The death of the auto enthusiast.

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Most definitely. I think that is what happened to Harley. The image has been completely ruined and it is basically just motorcycle cosplay at this point. Jeep is headed that way too, if not already there. It is just off-road dress up and a reason to purchase rubber duckies.

Agreed. At least Harley put out the Pan America.

Jeep… like Harley, they build questionable quality vehicles for a cult following but at least they can still serve a function.

 

[CourierDriver]

I lost interest in autos probably began in the 80s...boring designs, no classy looks, did I say boring,,,now on the other hand, I like motorcycles, they are unique, quick, nimble and so on,,,,cars are boring, boxie, and come in lousy colors.................when you go to a car show of the 60s class, its great,,,anyone intersted in a toyota tercell car show, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..lol My Harley is awaiting a ride.......

 

[STW]

Cars are pretty difficult to work on comparatively to years past and the costs are through the roof. Then there are the necessary tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, and such) and equipment (jacks, stands, and such.) It is an expensive and difficult hobby. I completely understand why people do not want to do it.

Also with newer cars do not forget the additional cost of the OBD 2 reader. And the software that has to go with it .

 

[DuckRyder]

Well let's see, we have obscene gestures in video thumbnails and politics.

IBTL.

 

[svtrit]

This sums up “car enthusiasts” better than I ever could:

This is why my boom sticks are locked up and not played with anymore either. People can ruin a fun thing in a hurry. Our range became dangerous with the idiots who like to show off their lack of skill or concern for others.

I love Jeeps, and will own one again, but that crowd is starting to be a turn off as well. Pickups turned into a rooster compensation and a competition in bad driving. I’d love a Challenger or Mustang, but after having a rented one and not being able to drive at night without being “challenged” to a race, I lost interest as well.

Plus the money issue. It’s more fun to vacation every year than be stuck at home saddled to the car.

My boring Nissan Rogue has a great stereo and is very comfortable…..and I’m getting old.

 

[RooflessVW]

Man y'all are out of touch

 

[eljefino]

So I'm confused, is it TikTok taking my car away or the government?

I subscribed to Hot Rod magazine about 15 years ago. The pictures in there of their meet-ups showed a bunch of 70+ year old gentlemen. The editorials hoped to get newer generations into the hobby, squarely mentioning there needs to be someone to pay good money for the current fleet of boomer-owned cars.

I was a car enthusiast at age 13, going through various magazines, including Consumer Reports, LOL, comparing specs. You can be an enthusiast without turning wrenches yourself, or even driving, IMO.

 

[97prizm]

Ten years ago the Autos section at Yahoo was one of their top four subjects.

Today autos doesn't even rank in the top 50 for most media conglomerates. Nobody cares. It's as if the entire field of automotive journalism has turned into a hopeless morass of search engine optimization and industry shills.

You love cars? Want to preach to that congregation?Tough luck! My colleagues, many of whom have been at it for decades, are faced with offering 50 shades of bias confirmation for an audience whose love for cars usually begins and ends with an infotainment system.

I write a lot of articles about cars and it's brutally heartbreaking to realize that what was once a pure joy of the open road for tens of millions of Americans has turned into a blip of content that caters to an audience that no longer cares.

I guess the real question is whether cars have become nothing more than a rolling appliance for most owners. Has the boredom of daily driving killed America's live of cars. Or are cars just too expensive these days.

Hence why people like Jason Torchinsky and Adam jumped ship and started theautopian. Go Media had new owners come in and overnight changed the format etc. Several jalopnik writers followed suit. The quirky tail light articles are cool, along with some that ask readers for help identifying vehicles for various reasons. The rare rides is an awesome article series as they find vehicles that sometimes you didn't know exist. From myself being a car guy and having a Journalism degree it comes down to a few things. First cars have become very reliable and don't need constant tuning or tinkering. This limits having to know how to repair items. Second with the huge increase in safety in accidents vehicles are designed to crumple or deform. The days of "Straightening frames" is over.

 

[ATex7239]

Also with newer cars do not forget the additional cost of the OBD 2 reader. And the software that has to go with it .

Oh for sure. And we are only talking about basic DIY maintenance here… and still the tools themselves are huge investment. Torque wrenches, impacts, multimeters, air compressors, battery chargers, the list goes on. If we start to get into serious work, bodywork or drivetrain, it gets crazy expensive. As I said earlier, I understand why people don’t get into it.

 

[DuckRyder]

I did not have a new car when i started out, I had a 65 Mustang (actually I now know it was a 64.5) i bought for 300 bucks, i built it pretty much with a socket set some basic screwdrivers and wrenches. I even painted it.... i did use one of my step grand parents yard and compressor for that... I worked all summer to save the money for it and worked after school to keep it on the road and insured/fueled.

In a lot of ways car enthusiast now have much easier time, for a lot of stuff pets and diagrams and all sorts of information are at your fingertips... Back then we had to drive up to the mustang farm in Kennesaw and dig though his back lot and his brain and hope he'd put up with us. He was a good guy and really wanted to help people keep the old Fords on the road, not at all like the guy at L&L Jeep...

You can build an entire 32 Ford from scratch (even out of metal if you so desire) and though it wont be cheap, that was impossible back in the day...

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

Well let's see, we have obscene gestures in video thumbnails and politics.

IBTL.

Yeah I didn’t know the thumbnail would be that. I wish I could strip the YT preview and just link it.

 

[Shel_B]

25 years ago, pretty much anyone could be a car enthusiast. nowadays, the cars that supposedly target that demographic are affordable only to millionaires kids. who in the hell can afford a Corolla GR, Civic Type R, Golf R, Integra Type S. there is a reason these cars are nowhere to be found. they are priced like the Saturn 5 rocket. Hollywood celebrities drive these cars. not car enthusiasts. the markups on these things is beyond insanity.

One can still be enthusiastic about an inexpensive car.

My first car cost me $25.00 and I loved driving it and tinkering with it. My friend Danny had a clapped-out Henry J which he kept at a nearby service station, and we'd go there a couple-three times a week to tinker with it and clean it up. None of us were even old enough to drive.

My point is that one can have fun and be an enthusiast with far less than top-of-the-line models.

 

[UncleDave]

Ten years ago the Autos section at Yahoo was one of their top four subjects.

Today autos doesn't even rank in the top 50 for most media conglomerates. Nobody cares. It's as if the entire field of automotive journalism has turned into a hopeless morass of search engine optimization and industry shills.

You love cars? Want to preach to that congregation?Tough luck! My colleagues, many of whom have been at it for decades, are faced with offering 50 shades of bias confirmation for an audience whose love for cars usually begins and ends with an infotainment system.

I write a lot of articles about cars and it's brutally heartbreaking to realize that what was once a pure joy of the open road for tens of millions of Americans has turned into a blip of content that caters to an audience that no longer cares.

I guess the real question is whether cars have become nothing more than a rolling appliance for most owners. Has the boredom of daily driving killed America's live of cars. Or are cars just too expensive these days.

10 years ago yahoo was much more of a go-to than it is today.

Bias wasnt better. It still goes both ways. 10 years ago 5-6 publications put out most of what everyone digested as auto "facts" and news.
Were these publications / conglomerates telling us the the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Not even a chance, and their biases toward advertising partners still exists today. We only got a few real pieces of journalism in between what were 12 months of advertorials with limited info. Brock Yates, Csbe Csede and the Road and track guys gave us great material.

Here's an example - The motor trend SUV of the year is the Blazer EV. A car plagued with a record number of problems so bad it has been completely pulled off the market is the US for a fix. Is it possible they missed all the issues everyone else had. It's very very unliklely.

Truthful ballsy product review magazines ended with Super Hunk & Dirt Bike Magazine in 77.
Most sold out prior - Telling the truth destroys revenue.

Fast forward to today - Numerous independent groups both owner and conglomerate based out spending their own money doing things magazine never did.

I learn A LOT more about a given vehicles true demeanor when I get to see 20 diff testers shake them down 100 different ways.

The love of auto, driving and transportation has not left our society - how we consume and discuss information about it has.

 

[AZjeff]

Truthful ballsy product review magazines ended with Super Hunk & Dirt Bike Magazine in 77.
Most sold out prior - Telling the truth destroys revenue.

Ah man, Super Hunky! Rick Sieman died last month at 83. What a great character, we lived and breathed Dirt Bike Mag in the 70s, living in Pa and hating all things Cali.

 

[eljefino]

Here's an example - The motor trend SUV of the year is the Blazer EV. A car plagued with a record number of problems so bad it has been completely pulled off the market is the US for a fix. Is it possible they missed all the issues everyone else had. It's very very unliklely.

The Chevy Citation was Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 1980. It doesn't have to be good, just seen as revolutionary or technologically unique for the time it's presented.

 

[AZjeff]

The Chevy Citation was Motor Trend's Car of the Year for 1980.

The Citation was actually a pretty decent car, we had 2. GM quality control was horrible.

 

[UncleDave]

The Citation was actually a pretty decent car, we had 2. GM quality control was horrible.

My mom's boyfriend of the day had one of those and a 280ZX. The z made up for it.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Our Subaru dealer in my city puts on a cars and coffee show every couple weeks in Sioux Falls. The event brings 600 or more cars on a regular basis. It's a great show and the collector car hobby is alive and well where I live. I personally like the newer Corvettes because usually all you do is change oil and filter and new tires every few years. I owned an array of Corvettes including a 1969,1987,1997, 1998, 2005, and a 2014 Corvette. The 05 was purchased brand new. I also had Camaros, Trans Ams, Chevelle's etc. Here is my old RS/SS Camaro I restored but no longer own. I like not having to wrench on vehicles and enjoy driving them more. I put 82,000 miles on the 2005 red Corvette. I would like to have a 396 or 427 Nova but don't have the garage space.

 

[Torrid]

I don't think car enthusiasts are waining here at least from what I can see. A decent amount of tuner cars, they're just a bit older cars. Young kids in modified Hondas. The usual various years of Corvettes including C8s, modern and classic muscle cars, a few very nicely done VWs, a good amount in modified trucks, but even the younger people driving trucks are modifying them. I guess I still look like the odd one out appearing stock in that crowd, but I plan to do wheels/tires/suspension this year. I rarely see the absolute latest of tuner cars in town here, but with Type Rs being north of $40k and GTIs starting right below that and those cars not being the easiest to get, they just don't make into town here often. Even a MK7-7.5 GTI is rare here and sometimes I get some pretty wild attention driving it which is hilarious. Honking, waving, chasing me down in traffic. My kids love cars, both girls at 8 years and 14 years. My 14 year old doesn't think the Tesla is very cool, but she loves tuner cars and Porsches in particular.

I'm sure there are pockets of it here and there where some enthusiasm has dropped, but I don't think I have a single day here where I'm not talking cars with someone into cars. My dad always told me I'd grow out of it, but I don't think I've found the time to grow up yet. I love sharing my enthusiasm of cars with my kids too. They like being a part of what I'm doing. They'll even just hang out in the garage with me when I'm detailing or turning wrenches.

 

[Dave Hess]

Cars are expensive and most younger people are really not into working on their vehicle.

I know a few Soy Boys (nephews) in their mid 20’s that have no idea how to replace spark plugs, wiper blades or do an oil / filter change. They DO know how to socialize on their cellphone and 10 different social media apps.

Sad but true.