Is the car hobby/enthusiast a dying breed?

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I keep buying older vehicles in worse condition and fixing them up, so I don't think that's universal at all. I'm also currently helping a friend shop for an older 4x4 toy.

That said, I'm not opposed to things like self driving electric cars. That makes sense for most people.

Just because millennials aren't spending 6-7 figures they don't have on raggedy muscle cars at fancy auctions doesn't mean car enthusiasm is dying.
 
I don't think it's dying yet but the end is in sight. When the high roof box self driving vehicles start to enter the roads that will be the beginning of the end.
 
Originally Posted by Red91
This thread will be locked before long, lol.


Its not Sunday AM yet
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Has to do with what you grew up with...hard to be sentimental about a 2005 Civic Hybrid.
 
The world of today includes rarely seeing a raised hood while the owners are self pumping gas. Both dealers and indys indicate that failed engines due to folks running them out of oil until they fail is not uncommon. I'm thinking that as the boomers pass on, there will be few interested in their 'old cars'.
 
I agree that the hobby and enthusiast is changing. I do believe that cars up to the 50's are going to be loosing popularity. They will retain some value and "coolness" for the reason they just is not a lot around, and as time goes on, less and less available. I agree that it is just different times now and the type of cars being sought after are different, plus the fact cars are so maintenance free now, many people don't have the memories of working on them with dad anymore.
 
Have been a gearhead for about 65 years and watch many changes but one constant has been some type of car hobby. The Subaru will never be a Stutz Bearcat but will in the future hold some cache. Already some people are building Teslars to do 0 to sixty in two seconds. Before internal combustion it was who had the fastest horse.
 
Of course it's dying. 30 years ago, a kid could work on his own car or at least SEE where each component is. A teenager could look at the ignition points (okay, for cars more than 30 years old) and see if they had a problem or not.
Now you really can't anything to your car without a laptop, a phone or a scanner and the average teenage boy has no desire to do anything to a car.
 
I think there's a paradigm shift going on. Soon to be gone are the days of swapping in a 4 bolt main 350 (which is actually a 305) into any and every 50s-70s car. There's a lot of people in to the 80s-90s stuff now. They aren't being seen as "car people". I have three vehicles, spend a lot of time with a lot of other people in my automotive hobby working on off road toys, wheeling them, traveling with them. I guarantee I put more time into what I do than the stereotypical "car guy" that moves his Nova with a 350 swapped in out of the garage once a month to wash it. But we aren't considered car hobby people.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
Millennials are the worst


I resent that. I am a 25 year old that drives nothing but manual transmissions and has a 1992 Mustang with a 5.0 V8.

The car is a bit of a project car, and I am doing most of the work myself. I just pulled the AC out and put in a delete kit... my buddy helped with that but then I pulled the front bumper / grill myself to remove the AC condenser. Working on my mustang is the best therapy I can think of!

[Linked Image]
 
Here are a few reasons:
1. The proliferation of condos = No place to work on your car.
2, Easy terms on leases - You turn the car In before it needs work plus it's really not your car anyway.
3. The engines today are already tuned well producing more power per cubic inch than most "muscle cars". Want to put a turbo on some old engine? What for. You can lease or buy a new car with a turbo with a low interest line of credit.

All this leads to a dropping interest.
 
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I think cars have gotten expensive and disposable incomes less. Id love to buy a project car and fix it up/modify it. Money is the only thing that prevents it.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Here are a few reasons:
1. The proliferation of condos = No place to work on your car.
2, Easy terms on leases - You turn the car In before it needs work plus it's really not your car anyway.
3. The engines today are already tuned well producing more power per cubic inch than most "muscle cars". Want to put a turbo on some old engine? What for. You can lease or buy a new car with a turbo with a low interest line of credit.

All this leads to a dropping interest.


On the flip side, you still have people who don't feel like paying 1k at the dealer for a brake job when they could do it themselves for a few hundred. The car forums are still out there with info on how to do your own DIY repairs and youtube is great with all kinds of videos on how to do common repairs.
 
I don't think the car culture is dying, I think it's shifting, not only due to the age of the cars, but due to the cars themselves. Back in the day, you had to know how to mechanically improve a car to make it better. Today, the same thing is being done with electronics, mostly by the manufacturer, but even still, there's room to improve the tune on most cars.

Looking at it from a cost perspective, 20 years ago you could buy all the pre 70 cars you wanted for a few grand, today, even a rusted out hulk of a 60's era muscle car can be over 10 grand, which means collectors and builders are going after 70's era cars and now those are being pushed out of the "average Joe" market, which means the 80's and 90's era are next.

There will always be a decent car or two, no matter what year you choose from, but IMHO, very few vehicles since the 70's have had any amount of styling worth mentioning. Easily since the 80's, everything looks the same, and it's only gotten worse as the decades march on.

As for myself, I was into cars in my youth, went through auto tech training in the 80's and promptly jumped out of the industry. With the recent purchase of my Suburban, it has rekindled my affinity for vehicles. I've enjoyed giving the Burb all the TLC she's needed to bring her back to her former glory, and I look forward to purchasing another "project" car in the future. I'd love to find a few local folks to turn wrenches with.

Which brings me to another point, most young and dumb kids can't afford much for a vehicle, and I think most of their time is spent getting their careers in order. Once they get a little age under their belt and more financially stable, then they start coming back to having fun with cars.
 
Heck I'm dumping my Civic for a HRV,CRV or Pilot probably in 12-14 months. Now I want space and comfort instead. Wish the Crosstour was still made. Even a Civic Type R on a HRV stance or two inch lift would do it for me.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
Millennials are the worst

Yep, us [censored] millennials hate cars. Here my boring commuter that I refuse to work on so I don't won't get dirty:

[Linked Image]


Here's my best friends car. He definitely didn't do a manual swap in his own garage, because, like, what even is a transmission?

[Linked Image]


This one is owned by a friend in Wilmington. Mommy and Daddy definitely bought it for him:

[Linked Image]


Oh yeah, can't forget John in California, who dreams of owning a Tesla because they drive themselves, and driving is too stressful:

[Linked Image]


I'm so sick of hearing about what millennials are "ruining." Every part of America has online car groups. All of them are a mix of young and old. Working on your car just to keep it running is no longer a necessity for your average owner, but plenty still do it for fun - and us darn millennials don't complain about electronics "spoiling everything," either.
 
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