lots of young guys 30's-40's into rods around here.we just don't want to hang out in a parking lot all day for a plastic trophy.i go to almost all the swap meets around.but i only go to two or three shows a year and they are pre62 traditional cars only.i do however love to pick the brains of the gray beards and the snow caps.
You really don't expect them to quit texting to give you a signal do you? but let you blow a horn at them still sitting at a green light and see how quick they are to let you know your number one! HRP
Well im 50 , i lasst went to a swapmeet in Dec, after reading this post its true , it was packed with middleaged guys like me , few younger guys searchin for muscle car parts ,let alone old hotrod parts... i used to pay for my project cars back in the day by searchin the yards buyin and selling parts ,but even thats changed , its all fwd drive cars now , but even the swaps have changed , now sunglasses, socks,cheap stereo crap ( more like a flea market ) if you ask me. i hope the hobby dont die with us ....
Yup, folks think they are sitting on gold these days. Even 4-door cars from back in the day are up to stupid price levels. I just looked at a 2-door '60 Falcon, bone stock, decent shape, needs work though. It said "best offer" on the sign. A decade ago, I could have gotten better for $1k. He wants $4500, or more.
Yeah, it was in Murfreesboro and they had a good turnout of spectators. Swap meet was big, but not anything that I was looking for. If you're going for the swap meet, the upcoming Feb. AACA swap meet at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds is much better and they have the heat turned on in the buildings.
Let me shed some light on this subject. I was at a friends the builds street rod parts for world wide distibutuion. One of his managers came up with a demographic on how long will this car hobby last. So this is how I remember how it went. If you were 16 in 1936 that would be the start of guys doing some kind of rods. The other side of this is the guys that were 16 in 1976. These are the guys that are into most of the muscle cars. So this is a base that he sells to. 40 years in the making!!!!!!!!!!!! You the roll in time, and go from 16 in 1976 to 2050 and this is what you have. This group of old guys are gooooone.
I'll chime in again. I do enjoy car shows, but rarely enter a car. The exceptions are local shows that 100% of the entry fee goes to charity, or Good Guys. I go as much for the people as I do for the cars. I catch up with old friends, make new ones, find people who I've wanted to meet for a long time, AND check out cars that interest me that I haven't seen a thousand times. My town is about 100,000 people and there are very few cars I haven't seen or even helped on. It's a real surprise when one shows up I knew nothing about, so the local stuff really IS about the people. Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app
Now now, there are plenty of us younger kids around building and restoring too. I'm 27 and I have 2 old cars. I haven't gone to many shows, but I will be this year because I'll finally have at least one done for them. My 4 year old son is obsessed with them, and I have quite a few pals in my area that are about my age or a little older doing the same thing. We're around to keep things going, and it will be passed to our children too.
I'm 25... oh hey wait a minute I'm 38 now, and been into cars since I had my first Hot Wheels. I live in a small town (10,000 pop) in a fairly remote area that has a big car show each summer that takes over the town. I've gotten sick of seeing the same 300 cars with billet wheels or the local big builder's latest project. I have no use for the guys sitting in their lawn chairs waiting for compliments, but yet know nothing of their cars' build because my friends who have shops in town built them. I'm a hot rodder, to me it's about the feel of going down the road or track in an old car that I can feel the road, not trying to copy the feel of a new Lexus. I'd love to attend a big swap meet again, I used to do Pomona regularly when I lived in SoCal, now I'm aiming to go to either Portland or Turlock, but with 5 kids at home funds are hard to come by. Devin
I have 3 Sons and II Grandkids my Sons love them but my Grandkids can take it or leave it.I think one of the probs is (just looking) car shows now days need to be more interactive gave the kids something to do but just look.Get some old cars in there that way they can set in them get there pic taken in them let the touch some of them.Im not talking about the show cars just a few cars.They can bring back the valve cover racing things like this.This is what I think we are going to have to do to keep this great sport of ours going!!!!
will be 52 in a few days & I've noticed for the past few years the local sat night cruise-in has been starting earlier&earlier and has been over almost before sundown when it starts to cool off.It took awhile to figure out,but I believe its because all of the old codgers cant see after dark---that's all I canthink of anyway.Thats my 2 cents worth,I'm kinda tired from all this typing I think I'll take a nap
"The sky is falling" question has been the subject of editorials in car magazines such as Street Rodder since at least the mid 70's-(40 years ago). Same worry; "when us old rodders die, will Hot Rodding die with us"? Not unless we all bury the cars with us. Sure, while there isn't a ton of guys in their 20's that desire to own or know how to build a Hot Rod, there are quite a few and they don't always hang out at the 'lawn chair' shows. Some shows and swap meets are slow due to the economy. Folks are selective about when and where they take the cars. There are a lot of mid life guys that have built their home, raised a family and are zeroing in on retirement and have plans to; A) buy and drive an old car. (guys that may know very little about cars but will buy ours when we're gone) B) build and drive old cars. (guys that have been doing it all their lives and may have had to put the hobby on the back burner due to life's obligations and priorities).
Who cares let the youth have there Japanese cars and ipods and cellphones! If they aren't interested then the more cars for us when the geezers die! lololol Jay
I'm 37 and for most of the shows around here, we'd rather park in the lot, go in enjoy the show then get the hell out of there after about 2 hours. drive em.
What are the marketers aiming at the 18-35's? What would draw them to events where old and $$ rule the static event?
Thing is the cars are hugely expensive,the original parts are way overpriced,and the stuff is hard to come by.most 20-30 yo don't have the cash yet to build a car that even qualifies to be on this forum.cept maybe a 50s Plymouth or something like that.go price a decent 34 ford coupe body.hell even model A sedans are gettin up there.then compare that to the late model turbo charged 300 hp car they can finance and to most of em it's a no brainier.i get all kinds of admiration from my sons friends for my 32 ford but they don't have any where to build it and they can barely gas up the car their drivin.plus at most shows the music alone drives em away.im 43 I can't Stand all the gooey 50s bubble gum music they play.plus the power parking and spot hogging .my son loves trad hotrods and gassers ,with my help he could've had one.we went to lots of car shows ,his favorite being billetproof.that was the last show before I lost him to a car crash.any ways if we want this to live. I guess we should try to help the young guys out,next time one needs a part how bout not trying to get a fortune for those old slots or finned vcovers.
Lots of guys under 40 are trying to pay off the mortgages on their homes, the lucky ones have a shop or garage to work in, even luckier are the guys who have scraped up some dough over the years and has some old stuff to work on. Scrap prices and BJ have made every old fart think his rusted shit he's been hanging onto is worth thousands. Ever notice there are no more parts cars? They're all "project cars" now. You can't get a $500 car anymore and have 500 bucks worth of useable parts. Cars that would have been 500 buck parts cars 15 years ago, are now 2000 dollar project cars and you're lucky if there's 500 bucks worth of salvagable parts on it. Bottom line is that most people just don't have the extra cash to squander now, young and old alike, who wants to waste it by paying an entry fee to let people put their hands all over your car.
For a lot of young 'uns a car is just a 'thing' like a microwave oven or fridge. If it goes they're happy, if it doesn't they dump it and get another one. Have a look inside a teenagers car - look at the litter & junk, look at how often it is even washed let along waxed. Even the boy-racers (tuners to you Stateside types!) only want a car that is a pose-machine and in fashion wiht the minimal amount of effort - and they want it now, $100 cown and rive off in a $10,000 car, straight around to get blingy wheels, tinted windows and a boom-boom box, also all 'on tick'. Insyany gratification So their car has now cost them $15,000+, in five years it's worth $6000 and they're stiill paying it off, with interest it will have cast them nearly $19,000+. And still no idea on how to build a car and pay for it as they go. Sadly the world has changed. Hopefully more of these teenagers will get the real 'old-car-bug' when they are in their late 20's, early thirties or so and build a rod when in their late 40's.
Years ago I went to a show that turned out to be for "tuners" and boom box blasters. There in the middle of all this was a booth and in that booth sat Ed Roth. NOBODY was talking to him cause I'm sure I was the only one there that even knew who he was.
funny. when i was younger i went to a ton of car shows. i dont go much anymore, but ive been bitten by the build bug. maybe all the young guys couldnt finish their model A'S and got into choppers.
Maybe they will. Then they can buy a lawn chair and a California duster and find their place in that early morning car show line.
If I'm at a car show it's to sell stuff in the swap meet. Including complete, affordable projects. Nobody wants a project unless they're on a budget and have a hard-on for whatever car you happen to have.
I miss most of the car shows every year because I normally have to work. I get to go to a cruise in from time to time. As far as cell phones go? Texting is the new calling. I text my wife more than I talk to her. Lots of times I send pictures that are funny and maybe a video. When I'm away from my family for several days I face time them. So if someone is glued to the phone for some reason. It could be me texting my family. And if you are wearing a fanny pack I could be sending them a picture of you! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
That's funny! They are probably the same old guys that wonder around the gym naked all day! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
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