My dad used to tell me " boy..... You wanna mess with cars that's fine!..... Just don't get married!!" man I wish I would have listened! My 12 year old could care less, but I'm hopeful for my 9yr old daughter!
Believe me, I understand that very well, BUT the more "maintanence free" and disposable machines get the less self-sufficient the general public becomes. I'm sure it also has something to do with the fact that I was raised in the "country" in New England and I now live in metro-Atlanta but it never ceases to amaze me how helpless the general pubilc is, and they are raising helpless children.
I think they have always been that way and my guess would be 20,30 even 40 years ago if something broke in the average household or car a repair man would have been called in to fix it. The big difference now is stuff is so crappy and cheap it just gets tossed and replaced. Doesn't mean we are more helpless just they way it is done now is different. I was raised in a house where my Dad fixed everything if it broke but I bet I couldn't name two friends whose parents wouldn't have had someone come in and fix 99% of the problems. It's always been there.
A family friend of ours has 2 daughters (ages 15 & 17). Neither want to get their drivers licenses. They figure that they know enough people who will give them rides where ever they want! This seems to be a growing trend. Kids dont want to drive if their friends can. I couldnt believe that when I heard it. When I turned 16, all I wanted to do was get behind the wheel. 12 years later and that holds true (yes I am a youngin )
from the time i was 12 ALL i wanted was to get my license and a car and drive its wheels off ....... my cousins girl my age, 2 boys ithink 36 and @30 now had no real intrest in driving she still doesnt drive the 2 boys waited until they were 25 my girlfriends son is 20 or 21 and her grandson is 18 neither one can be pulled away from thier computer games. her son said he was going to become a mechanic ...when he visits and im out in the garage he never even looks out the door to see what im doing. i told him how are you going to be a mechanic when you have NO intrest at all in cars we took him and his semi hot girlfriend to acouple of cruiseins and they looked around but were about as into it as i am when im forced to go shoe shopping with my girlfriend when they talk about playing thier games they talk about the caracters and scenes like women used to talk about soap operas i cant believe it, of course i work with acouple of mid 20's guys that talk the same way yes there are a few young guys that are into classic cars and when i find them i try to make it clear to them im here if they need help or have questions it is refreshing to find a kid who can talk cars now-a-days i have the new issue of hotrod laying on the table infront of me flipped through it once havent read a word of it im waiting to see the NEW IMPROVED hotrod thats coming out starting in september
I am 22 years old. I've always been a hands on person, getting it from my dad. There was ALWAYS something around the house that needed fixing. Ever since I could remember I would sit in the back seat and my dad would grill me on what year the cars we passing by. By the time I was 10 or so I could name 99% of them. I bought my first car at age 15, (1966 chevelle 2dr) could only drive it with my permit. sold it for quite a good profit and bought my el camino. on my 16th birthday got my license and haven't turned back. I did the honda thing in high school then in college discovered diesels. I now have a 99 cummins 4x4, just finished lowereing it and adding some caltracs bars. Last summer picked up my 55 2dr handyman wagin. This summer fab will start on putting the axle underneath it and mocking up my 427 in it. If I had the choice I would choose cars over internet. The only thing about cars is that they cost money. I use to work two jobs (before leaving to go to University), one to pay the bills and one for speed parts.
with the way new cars are being built today, and technology getting better, perple are getting lazier. there is still groups of kids out there who love old cars. but its getting smaller, and usually influenced only by car people. with out us, hope seems to be lost. old cars are rougher than they used to be and prices still go up. it just seems to be the way its going. its a trend for sure thats been going on for a long time. all we can do is help bring the hobby to light for the up and comers.
I got my licence at 14 it was a big day as mom could not drive. and with an uncle that owned a wrecking yard my youth was heaven. now at 58 I think back to rasing our kids my son wanted 4x4 oh god a truck kid where did I go wrong mom. fast forward 10 years, he came over after building his latest 4x4 ranger with a 2300 cid home made fi from a rabbit and tied to a big ass t-3 turbo tied to a set of 3/4 ton axels. he called the other day and said its time for a hotrod he got a 440 and wants to put it in a 65 cuda. and its for my grand daughter. life is good.
Fuck it. All I want is available gas and a smooth street. Everything else is bullshit that I can't change.
I have not read the article, but its not hard to guess what it was about by reading the comments. I'm 22, and I know that I have few friends that are into cars at all, and none that are as motivated as me, I've taught myself how to weld, how to paint, and how things work, and I work on shit everyday, I dont play video games, I do real things. I dont get it either, theres nothing better then riding in a car you built.
There are a lot more people out there in 2012 than there were say in 1952. I would actually say there are more guys/gals into cars than ever before. It's just not the case that every guy over the age of 16 has a hankering for a quick car. I haven't read Freiburger's editorial but... he bugs me. Writing about having only 2 days to get a car together to drive 2000 miles... who cares. All of their project stuff runs slower than what it should and he spends too much time talking about the suffering to get there. Who cares.
Don't get me wrong, the tuner guys do some pretty amazing stuff. Doesn't do nothing for me but thats just different generations. I guess maybe I was just thinking of a few kids I know personally.(I call it lazy) I watched a special on Shelby yesterday and it seemed like back then, every boy was into cars. Its been slipping away all the time, just sometimes you notice it. Kinda like racetracks.
Pretty funny to see the older guys whining about how none of the young people want nothing to do with cars when there are plenty of them out there. There were kids back then that weren't into cars either. It's nothing new. BTW, I'm 24 and have a pretty big Model A project going on right now. I also know a few others who are closer to my age and into traditional rods. Don't worry.. Your hobby won't be dying off any time soon.
so, as stated the problem with youth not accepting the "proper" way things should be has been going on for a long long time. if you are 22 or 82 your perspective of the rights and wrongs of the way things are done will likely be very different from many that are close to you. it is more about living your dreams. you can not change the world yourself. some will accept you and be attracted to your world and others will be repelled. on this site there is the true beginner that has very little knowledge of the traditional car world. others have many years of experience under their belt. some don't have two twenty dollar bills to rub together, while others have tons of bucks. life goes on, hopefully. as for magazine editorials, they are just people with their perspective, why get over excited about it.
A number of years ago, SEMA started a committee to address the problem of a lack of interest in hot rods and customs by the youth of America! Fifty years ago, there were a handful of magazines like HOT ROD, CAR CRAFT, R&C, etc. Today there are countless magazines catering to a small vertical market. I agree with Ryan, Freiburger had a brain fart and was on deadline. Been there done that.
I see it on a daily bassis. The hills and straight a ways where we all burned out and raced growing up have not a single rubber makr on them. If the youth of today is like my 17 yr old son, they are all in their rooms burning out on X-box. Of course just now my boy wants an el camino for a daily. he has no job, cant fix anything other than legos, and is under the impression that a 74 elky will run like a new car!
That's what I got out of it too. I also don't really feel threatened by the kids who aren't into cars, either. There are already too many people on the roads - get the ones with no interest in it on the bus where they belong.
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