that seem to be getting more and more excessive. She's not a fan of air bags at all, and I definitely don't want a car with lane correction or one that hits the brakes on it's own. No thanks.
It was a lot of these reasons that made the decision much easier for us. Plus we live in a climate that allows year round driving. The other bright side is that I'm always looking for a reason to go somewhere
It's highly unlikely we'll be buying any type of new vehicle for the rest of our lives.