Interest in cars with the younger generation, what happened?

Finick said:
Without trying to spark an argument, I’d say simply because the vast majority of the younger generation is struggling financially.

I’m sure some people will look and think “well I’m doing fine” but that’s anecdotal, at best.

I’ve always wanted a 2004 lightning in sonic blue, but it’s hardly something I ever think about, because I have such a small amount of disposable income.

One day will I have something? Who knows. Right now it seems unlikely.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Agree.
 
I just wanted to add another positive data point to the discussion based on an observation this weekend.

Friday evening, my wife and I attended a new model reveal party at a car dealership in our area. Due to the parking arrangements, the dealership was running valet parking for the event. The valet's all looked shockingly young. I would have been shocked if any of them were over 19.

I pulled up in my GTI and ALL of them immediately knew what it was, and then openly started a friendly argument over who would get to park it. I think the deciding factor came down to those who could drive a manual transmission.

My car is nothing spectacular, and was nothing compared to the vehicles sold by the dealership hosting the event. Just the fact the young valets recognized the vehicle as being something different than a Golf, and were enthusiastic to look at it and simply drive it a few hundred yards away gave me a little hope.
 
I couldn't agree more with Finick and Desertnate.

I know a lot of younger guys, myself including (I'm 26) That are in love with the automotive sport but are too caught up with bills from life. I know for myself specifically, I cannot afford to save much and most of it goes to paying off things that will help me in the long run. I would love to be able to get a project car, or something of a 2 door style car, but I need the reliability and room of something that isn't..... as cool. Haha. I've contemplated numerous times selling my Xterra and getting something fun, but then I think to myself about why it'd be a stupid decision.

What it comes down to is financial responsibilities have kept me from having fun. Sadly.
 
Just curious, what made you buy the Xterra?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Klasse Act said:
Just curious, what made you buy the Xterra?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Haha, very good question. I wanted something reliable but still off-road-able and comfy. I had a 2000 jeep XJ with 200k miles on it and I knew I needed something better.

I originally set out to find a newer Jeep grand cherokee or something similar. I actually stumbled upon my Xterra when I was out looking. Being a Nissan I always thought they'd be too much money but this one was dead on my price. Had higher miles than I wanted but it was a one owner, the dealer that it was at was the original dealer that it was ordered from. It basically met all my requirements and was one of two within about 300 miles that met my price range. I've had it for a year and 35k miles with almost no issues besides stuff that you'd find in any high mileage suv.

I'm 6' and its got a tall roof so the head room is amazing. The 4x4 is flawless (except no locker) it rides pretty damn good for being a body on frame/solid rear axle vehicle and gets about 18mpg on the highway.

The things that sold me on it were little things that I didn't think mattered but then I realized they did. Such as the tall roof.

They do have their issues. SMOD, weak front diff/rear axle, and a few other little things but every issue that could happen, I can fix myself. That was one other thing, I wanted to be able to work on the vehicle myself.

Got any questions? I'll gladly answer truthfully.
 
I had my Xterra for 12 years, bought it new in 2003, traded it fo rmy Rogue in Feb 2015. It had 150,000 miles on it and I'm sure it's out there still running. Breaks, tires, nothing major. Never let me down. Great vehicle.
 
Daven, you sound like an off-road guy and even though I can't relate to that demographic I do appreciate and understand the enthusiasm for that hobby, its still a "car guy" thing without a doubt IMO. I'd say your keeping the flame for the younger crowd!
 
My thoughts/observations on: "...do you notice the same waning interest in cars with the younger generation?"

Answer = yes. In no particular order, younger generations in general:

(1) Have other priorities (e.g. are more interested in having an "i" something versus a car (e.g. iPhone, iPad, video games))

(2) Have never changed their oil, let alone pulled a head off a motor. Most probably don't know the difference between a coil spring and leaf spring. This could be a result of their fathers having less interest in cars, and the pleasure/joy of interest in cars started to fade there.

(3) Work less (if at all) and depend on their parents financially far more than my generation did (BTW: I am 45 so its not sooooo long ago). My first job: I was 10 and guess what that was? Yes, washing cars! How did you guess? (grin). Granted I didn't wash 10 cars a week, but I washed a few and did it the very best I could, got paid nominally for it. My grandfather taught me and his car was thus maintained to the tee, gratis of course. I also cut lawns and shoveled snow. By the age of 13, I had $ 4,000 saved in my bank passbook. At the age of 16, I started by own DJ business which allowed me to pay for college, a car, gas and insurance. Very few kids these days work, even at high school and college ages. Some don't want to, and others are coddled in a bubble by their parents doing them a great disservice in the end. My Dad always said "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

(4) Work ethic. Owning a car takes physical effort, and my first hand experience with younger kids these days is most shy away from labor as if it's the plague. Case in point: A few years ago I voluntarily ran a concert series in my town; 8 events per summer. Each event included staging, audio, lighting, green room, food concessions etc. One day a father from town said "My son is interested in helping". I said, "...WOW that's great!!! He can start next Sunday. Ask him to be here at 9 am." The father IMMEDIATELY questioned why his son had to be at the concert location at 9 am for a 6 pm concert. I politely told him "...the speakers, instruments and lights don't set themselves up." He got the point and his son appeared the following Sunday at 9 am very begrudgingly. By noon - just 3 hours later - the kid (approx. 17-18 years old, 200 pounds) was NO WHERE to be found. After unloading the truck, he left out of sheer exhaustion. He wanted no part of the physical labor of moving 300 pound amp racks and speakers.

Then fast forward to now: A Co-worker in the office asked if I could train his son on car detailing. I was THRILLED someone of the younger generation was interested, and gladly invited him to my house that Saturday to detail a neighbor's car. The young man (approx. 24-25) asked how many hours it would take. I told him "I can't be sure but we should plan on 6-7 hours for a full detail noting we'll be going slower as you will have questions." Saturday came around and needless to say he was a no show. Monday morning I asked the Dad where his son was, and he said "...he didn't think it was going to be that much effort. He figured an hour or two at the most."

(5) Use Uber and other car services.

(6) Interest in cars is often a social thing, shared among people with the same passion just as we Detailers do. As much "social" as kids these days are exposed to (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, etc.) I find very few are able to interact face to face with others in person - which is what passionate car ownership leads to (car shows, working in garages with friends etc.)

(7) Kids these days want immediate satisfaction and owning a car isn't always that way. You save up, your repair parts, you replace parts etc. This all takes time and patience.

Of course this does not apply to all who make up the younger generation.

ScottH
 
Scott, congrats on being a go getter so early in life, it has paid off!

I'm into cars but I'm no wrench and I'll admit it right here, right now...I have never changed my own oil and I have never pulled a head off of a car either. I did learn to lash valves on my street racer back in the day because the pushrod liked to go through the rocker arm and I was never in the best part of town when street racing, so I guess I redeem myself there.

Only speaking for myself, I always knew I had 10 thumbs when it came to working on a car but I knew that when it needed servicing get it taken care of...NOW!

That kid thinking a detail was an hour, hell, it takes me a little more than that to wash my car the way I do it and I have a Fiat 500 Abarth, LOL.

I guess this is what we've got to work with, people who can't even have work ethic. I may not be handy with tools but when it comes to work, well, work comes first and foremost, no matter what! Make up for your short comings where you can, always.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Klasse Act said:
Scott, congrats on being a go getter so early in life, it has paid off!

I'm into cars but I'm no wrench and I'll admit it right here, right now...I have never changed my own oil and I have never pulled a head off of a car either. I did learn to lash valves on my street racer back in the day because the pushrod liked to go through the rocker arm and I was never in the best part of town when street racing, so I guess I redeem myself there.

Only speaking for myself, I always knew I had 10 thumbs when it came to working on a car but I knew that when it needed servicing get it taken care of...NOW!

That kid thinking a detail was an hour, hell, it takes me a little more than that to wash my car the way I do it and I have a Fiat 500 Abarth, LOL.

I guess this is what we've got to work with, people who can't even have work ethic. I may not be handy with tools but when it comes to work, well, work comes first and foremost, no matter what! Make up for your short comings where you can, always.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Klasse Act. - well said my friend. I've always said cars are half effort and half pleasure - as are most things in life.

ScottH
 
Klasse Act said:
Daven, you sound like an off-road guy and even though I can't relate to that demographic I do appreciate and understand the enthusiasm for that hobby, its still a "car guy" thing without a doubt IMO. I'd say your keeping the flame for the younger crowd!
Click to expand...

I find it funny, I actually associate with a bunch of different styles. My friend and I rebuilt his 66 Mustang from the ground up, painted it in his garage, the whole nine yards.

Then we build a massive Jeep xj. Ground up again.

Been into audio, spl and now sound quality.

I try to keep myself and my friends going as much as possible, but it becomes harder and harder with time and money. But hey that's life. It's weird, I sit at a computer all day and I don't mind it but I'd much rather be doing something where I'm interacting with customers and clients. I'm kinda stuck where I'm at currently cause I just have to save money. Sucks sometimes.

I know one thing that keeps me thinking about a bright future is when little kids saw my friends Mustang and jeep, we always let them sit in them or play on them (jeep for that one lol). Keeps kids dreams alive!

Sidenote - best memory was when me and my friend were cruising through a local downtown hot spot and his jeep was covered in mud, I mean inch thick coating all over. A driver going the other way in a McLaren mp4 gave us a thumbs up. Car people can appreciate any kinda culture! I love it!
 
I didnt read all 16 pages, so maybe someone already suggested that kids these days are confronted with so many more activities than when even I was a kid in the 80s. The sheer amount of time spent in organized activities and then in front of various PC/game consoles simply chews up time that would otherwise be spent tinkering with or riding in cars. Furthermore, for guys like me, dads in the early 40s with kids just don't have the disposable income or the space available to have that tinker car in the garage and to buy the tools and parts necessary to accomplish the tinkering. It's pretty simple really, imo.
 
I'll expound my thoughts on a couple themes I keep see popping up. Maybe as a parent of kids squarely in this demographic I'm a little biased, maybe it's a different viewpoint...who knows.

Lazy Kids: This is a direct result of parenting and what they've been taught, or not taught. Kids are only as lazy as their parents let them be. Also, lack of a job doesn't mean the child doesn't know the meaning of hard work. I too started working for money around age 10~12. I worked odd jobs where I could, but made so little money could barely afford to go to the movies once in awhile. Schoolwork took up a significant amount of my time with a full load of AP and honors classes. Today, my kids are up to their eyeballs in the same school work with hours of homework every day and weekends. Their sports activities, which will drive a small scholarship potential, takes up the rest of the time. They work extremely hard to get excellent grades and be good at their one activity which requires a large amount of additional training. It's even worse for kids in multiple activities. A job really isn't an option outside the summer months. Around here, employment is still difficult. You have adults fighting the kids for the jobs which used to be the domain of the teenagers when we were kids. In that environment, guess who gets hired...not the kid. Teenage unemployment is very high, and not because of lack of effort. The economy simply isn't healthy enough like it used to be. Living at home after college is a whole different story, but some I'm sure revolves around crushing college loan debt and not just a less-than-helpful degree making employment difficult.

Lack of enthusiasm for all things cars: This is an American population problem, not a youth problem. The vast majority of the American motoring public couldn't care less about their vehicles. They are appliances which serve no different than their washing machine or toaster. Americans love their four-wheeled toasters to isolate them as much from the actual act of driving as possible and they only driven them when absolutely needed to transport themselves to another location. Go to any autoshow these days and it's vast acres of, "blah". The kids don't care about cars because their parents don't care and their grandparents don't care. The love started to fade away long before the younger generation was even born. My peers in their 40's look at me like I'm a two headed alien from Saturn when I start talking cars, and people in the 50's and older just look at me like I've got some foolish fascination with a toy. You can't pass along a passion when it isn't anything to pass in the first place.

I think many of us forget auto enthusiasts a miniscule portion of the population in this country, regardless of age or other demographic.
 
One of the biggest things: They're becoming unobtainable. When muscle cars from the glory days are going for six figures, and insurance is hundreds of dollars a month, who can afford that? My dad and uncles drove things like 68 cameros and road runners in high school. Most of them couldn't afford to purchase their first car today. As Desertnate said, kids don't have jobs. One, the economy isn't strong, two, many won't hire anyone at 14 like I was when I got my first job bussing tables at a restaurant.

Additionally, modern cars are hard to work on without training, and special equipment. The electronics, and specialty tools required to maintain them have reduced them to throw away commodities.

Cars are expensive. I was well into my 30s before I could justify buying the truck I wanted. The sticker price on it was more than my annual salary at my previous job.
 
My car is a 2013 and has all straight forward, bolt on or plug n play upgrades, just sayin'

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
@KA- Hey man when you had your street racer were you still in Michigan? If so what were you running, and where did you go? From 95-01 I was a fixture on Jefferson south of the old FT. Wayne military base, or on 16th & Bagley, down on French, Grand River and McGraw, Fort and Outer Drive.... I was all over then. In the fall of 98, I hit the streets with my 93 Mustang LX, you may have seen it if you hit those spots, Deep Forest green the license plate said BADACTR. It had a nasty little 347 cu.in. SB in it.

Then in early 2004 I moved back to Michigan from Oklahoma (got a divorce), hit the streets again, and lost my license in Oct 2005 (not bragging). When I moved to Adrian I started running at Milan Dragway again for a couple years. I got tired of shelling out money on busted parts, and too many hours wrenching in the garage. Sold it in 2014, now I just want a decent ride and a warranty!
 
pilotpip said:
Cars are expensive. I was well into my 30s before I could justify buying the truck I wanted. The sticker price on it was more than my annual salary at my previous job.
Click to expand...
I don't see how this is any different now. I didn't have any car I really wanted before my mid-30s. Even then it was a compromise. You get the car you want that you can afford. Look at new Camaro or a Mustang. Relatively inexpensive given what you get for the money.
 
I had a medium green 78' Caprice Classic coupe with a built 406 s/b, 4000 stall and 4.88 gears, the car was called FRANKENSTEIN. I lived and raced on the east side, French Road, Lynch Road, Harper and Outer Drive, this was 1991-93. I then got the 87' GN and was able to hit Telegraph and Joy and South of that too, ahhh the stories I could tell

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Telegraph and Joy Rd. Dunkin Doughnuts, if I remember correctly Pier 1. and a Mobil station?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top