Interest in cars with the younger generation, what happened?

[KirkH]

I see a lot of kids with nice diesel builds around where I live. Old diesels like Powerstrokes and Cummins are easy to work on, well documented on youtube and parts are available and reasonable.

 

[KirkH]

I do wonder where some of the mod money comes from for the tuner cars. They *seem* pretty young and the things they're doing cost far more than a $59 set of Hedman Headers, even considering inflation and whatnot.

Some really expensive items that are considered standard fare for an acknowledged decent car.


Edit: Cars Coffee is kinda early and all...

I wonder where the money for all the tattoos come from! Tattoos are not cheap and every kid has one these days.

 

[DavidAl]

I washed dishes for my first car. Today's youngsters don't know what that is.

And another thing you don't see today—custom paint jobs. I used to have a 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS with a custom paint job that turned heads. That car gave me a lot of great memories...

 

[custmsprty]

I washed dishes for my first car. Today's youngsters don't know what that is.

And another thing you don't see today—custom paint jobs. I used to have a 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS with a custom paint job that turned heads. That car gave me a lot of great memories...

My daughters been working 20 hours + a week working in a grocery store deli and taking a full load at college for over two years now and pays towards her car and insurance. It's all how they are raised and what values are instilled in them.

 

[Klasse Act]

BAM & BAM

You don't have to have a car to come out and enjoy the shows, get the bug and plant the seed and watch it grow

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[BudgetPlan1]

.

And another thing you don't see today—custom paint jobs. I used to have a 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS with a custom paint job that turned heads. That car gave me a lot of great memories...

It's all wraps now. Don't like it anymore? Redo it in a few hours. Very vivid themes...

 

[KirkH]

I washed dishes for my first car. Today's youngsters don't know what that is.

And another thing you don't see today—custom paint jobs. I used to have a 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS with a custom paint job that turned heads. That car gave me a lot of great memories...

Now the dishwasher is a 47 year old father of 3 who used to work at the local factory but now the factory is gone and dishwasher is the best job he can find.

 

[jmeyers278]

I would have to disagree. I and most of my friends are upper middle class or better so maybe that has something to do with it but all of my friends with kids that are driving age are in to cars. So are their friends. I went to the cars and coffee at the jacksonville jaguars stadium several weeks ago and there were probably more young people with cars there the older folks. Now the types of cars are different between age groups. The older folks have classics, muscle cars, corvettes, etc. The younger folks had lots of newer american muscle like chargers, challengers, mustangs, camaros etc. There was also a huge group of young guys with imports. The most surprising was the youngish people with Ferrari's, porche's, vipers, etc. I'm not sure if it my area that is different, but I'd say that the young people and their cars are just as crazy as we were at that age.

 

[Klasse Act]

Glad to hear this and money helps for sure.

Now what level of enthusiast would you say the younger guys are? Do they like older cars nd know about them? How do they carry themselves at the shows?

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[Klasse Act]

I would also like to state for the record that I don't begrudge anyone who comes from means and can afford the new cars, it's their lot in life.

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[BudgetPlan1]

The most surprising was the youngish people with Ferrari's, porche's, vipers, etc.

I gotta go back to my old high school and punch my guidance counselor...

 

[Desertnate]

Rather late to the party, but I thought I'd toss in my two cents.

I don't think the youth car culture is dead, it has simply changed from what many of us know, and I think varies based on where you live.

In my immediate area, there is little to no car culture at all. You see very few interesting cars on the roads; just a sea of boring trucks, SUV's, and Toyota/Hyundai/Kia sedans. Try to start up a "car-guy" conversation, you get a blank stare as if you're speaking Swahili. On a rare occasion there will be a charity car show where some really nice classic cars come out of hiding, but those vehicles rarely see the light of day and are never driven...at all. The youth interest in cars matches their parents...none at all.

I can drive 30 miles west and it is a totally different story. The car scene is exploding, auto clubs are active, and they've added two or three Cars and Coffee events in the last year alone this year. There are attended people from just about every demographic...it's really a diverse group. From my observation, at least 50% of the crowd (at the large event I attend) is younger than the 40-something attendees like myself. There are a large number of high school age kids just there to take pictures, younger guys with their modded Toyota 86's and BRZ'z, tuned Subie's of every flavor, aged BMW's of any condition, and my personal favorite: a group of 20-somethings in their clapped out brown 80's Volvo wagons with MASSIVE turbo's under other wild engine mods.

Everyone is open and friendly for the most part, except for a (sadly) stereotypical a group of older hot-rod owners who won't even speak to you if you don't drive something American made from the 60's/70's with a V8. under the hood. In fact, the younger they are, the more open and friendly.

What helps in my area is a total lack of any effective public transportation and the city is widely spread out. Subway's, buses, bikes, etc, simply aren't a viable option. Everyone must drive to get anywhere. Whether they like it, care what they drive, or even notice the difference between what they drive and what the guy next to them drives is a whole different story.

 

[Klasse Act]

Great post!

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[Hammer77]

A lot of good responses here, I don't know where to begin. For me it comes from my childhood, its what I grew up around. When I was very young, my Dad never showed me how to throw a football, or shot hoops with me. We were in the garage with him under the hood of his 65 Plymouth Belvedere, explaining what's different about a small vs. big block, or a 3:73 to a 4:11 rear gear. My Grandfather, on my mothers side was a Chrysler mechanic at the same dealership for about 40 years. I was surrounded by it.

I think a lot of the younger generation look at cars as a mode of transportation, nothing more nothing less. In my area the younger guys seem to like diesel trucks, a lot of farms surround my tiny city. I do know a small group of guys with some older imports. Surprisingly there are a number of meets around, however none weekly that I know of. And as Bob mentioned I think most are interested in different things. Plus I feel some don't become car people until the find one and fall in love with it. So there's hope.

 

[WillSports3]

I'm 27, so speaking from the place I grew up, a lot of the younger people from my generation are irresponsible with their money. I have a girl at my work that spends 300 dollars a month on Uber to come in and go home from work instead of taking the bus. There's a few other examples but instead of looking at a car as essential thing it's just whatever. They can take Uber or bum rides off someone. It doesn't really matter to them, they'd rather spend their money on whatever designer crap that's in fashion. I own two cars and people are surprised I go grocery shopping at walmart. Well how do you think I afford the insurance for two cars ...?

 

[Desertnate]

A lot of good responses here, I don't know where to begin. For me it comes from my childhood, its what I grew up around. When I was very young, my Dad never showed me how to throw a football, or shot hoops with me. We were in the garage with him under the hood of his 65 Plymouth Belvedere, explaining what's different about a small vs. big block, or a 3:73 to a 4:11 rear gear. My Grandfather, on my mothers side was a Chrysler mechanic at the same dealership for about 40 years. I was surrounded by it.

This got me thinking about something else that has probably shaped the car culture we see today.

While I wasn't wrenching on a '65 Belvedere, my dad took me to car shows as well. They were full of hot-rods from the 50's to early 70's. As a high-school kid in the late 80's many of those vehicles were still readily available, cheap, and easy to work on. My school car lot was littered with Impalas, Chevelles, Mustangs, Camaro's, original VW bugs, etc that had all sorts of mods. There was a good pool of platforms to do your worst.

For some of the younger potential enthusiasts the equivalent are 80's and 90's vintage vehicles, which frankly, are garbage. They are more worthy of a crusher than being modded within an inch of their lives. A few Japanese and European cars might be worthy, but rust claimed them long ago...or they are already a Frankenstein project of someone else's dreams and hardly roadworthy. ECU's changed the landscape as well making mods much harder and much more complex/expensive to do correctly. The "donor" pool of vehicles is smaller and the parts more expensive.

Game consoles probably have an effect too. Anyone can load of Forza or Gran Turismo, gain the car of their dreams, mod it endlessly, and drive it in a virtual environment. Granted, you don't get to experience the true joy of actually driving your creation in the real world, but it might satisfy some. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if many of the younger teens I see at events are filling up their phones with pictures of the real life versions of the cars they have in their virtual garages back home.

I guess this is a continuation of my belief that interest has not dropped as much as we think. It is smaller, but it has also evolved.

 

[Route246]

I'm 27, so speaking from the place I grew up, a lot of the younger people from my generation are irresponsible with their money. I have a girl at my work that spends 300 dollars a month on Uber to come in and go home from work instead of taking the bus. There's a few other examples but instead of looking at a car as essential thing it's just whatever. They can take Uber or bum rides off someone. It doesn't really matter to them, they'd rather spend their money on whatever designer crap that's in fashion. I own two cars and people are surprised I go grocery shopping at walmart. Well how do you think I afford the insurance for two cars ...?

Irresponsibility with money is my observation. I live in the highest cost housing area in the country (mid-peninsula, south of SFO) and it is common for new-grads who make near six-figure tech salaries to spend $3500/month for rent on an apartment in SF (don't believe, it, just look up SF rents) and buy $6 cups of coffee at Starbucks and $5 smoothies at Jamba Juice in the summer. They can't afford a car. There is no place to park it in SF, BTW. Even if they have a parking spot the insurance there is crazy because of auto theft. Their sights are set on German marques and they can't possibly afford the $90,000 BMW so they use Uber instead.

 

[WillSports3]

I can believe that. Here in Toronto someone making 3 grand a month will gladly spend 1800 dollars on a downtown apartment and take uber all the time and spend insane amounts of money on random things. For a lot of these kids, a camry isn't good enough, it's all about the luxury cars. But they can't scrape together 200 bucks extra a month for a luxury car oil change so.. no cars foe them.

 

[KirkH]

Irresponsibility with money is my observation. I live in the highest cost housing area in the country (mid-peninsula, south of SFO) and it is common for new-grads who make near six-figure tech salaries to spend $3500/month for rent on an apartment in SF (don't believe, it, just look up SF rents) and buy $6 cups of coffee at Starbucks and $5 smoothies at Jamba Juice in the summer. They can't afford a car. There is no place to park it in SF, BTW. Even if they have a parking spot the insurance there is crazy because of auto theft. Their sights are set on German marques and they can't possibly afford the $90,000 BMW so they use Uber instead.

San Fran is not the norm. I wouldnt park in SF EVER! If you leave ANYTHING visible in the vehicle parked in SF, its going to get window smashed and grabbed.

I know people who would be thrilled to find a place in SF for $3500/mo! Instead of living a 1-2 hour train ride to and from work.

So I understand not owning a car there.


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[Ronin47]

I think it has to do more with the post 2010 lifestyle change-the era of smartphones,iPads,Playstations,XBoxes,online gaming and social media youth and aged don’t care to leave their living rooms or bedrooms,everything is at their fingertips.