I'm 47 years old, my buddy Hectour is 38 and we talk about cars all the time. I actually wish our conversations were recorded and/or were on a podcast because they seem to go everywhere. The other day we were talking about why there isn't more younger people at the cars and coffee shows? Also why there aren't more Japanese cars at the cars and coffee type shows? I can only speak for myself but when I was 19 I would attend a local cruise night with my 78' Caprice Classic 2 door. It certainly wasn't a fast car at that time but it was my pride and joy and I continued to build it up over the years. I took a year off of having a toy in 1994 but in 1995 I got behind a Cobra Mustang and it said "Have you been bitten lately" and I snapped, went to the bank that week and bought a used 1987 Grand National. I owned that car for 5 years and modded it every year I owned it, went to cruise nights and drove it everywhere, except during the winter, always had a winter beater with the toys, ofcoarse. A lot of people were really into having cars, it seemed like a right of passage, atleast to me, it was "cool", fast forward to today.
Today you've got teens not getting their drivers licenses, taking an Uber to get around and not being interested in cars in general, kinda like what's happened to rock and roll as well. I mean we attend cars and coffees all over the greater Chicagoland area, really nice areas as well as middle of the road areas and you just don't see the younger crowd. Its not about having the latest and greatest but rather what are YOU working on right now. It doesn't even have to be mainstream, I mean I modded a 78' Caprice Classic coupe and would always hear "why did you build a Grandpa car" or "why not a Monte Carlo or something lighter?" Since then I've always appreciated something "different", so there has to be others out there like this as well but cars and being into them has seemed to be relegated to a "thing of the past".
I brought up Japanese cars and here in the greater Chicagoland there are all types of people and import cars are very popular and there were even cruise nights that catered to them but they've literally dried up over night. I used to go to them when I had my CR-Z which was from 2011 to 2014, now they've gone away, like the big top was brought down and it left town. Where did these cars go? I should also note that at these shows ALL cars were welcomed too, unlike the classic car shows where people would always look down their noses at imports or newer cars, that "built, not bought" attitude or "Murica" tude. I look at it like this, there should be a movement to keep the flame alive with cars, now more than ever because we've got this "movement" to electrify cars and even take the steering wheel and pedals out of the car, forget about "save the manuals", how about save the cars and get back into them.
So I ask, to everyone here, do you notice the same waning interest in cars with the younger generation? Btw, I'm not yelling at anyone to get off my lawn either, LOL, just wanted to pick the brains of my fellow geeks out there, thank you!
