Getting older?

[drrotor]

OK, my friends-- it's time to cut it out with the sorry "We're all getting older and there's no new blood coming into the hobby" foolishness. It's just not true.
I remember when I finished restoring my first Avanti, around 1992, and my then young wife and I (in our 30's and 40's at the time) went to our first Avanti club meeting, excited to get involved. We were surprised to see most of the members were fairly elderly (to our young eyes). Everyone was very nice, and they all said how glad they were to see young enthusiasts! "Everyone in the hobby is just getting older" they said, and that was 23 years ago! Now I'M starting to get older, and I hear my acquaintances starting to say the same thing.
My 30-year-old step-son now has a '64 slide-roof Wagonaire he loves, and my 35 year-old son is going on a long road trip with me this month to pick up a Silver Hawk.
Here's the conclusion I've come to. As we a age, we begin to fondly remember our past, and the supposedly sweeter distant past before us-- you know-- "the way things used to be, the way things OUGHT to be". So we chase after those sweeter times, those dreams, and wish things were still like that... but our "present" will be my son's sweeter "past" when he gets to be my age.
AND-- most young people just don't have the time or the money to persue the restoration hobby, but probably will as they get older. When they do, they'll probably moan that "the hobby is just dying off, and there's no new blood coming in".
If you watch Barrett-Jackson or Mecum, you'll see plenty of money being paid for all kinds of collector cars, usually by distinguished grey-haired men, who are the ones who can afford the hobby. Our kids will be the grey-hairs doing the bidding after we're gone.
So let's all just watch the circle of life go around, and encourage the young whipper-snappers whenever we find them!

[FlatheadGeo]

Well said!!!

[48skyliner]

I agree that young people are indeed coming into the old car hobby, and even into the Studebaker enthusiasts group. Look at me - I got my 48 Champion about 18 months ago and I am only 77 years old. I have not seen any statistics, but my guess is that the average Studebaker owner is probably older than the average old car owner. I think we have to recognize that young people today have grown up driving fairly reliable and economical sedans that perform, handle and stop as well or better than the best sports cars available in the 1950s. When these young people get into a stock original 1940s or 50s car and drive it, it is easy for me to understand why they may not be enthusiastic about owning one.

I respect people who want to own and occasionally drive a "piece of history" and experience what it was like back in Grandpa's day, but this illustrates the inevitable truth that "Things just aren't the same as they were back in the good old days --in fact they never were!"

[Flashback]

I feel a lot like you do, but have some little differences. Overall I agree. I haven't been busy whining about younger people coming into the hobby. I have been busy getting them in. Here's my Grandson a few years back.



Here he is a few days ago.

[Bob Andrews]

Of course there are a few young people here and there, but still the vast majority of them aren't interested in Studebakers. That's just reality. Your sentiment is honorable. It's just not being realistic.

[raprice]

The way I see it, most people who get into the antique car hobby tend to purchase cars that they can relate to. These folks remember the car(s) their parents owned and they want to relive that part of their childhood.
In my case, the first car I recall is the '39 Stude Commander my dad owned. He mostly bought cars built by the independent makers, so as a result, I have owned 3 Studebakers in my lifetime.
I own two antiques at the present time, a '59 Lark Regal Hardtop and a '30 Ford Model A Deluxe Coupe. Both of these cars are already claimed by my two sons, one is 41 and the other is 34. I don't know if I'm the exception or the rule, but I wonder what's the story with my Studebaker friends.
Just my 2 cents.
Rog

[Hawklover]

This is the best thing I have seen in a month of Sundays!!........thanks for posting........

I feel a lot like you do, but have some little differences. Overall I agree. I haven't been busy whining about younger people coming into the hobby. I have been busy getting them in. Here's my Grandson a few years back.



Here he is a few days ago.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Not here in the so called...home of the "hot rod".
Every Stude show I go to (most here in SoCal), it's mostly the older (50+) folks. At other car shows, swap meets, drag races, SCCA (Sports Car Club of America), oval track racing (a "few" here) motorcycle races (some here) and the like, it also devoid of much of the 20 and under crowd. Seems they are still into other things. Car wise, seems some are into Drifting and Drift Racing, but most are watching, not "actually" doing it.
At the NHRA Winter Nationals, there were lotsa kids, but they are from the area and got the day out of school...! Most if not all of the ones I saw...all day, were more interested in each other, thAn the actual racing and the cars.

So...that's what I see around here...pretty sparse pickens, younger crowd wise..!

Mike

[Lou Van Anne]

I've tried to get my nephews and grandson interested but with no luck.... When the grandson starting talking about getting his first car I suggested that I would buy him a 61 Lark like I had in high school/college. You should have seen the look on his face when I found one on the internet and showed it to him...kinda like: "I wouldn't be seen dead in that thing!"...oh well.

[karterfred88]

Let's face it. The new world is electrons and silicon. Physical pleasures of driving, racing and most sports are evaporating. Replaced by video games, phone and tablet apps. My children and grand children enjoy effortless pastimes only. Yes, a collector car market will exist and it too, will eventually disappear as newer things get old, and that will be what they collect. I've tried to foster some interest in my grand children to no avail. About as close as I've gotten, is getting my grand sons on a go kart, where they seem to enjoy some competitive moments. Other than that I see no interest in anything mechanical, but they are engrossed in writing code for computer programs!

[Alan]

Yea Mike; I see the kids talking to each other over their cell phones, using the texting feature, even though they are standing next to each other.

[Lou Van Anne]

Amen, very well said!

Well said!!!

[53k]

I've tried to get my nephews and grandson interested but with no luck.... When the grandson starting talking about getting his first car I suggested that I would buy him a 61 Lark like I had in high school/college. You should have seen the look on his face when I found one on the internet and showed it to him...kinda like: "I wouldn't be seen dead in that thing!"...oh well.

A few years ago a man GAVE me a '64 Challenger four-door that he had spent a lot of money on and used as a commuter car. Seems that when he drove his daughters to school in it, they would scrunch down in the car so they couldn't be seen by their friends.

[2R5]

Ive been in this hobby for some time , my father enjoyed the old cars and I guess I may have picked it up off him but I came out of the era where every young guy had or wanted a cr and you could buy one for 50 bucks ....those days are gone !
We have gone to a lot of Internationals over time and our youngest son came with us to a few and he had lots of fun , he'd find cars like ours and he would tell us which ones were better and also the ones that weren't . He had a good eye for them.
He now is 30 years has a son of his own . He does have one of my Studebakers now but he doesn't use it much , he's at the age were he has other interest like sports and I figure now his new addition to the family will keep him extra busy . I was hoping that he and his wife would attend some of our big meets but its just not in the cards right now and I suspect that is the feelings of a lot of our kids.......just because that's what we want to do doesn't always mean they are going to want to do the same!

[alex54]

I think part of the problem is the current generation did not grow up working on cars. Back when real tune-ups were done, like adjusting points, tweaking the carbs, changing spark plugs, and so on, this was a common weekend type ritual. That is just not done anymore. Very few even change their own oil. The cars today just are not user friendly, maintainance wise. Maintaining a car developed mechanical ability that leads into the heavy duty repairs. Just yesterday, my sister complained that her transmission is slipping in her new beetle. No problem, just check the trans fluid, right? Nope, no dip stick. A quick search on the Internet and I find out you need a scan tool to tell you the fluid level, and also to maintain the correct fluid level if any is added. Now I might be able to do this since I have 3 different scan tools, but who in the general public besides a nut like me, has this or is willing to pay $500 or more for one? A cheap sub $100 scan tool will not have this type of feature since they only read, not write to the car's computer.

Point is, with out exposure to cars at a level that we are used to, how many decide, I want a 50+ year old car?