Todays youth NOT interested

My 4 year old grand daughter asked me "Can you take me for a ride in your hotrod Grandpa?" Twas completely her idea and outta the blue!!!!She not only wanted to go for a ride,she helped clean up the shop and asked "whats next?" We went for a spin and after a slow putt thru town she says"Lets go out on the BIG road Grandpa!" So we did and I runs Ole "Sinister" thru the cogs,pulls 4th at about 75mph,lets off and I turn to look at her,she is lookin out the window and twirlin her hair with her finger like she was ridin in moms minivan.....I have had adult men white knuckle the roll bar and cry out in terror when I row thru the gears in my 10 second street car! Believe me... it's a wild ride!!!! NO FEAR in this little girl! Do ya think she has Grandpas back? hahaha!!! No doubt says I!!!! Oh....and when I told her "I like your pretty cowboy boots." She quickly informed me that "They are cowGIRL boots Grandpa..." I roared!!!!! Thats my Babygirl!!!

 

I've taken my 1949 dodge to 2 shows, its unrestored, nothing fancy, I always bring wheel chocks, disconnect the battery and let the kids crawl all over. I understand not wanting this on a $150k trailer queen, but in my eyes these cars are to be touched and enjoyed.

I'm with you Voodoo.

 

I agree with a lot if what has been stated here. Back in my day if we had a car we drove shoe boxes to High School. They were cheap and with a little energy i.e. duals ; nose and deck the car, lowering blocks, loud exhaust we thought we were something. Now fast forward in my case 54 years and we have the youth picking up cheap rice burners and doing some what the same thing. I hate rice burners but when I see a nice paint job I go up and compliment the kid. They are usually surprised and some times ask something about my car. Maybe we need to use more sugar than salt and try and create an interest. Just a thought

 

Maybe we just need to pay attention.

 

I love this thread! I'm 36 and I've sometimes wondered about the younger crowd at times also. But trust me- even in my own circle of peers I've had trouble wrapping my head around the lack of interest in old iron among my own buddies. Even my best bud that has a '65 impala SS doesn't really show much interest in it most of the time.. What I have noticed lately is that even though it seems that the younger crowd isn't noticing my old truck, they start asking questions about it little by little as they get more comfortable. That's when I realize that all we have to do is be patient and answer their questions and educate them on the hobby. Invite them to actually sit in our cars and fucken kick the tires a bit. It's not gonna hurt the car or US. Let these youngsters in. It was not so long ago when I was a youngun too. I mean not that I'm an old guy myself just yet! Just saying! Haha! Good stuff here! Lighten up on these kids and open up to them. A lot of them need a role model as well...


TRADITION NEVER DIES!

 

I work at a parts store and a lot of customers with Hot Rods drive them up to get parts or just to air out the car, I have noticed that it is mostly late 30s and older folks who really stop and look at the cars, not many young folks though but a few, and when I see those young ones show interest, I try to encourage or introduce them to the owners as a way to gauge their interest in cars, a few are interested but have not been around them. So often I invite them to shows or events, mention the HAMB as a place to learn and I have invited a few to my shop or taken them to see other shops where projects are going on of their interest. One customer has a off topic rock crawler buggy with a LS and it always gets the young ones looking at it, and I explain the same skills to build it are needed for Hot Rods, just the skills alone must be honed. We must keep these younger ones involved, take a minute to encourage the stimulation of our sport. When I was a kid most of the gear heads were shitty to the youth, only a few were kind and I remember them very well, and thanked them in later years for the helping hand.

 

Great replies, comments and personal experiences on the topic i started;

Now that i look back - Lets compare

* The dance community was in need of a shot in the arm and got one in the form of the movie Saturday Night Fever. Tons of people went for dance lessons, dance clubs disco opened,music made millions ........
* The Car/Hot Rod community went wild over the movie American Graffiti it brought tons of new blood into the hobby.

Question -
I wonder if there will be a movie in near future to cause a new surge in our car hobby- what do you think?

 

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink dept.: The picture was taken this morning at the Holiday Motor Excursion in Irwindale, CA. Several hundred really cool old cars (and a few hot rods and customs) and the kid is sitting in the car playing a video game ... reminds me of my own grandkids.

 

Deterrents for young kids :
No local junk yards to pick cars and parts
No true service stations to hang out, watch, & learn
No driveway or yard to work in, Old neighbors and HOA's

And lastly going to car shows here grumpy old men are in their own group, ignoring them, make negative remarks about what they do drive, etc.

I'm 73 and don't care for a lot of so called gold chainers. I like talking to young guys, try it, can be fun !!

 

I think a lot of you would be surprised about how many of the younger generation want to have an old car. The reason we dont like them is price, in my area money cannot buy a pre 1940 car. I seen a 33 chevy 3 window coupe SHELL, no glass, fenders, frame, NOTHING.....$7000.

That will build a pretty fast import or post '70 car +cars that run get more girls than projects....

 

You nailed it!

 

+1 ...7000 will buy a very fast import....those cars can be made to be really fast for not a lot of cash..... I no longer laugh at them when they line up....


Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

^^^^^^^^
True Statements!

 

I'm 14 and recently bought my first car 1949 Plymouth

 

^^^^ Good for you! Encourage your friends!^^^^


Dustin

 

and there friends =)

 

Punk kids in the area have these burners that buzz around here sounds like they are going 200 mph but are doing maybe 80 mph. They make jokes about my gas drinking Chevy till they go for the ride of there life in this monster. I think I have there minds lead N to American Muscle they stop by the shop all the time talkn about horsepower vs gas mileage I tell them ''' I WOULD RATHER DRIVE ALL DAY ON 50 DOLLARS THAN ALL WEEK ON 20 DOLLARS '''

 

I agree especially when you say "Forums" like this one really support the hobby. I wonder though if we should have a Junior Member acknowledgement of some kind because over all, this forum is not very patient when a FNG asks a stupid question. The responses might be tempered a bit if members knew it was coming from a Junior. Just a thought...

 

I'm a 24 girl and I have a dream list over of 10 cars I'd like to have. They aren't anything fancy really (60 Starliner, 60 Edsel, 64 Marauder, 57 Ranchero, 57 Skyliner, 79 Z28 Camaro, Any year Willys or Zephyr to name a few). I currently only own a 70 Ford Galaxie that I am trying to sell to get something on that long list of cars.

To me it's how you are brought up and who you know. I didn't give much thought to a classic car 6 years ago. My boyfriend was into old fords and harleys. We would go to local cruise-ins. 5 years ago I started working at this place (Burton Antique Auto Parts). Now I love classic cars and I finally went to my first Good Guys show last year. I LOVE seeing old cars. I now am the one to drag my boyfriend to local shows

I only read a few replies, but in my opinion, it is who you know and how you are brought up. I know a gentleman who has several early Ford V8's and he takes his grand kids to dinner in them and lets them help him work on them.
I believe someone mentioned earlier in the thread that a lot of younger folks don't have the skills to do it themselves, to build or work on a car, which I believe is part of it. I know that's not true for everyone.

A thought: How old were you when you got your first "project car/dream car" ? Did you get it when you were 18-25? I don't have any evidence but my guess was that a lot of people didn't get their cars until they were a little older and had the funds necessary. Even if you could buy a decent project car for a couple or several hundred, back then that was still a lot of money.

Someone else previously mentioned to me that the hobby isn't dying, it's shifting. A lot of guys want their project car to be the first car they had, or the car that they remember their parents driving when they were a kid. With the changing generations, the cars of interest are changing. The torinos, fairlanes, camaros, trans ams of the 70s/80s are becoming popular now.
Don't get me wrong, the early ford V8s are still popular too.

Maybe even part of it is that when you were younger you went outside to play, now kids just stay inside and play xbox all day.

That's my 2 cents. I really hope the hobby continues to grow, otherwise I will be out of job!

 

Cheers from one 49 dodge (plymouth) owner to another. PM me, i probably have some info you can use... PDFs etc.

 

What independent says.

 

Well here is my 13 year old daughter who can weld by the way. She is taking off the matte black vinyl wrap on the Model "A" just before it became "Pulp Friction."



We are starting on her car this Summer and she is very excited. It is a 1957 Triumph TR3 that is going to get 2.3L Ford Turbocharged engine and 5 speed from a Super Coupe.



She is going to be involved in every part of the build.

 

It all depends on where you live. Main reason I see is cost, not interest.

Many young guys I run into are interested in my '49 Ford coupe and older cars. But when you live in a city like Toronto Ontario, owning a 1940s hot rod is a pipe dream unless you have wealthy parents or a trust fund. To insure a male driver under 30 costs at least $5000 a year for liability insurance only. Sports or muscle cars will cost a lot more. We pay 35-40% tax, sales tax is 13%. Since 90% of key restoration parts will come from the USA, shipping and custom's clearance costs are usually around 200% more than what you would pay for shipping in USA assuming it wasn't free shipping with no tax.

So even if your uncle gives you that cool '54 Ford sedan, it will cost a minimum of $6000-7000 in insurance, gas and minor repairs to keep it running. That's beyond most high school or college budgets given the crappy wages you are likely working for when not in school.

So the kids I see in our neighborhood have resigned themselves to not owning a car and spend their $$ on Iphones, ultrabooks, expensive clothing and coffees.

 

"I got mine. The hell with everyone else." Funky old guy at welding school.

 

Some are some aren't.
times change guys, factor in COST of a car, tools, paint, insurance, a place to work on a car, COST of paying shops to do what you can't, emmisions and safety laws etc.
It just isn't the 50's or 60's anymore, why is that so hard for so many of you to get. The days of a $100 early Ford are long passed.
And, though I'm 60 myself, I've noticed a lot of older guys are dicks to younger ones. That don't help either.

 

I second that statement , the cost of owning any car for the younger crowd let alone a vintage car are very cost prohibited to most , middle income parents can only help so much !

It's like the old saying goes, I'm not cheap just broke !

 

My 8 year old and 5 year old boys are very much obsessed with old cars and help me in the shop all the time. I know they will keep things going they are already fighting over who gets my 41 ford sedan when I'm dead (im only 33 ) come on boys ha ha

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

In all seriousness to the Tuner set, I used to rag on them and that fart can crap. Then, I got invited to a REAL Tuner scene. Those loud fart can Ricer's are NOT Tuners. If I was a kid in school, dropping $8,000 for a shell and a dream would be hard to do. Especially, when you can get a nice older Honda Civic for half that. Hop it up with bolt ones and have money left over.

The kids that do decide to go with older cars are always welcome, but I can understand when they could care less. Hell, just be glad they're doing SOMETHING car related. You guys with kids that help, wouldn't they be interested no matter what you were working on?

 

I find lots of young interest in the southeast. They do have problems with finding projects and affording parts for them. So many of the junkyards have eliminated old stuff, and lots of the young guys and gals don't get off the interstates and travel the back roads where one finds these things. Then there are the uncooperative insurance outfits whose eyes turn into $ signs when a young rodder tries to insure a BBC powered vehicle from older times. It is up to us to help them as we can.