As someone who both rides old bikes and has an MGB in his garage, I am particularly susceptible to the aesthetic of vintage. Many posters have raised points that chime with me, including both simple nostalgia and the ability to do one's own work. But I think another part of the charm of these old machines is that they require a little more from the operator. The MG demands, at the very least, an ability to work a 4-speed stick with an overdrive and an understanding of what a choke does. On my Miyata 712, you have to lift one hand from the bars and drop it to the down tube to shift. Innovation not only makes products perform better, it makes them perform easier. Some of us don't want easier. Those skills we've learned to perform are part of the fun for us.