Todays youth NOT interested

Where is this hobby of ours going in next 5-10yrs?

I've had 2 experiences that made me realize that the interest in our hobby may have ended with those of us involved today.

* Twice it happened - once recently in a cool custom 50 Ford ,once couple yrs ago in an awesome 34 Ford Roadster Street Rod I pulled up in awesome rides to a location where age 25 and under gathered and no heads turned. No person walked over to check out the ride.


My friends tell me --- the youth of today are into foreign lowriders with loud exhaust or trucks. Others are not into cars at all.

For those of you with a "collection" of cars that you have as an investment ,who will you sell them to in 5-10yrs?


What happened??????

 

Maybe they didn't like Fords?

 

They love 'em here in south central Texas, especially the females!

 

With the amount of "young people" on this site building some pretty incredible hot rods and customs, I'd say the future of the hobby is just fine.

 

Im 17, and this is my build.. (was entering a hillclimb with carb problems.. haha)

 

I know several young people who love hot rods and wish they had one. This forum is also filled with young guns who are clearly loving this hobby.

I think the few young people you met aren't indicative of the state of the hobby. Sure some kids might be into the import, turbo...etc scene but essentially they still like modifying cars which is the same University even though it's a different course. All they need is exposure.

I bumped into many young people who thought my old hot rod was just about the coolest thing they'd ever seen (it was nothing special - believe me). As for where this hobby is going I'd say there's probably going to be more of a focus on Model As as they are cheap and plentiful. I've loved hot rods ever since grade 7 but it was 30 years before I could actually afford one.

The best thing we can do for our hobby is drive our cars and expose the youngsters to how cool (really) old cars are. Sometimes it's the fault of snobby or arrogant owners who don't think young people are worth talking to or we get really offended when they get some fact wrong about them or (heaven forbid!) it's called the wrong thing (RR).

Spread the love and the love will spread.

 

Amen.
You catch a group of kids who like the same things (hence they hang out with each other) . . . so you caught a couple groups who are not tuned in to old cars, so what? Eventually you will catch a group who gets it. They're out there.

 

The other thing to consider is that this has become a very expensive hobby. The average 18 year old can't go out and buy a model a that's done because they simply don't have the money. They can buy a project, but now there's a issue with skill. The average 18 year old can't weld, paint, etc. And if they could, they can't afford the tools. Or they don't have a place to build them. That's why so many start with minitrucks, cheap to buy, easy to work on.

 

booming here in the land down under, young blokes building some very cool stuff. Still some "stuck in the mud" old goats putting them down with back in the good old days bull shit.

 

Fordstandard,
I get your concern. We are from a time (I'm 51 right now) when all you had to do is "show up" in a cool street rod or custom and people would stop what they are doing to check it out.

Death taxes and change are the only guarantees in life. Every investment has risk. Car collections risk becoming irrelevant, like stocks and real estate they need to be bought and sold at the proper time. Knowing when that is - there is the challenge...

As far as "interest" in what we have, I hope youth are interested. I find a lot of them that are. I may not like everything they are interested in, but I sure see a mix. All I am saying is be careful about making comments on the state of the hobby over one parking lot full of tuner cars... I remember when the lowrider folks were largely misunderstood. I may not lean toward Lowriders or tuner cars, but you must admit, some of those cars have mechanical modifications and paint work that are amazing.

Car shows in Michigan are bigger than ever. Attendance and vehicle showings are bigger than we have ever had. Old guys are not causing this... sadly their numbers are shrinking. This must mean that younger folks are carrying the torch.

Just sayin...

 

Not for nothing but when I was a teen in the early 1960's not every boy was interested in cars.And many who were interested didn't actually build a hot rod,it's really a hobby of the few.
My 20 year old grandson is one of those into diesel PU trucks.He's got a late model Dodge 6 speed manual Diesel with thousands of bucks into engine power modifications. He's a hot rodder,just not into old stuff...Not exactly because he also rides around in a 49 GMC PU.

 

Theb iggest problem, other than the high cost, is the 'old guys' are in a perhaps rare setting where they can shop everyone they have more hair on their chest than the young guys. Your average 60YO rodder is hardly going to welcome any youngsters into his hot rodding world.

Think of an 18YO showing up at an exclusive country club and going to the smoking room for a drink. Is he going to get treated as an equal by the old buffaloes hanging around in there? No way.

 

Well, the first thing that we can do is to take all those stupidass "look but don't touch" signs off our cars and toss them into the trash bin. This may sound creepy, but it isn't, lol: I ENCOURAGE youngsters that show interest in my vehicle to look and touch, even sit in it. If we want this hobby to perpetuate, then we should be embassadors of the hobby, not standoffish streetrod snobs that I see at every show. Not saying there are people like that here.

 

I'm 22 and building a quite heavily fabricated austin 7 chopped, channeled, soon to be widened and the back curved in rather than out and have several mates around my age mainly younger that build, want to build or just own classic american, bobbers and hot rods, so we're still out there, just think a lot of it comes down to money for parts, tools and even insurance (well over here for sure),

Then there's loads of colleges and and training places that are discontinuing the metalwork and welding courses because is apparently not as needed in this day and age of automated robots (but it still humans that repair the robots) so people who aren't fortunate enough to be passed down the knowledge, from family and friends, aren't able to start such projects.


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When I drive my roadster pickup, most old people don't even notice but when I drive past the middle school when the kids are walking home, boys and girls alike cheer and yell their adolescent approval. I think we're ok.

 

I do this but then, I don't have a 20 G's paint job. Kids love getting to sit in it and their folks love taking pictures of them and are amazed I let them sit in it. Tiny fingerprints on the steering wheel and shifter is easily removed if it bothers ya, it don't me.

 

"...a "collection" of cars that you have as an investment..." was your first mistake.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/0143117467

Shop Class as Soulcraft came highly recommended by an on-line acquaintance. I took the copy out of our library a few days ago. Only into it a chapter so far.

 

I was just listening to a show on PBS while driving the other day and the subject was how a lot of teenagers today are not even getting their driver's licenses...........they have no interest in driving. They were saying a lot of young people well into their 20's do not even know how to drive a car and have never gotten a license.

They cited several factors, like the high cost of buying a car, high insurance costs, gas prices, and that a lot of young people depend on their friends to haul them around. The automobile manufacturers are looking for ways to stimulate interest in owning a car among this age group and they are doing it by incorporating technology (electronic gadgets) into the car because kids today are more interested in those than cars themselves.

That seems very odd to people like me, who couldn't wait for our driver's license to show up in the mailbox and who are in love with cars. Things sure are changing !!!

Don

 

I personally know several young guys building and driving traditional hot rods,,I heard the same thing i the late 60's and I have even been guilty of saying it myself in the 80's but the interest is still alive and well.

I think a lot of credit goes the sites like this and the growing presence of the traditional style cars that we are building.

I recall that when a few guys in the area got together with a common interest in early 1972 and started our car club (Tri-City Rod & Custom) there were only a few cars running,within 2 years we had 12 running pre '48 hot rods and all the members were in their early 20's.HRP

 

the high schools around here they invest money into a college format instead of trades so the young people do not have the resources to build or even work on cars , my old highschool when they tore it down and rebuilt it they basically eliminated all the vocational courses and made it a college prep school . and the local trades are screaming for people ! not for more so called business managers .. I was disapointed when my step kid took auto and they taught him how to wash a car and not properly either ( from the bottom up ??) no how to tune a engine , change plugs , all books and videos no hands on , I even offered to donate several older vehicles ( points , OBDI and OBDII) so they had something to learn on , no couldn't do that as the liability risk was too much for the school . but its ok to teach them how to jail brake phones or make computer games .

 

Hopefully I will be buying some cars out of these "collections" you speak of in the next ten years.
When I go to shows I see alot of younger people driving cars from the 30's, 40's, and 50's Hot rods, customs and original vehicles.
I'm 37 and have gotten one of my younger friends into the hobby and always encourage other friends. They will buy something when they can afford it in their life.

 

I don't know too many kids building old stuff, but I see it every time there's a local car cruise that's import-heavy, once an old ride pulls in these kids drop everything to check it out, because it's something they don't see every day. I'd say even though they're building their own thing that doesn't have anything to do with what they're doing, they do appreciate old iron, and can talk for hours about the mods and work that has been done, because they take some of the knowledge and skill of the older generation and apply it to their rides. I mean, they still shave door handles, french in taillights, do wild custom paint, etc.
I'm not saying they want to build what we build. They have their own thing and we have ours. The styles don't cross paths, but the craftsmanship often does, and I would definitely say the kids do sit up and take notice.

 

Not everyone loves these cars, Especially the preus and smart car save the green trees people.They are sitting next to us at red lights telling everyone that will listen,even there kids that we are driving gas hogs and we don't care about the environment. Most kids do the opposite what there parents tell them.I still get many smiles and complements from teenagers.I talk to them and encourage them to build hot rods .When they ask if they can take pictures,I say give me your camera (or cel phone) lol and get in there, I will take you with it.I think we are ok with the kids of today,just not all of them.

 

EXACTLY right.

Unless you have supportive parents of this hobby (mine weren't really) and the space/tools to do the job, kids today won't be involved with hot rods until they are on their own if ever.

I would love to have a street car again, but I don't have the time and money to build a 5w or a 32/34 truck. The hobby is dominated by "older" guys because they have reserves of both money and time, at least more so than I've got working 2 jobs with a kid on the way.

"Kids" build the same types of stuff nowadays. They build what is new because they don't have to spend much to hop it up . . . just like kids in the 50s built up 30s cars. It's cheap and they already run. The only money spent is to make it different.

Yes and no.

The nostalgia guys I have met have been really nice since I started taking my dragster to a few local shows. Talked to a guy with a willys gasser for 20 minutes last saturday and I was easily young enough to be his grandson (I'm 28).

The street rod/50-60 somethings don't really give me the time of day though. I don't have enough billet parts I guess?

 

Does everyone your age turn their head when you drive by?

Don't take it personally but a '34 street rod or a baby blue Ford shoebox probably would not gather my interest much either.

Neal

 

Mine are!! Chris

 

I am now 36 and I bought my first shoebox project as a teen. I used to go to local shows at the time and try to talk to the middle aged car guys. The most common response was "F##k off kid". I still see this happening and for the young guy who is not yet 100% committed to the hobby this can be a major turn off. To this day I am not a fan of going to shows for this reason, instead I enjoy my car alone and if I'm at the store and some young guy wants to ask me a question I do my best to answer and encourage the individual to explore the hobby for themselves. Lets keep it friendly and fun, after all is that not what we enjoy?

 

I think it all boils down to money. Prices for everything have just gone up over the years. You used to be able to buy 30s and 40s cars for a few hundred bucks. Now, even a rusted out body sells for over a thousand bucks. Also, the cost of tools and places to work on them are a limiting factor. I just turned 24. After high school, I went to K-State for 4 and a half years and got my engineering degree. If it wasn't for scholarships and help from my parents, I would have tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. Even with their help, I didn't have the money for tools or parts. And I'm one of the lucky ones: my grandpa kept every car he ever owned, so I have a ton of projects just waiting for me. Then there's the cost of time. With school and a new job, finding the time to spend working on cars is a little difficult. Also, getting married takes a lot of free time away. And I'm even one of the lucky ones who has a fiance that loves old cars and hot rods. So it's not that us young guys are not interested, it's that the time and money gets us every time. Isn't that how it always goes, though? When you have the time, you don't have the money. But when you have the money, you don't have the time.

 

Haha I drove my gow job Model A and convinced my buddy with his bone stock 1919 Model T to go to a local sport tuner show. We had maybe a dozen kids out of one hundred or so show interest in our cars. I don't think the hot rod scene will die it will just become more exclusive. Eventually everyone will know everyone involved.