[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by MD79TA

If you read into this it's kind of scary. It looks to me the younger folks are not interested in these cars?

this is no surprise to me.

look at my generation, and the ones ten or more years younger than me - a great many of them aren't even interested in getting drivers licenses, let alone having interests in cars...

A part of me hopes to get some stellar cars in the future if musclecars go the way 50's cars have gone in the last twenty years...
And if the market doesn't go down, then I will continue to enjoy my one muscelcar - and appreciate others from afar

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

this is no surprise to me.

look at my generation, and the ones ten or more years younger than me - a great many of them aren't even interested in getting drivers licenses, let alone having interests in cars...

A part of me hopes to get some stellar cars in the future if musclecars go the way 50's cars have gone in the last twenty years...
And if the market doesn't go down, then I will continue to enjoy my one muscelcar - and appreciate others from afar

There's a subset like this, yes, but there always was.

I see TONS of interest from younger people in the car hobby. The big problem is affordability. Especially with the old cars. Lets say you really wanted a GTO. Well that name plate alone is going to bring a large premium, regardless of it's condition, so you start looking for a LeMans that you can convert.

You find an okay car that still needs work in the 5-8k range. That's well and good, but then you have body, paint, possible engine/transmission, electrical etc. Unless you can literally do everything on your own, you've got another 25-40K in parts and labor. Younger people can not afford that and their parents that once may have been able to help lost their job when the coal plant shut down, or the automotive plant moved to mexico.

In my opinion, the lack of interest in cars is more a symptom of affordability than a mindset change itself. If you know you can't afford a hobby, you're going to move in a direction of something else that makes you happy that you can afford.

This is also why you see more younger people in honda's and such. That 5k that you spend on a beat up LaMans that needs thousands in work buys you a running, driving Honda with a B18 swap that you can go show off and work on at the same time.

[unruhjonny]

I dunno;
You should see the enthusiasm I see with the newer cars;
When my Cobalt was still a brand new car, the enthusiasm i saw was simply astounding;
Now that it's just an older car, the swell of fans has greatly diminished - but it's still there...
For the most part I think they have moved on to other similar market segment sport compacts...
The Focus ST & RS for example...

I think that for illustration purposes, we were to take all the people around my age and lump them together, then seperate the individuals who can do without bluetooth, AC, and all the other doo-dads that new cars come with - that pool of fans would be surprisingly small...
When my car was new, they were often being sold for above MSRP (before the economic "correction");
The Focus RS costs more than a Mustang GT (here that's over $50k in my dollars);
The Subaru STI costs probably at least as much, and they still sell great...

So car enthusiasts can afford cars - but I think there is apprehension for the younger guys to get a classic...
Even though I would like to see values drop, I also hope to see the flip-side - where interest piques in the younger age demographic...

There's simply no excusing the great majority of the Honda crowd;
For every one cool Honda car guy, there's at least a hundred morons...

A local buddy of mine has dynoed 551hp out of his Cobalt SS;
Believe me, he is not a wealthy guy, and he has had to buy some pricey parts.
Car guys just find ways to make things happen - no matter the age.

[Nicks67GTO]

Originally Posted by JLMounce

There's a subset like this, yes, but there always was.

I see TONS of interest from younger people in the car hobby. The big problem is affordability. Especially with the old cars. Lets say you really wanted a GTO. Well that name plate alone is going to bring a large premium, regardless of it's condition, so you start looking for a LeMans that you can convert.

You find an okay car that still needs work in the 5-8k range. That's well and good, but then you have body, paint, possible engine/transmission, electrical etc. Unless you can literally do everything on your own, you've got another 25-40K in parts and labor. Younger people can not afford that and their parents that once may have been able to help lost their job when the coal plant shut down, or the automotive plant moved to mexico.

In my opinion, the lack of interest in cars is more a symptom of affordability than a mindset change itself. If you know you can't afford a hobby, you're going to move in a direction of something else that makes you happy that you can afford.

This is also why you see more younger people in honda's and such. That 5k that you spend on a beat up LaMans that needs thousands in work buys you a running, driving Honda with a B18 swap that you can go show off and work on at the same time.

If you bought a basket case GTO or Trans AM for $5-8K and wanted something that could compete with real modern muscle you could sink $75K into it so fast it would be scary. It could roll over 100K in a hurry and that's if you're doing it yourself. You would also have 3-4 years of hard work ahead of you...only to have a sub par automobile compared to a new Z28 that can be had for less coin. My point is there has to be love for these cars to want to do them anymore. They were the rulers of the roost through the 90s and early 2000's. That is no longer the case without a lot of money in them. A 400hp stock suspension GTO is a nice toy....and it would get killed by most newer stock GT mustangs. The kids now will buy the new cars without question. I hate to be a downer but its just the truth.

[ho428]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

Car guys just find ways to make things happen - no matter the age.

Oh yeah. I paid $1200 for my 68 Firebird back in 1976 as a 16 yr old in HS. Somehow I had enough for a small down payment and made that $75 monthly payment, bought a set of Cyclone headers, Holley carb, glass packs and new exhaust. Road Hugger tires, 8 track player, speakers, etc... while making around $2.75 an hour, 20 hrs a week after school.
Still had money for gas, date night with drive in movie admission for two. But to this day I'm not sure we ever watched a movie...

[unruhjonny]

Nice!

[unruhjonny]

I got my Formula after high school when I was 18;
I was gifted it - but I would have bought something else beforehand with my own money, if I was allowed;
For reasons which defy any assemblance of logic, my mother absolutely refused to allow me to buy a car, and have it parked in our (half empty) two car garage...
I worked as many hours as I was able, so i could have afforded to buy and fix something...
there were a coulle near misses;
Two 1968 Firebird 350's, one 1976 Trans Am, and iirc a '75 Esprit...
Had my mom played her cards right, I probably would have been a better student just to be able to use the garage...
And yes, she was the type to have had it towed away.

but oh well, my Formula was a much better starting point than whet I could have afforded, so I was better off waiting!

[MD79TA]

I agree that there is more than one reason for lack of interest in the muscle era cars. But a major problem is that parts for these cars are crazy. Used parts have been collected , collected and folks just don't sell or if they do they want to make insane profits. If you agree or not this a major problem and I understand if you can charge and get huge money then that's the Americsn way supply and demand. The problem is who can afford these part and how many just give up. I love GTO and owned my first one in 1972 . I never owned more than two at once but on this forum I have been to folks that own twenty. These cars just sit and collect dust and the parts piles I have seen some Nos not for sale is sad. But this is just one reason why I think less interest by younger and huge price drops coming down the road. It will just be to long for me . And I am a true die hard pontiac man. Doug

[Greg Reid]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

For reasons which defy any assemblance of logic, my mother absolutely refused to allow me to buy a car, and have it parked in our (half empty) two car garage...

You have any kids driving yet? The garage was just an excuse I'll bet, to delay your driving as long as possible.

[ho428]

While I wanted a 68 Firebird since I was around 12 when my uncle bought one upon his return from Vietnam, my first car purchase choices were a 1959 Corvette, and a 1968 Firebird.
At 16 mom said no to the Corvette, which would have actually been the more prudent choice given it was underpowered with the 283 and had no back seat, LOL!
On the Firebird test drive I barked the rear tires hitting second gear, she said no way. I said it's either this or the Corvette.
So, it was my Uncles and moms doing that I ended up owning 6 First gen Firebirds, several other Pontiacs, and a lifetime of Pontiac loyalty.
I did eventually get a 59 Vette, but it just didn't hold my interest like the Firebirds.

[MarkS57]

Originally Posted by MUSLCAH

Now you 60 year olds like me.....did you click the 50-60 slot ?? I clicked the 60-70

Good point, as I am 59 approaching that 60 number in the fall, where will I be? When I'm crawling around underneath or sandwiched under the dash, I feel like the more senior group. When I mash the loud pedal and hit the 1st - 2nd shift, well that's different, the years just fall away. Anyway, my wife says I'm 59 going on 17 sometimes- always keep 'em guessing! The bias of the age groups towards 50 - 60 probably has a lot to do with available disposable income.

[geeteeohguy]

All these posts make good points. Those of us in the 50-60 age group got into these cars because they were cheap, and better looking and much faster and more fun to drive than new offerings at the time (1970's-early '80's). The most I ever paid for an early GTO was $2000, and that was later, in 1992. New cars will smoke our old rides, no doubt. But they are disposable cars with all the electronics and plastics. Doubtful they'll be running around when they're 50-60 years old themselves. I'm lucky in that the two GTO's I still have, I bought 35-ish years ago for peanuts. I never wanted to get rid of them. As time goes by, I like them even more. But our generation is being replaced with younger folks who don't have the same background as us, didn't come of age when we did, and don't relate to these old cars the same way. I like all old cars, and have noticed that once expensive pre-war cars are cheaper now than they were 20 years ago. Main reason is that those who grew up with them and remembered them as newer cars, are now passed on. I plan on keeping mine as long as I can drive, though!

[64speed]

37 and I have owned old cars ever since my first 58 Chevrolet in HS. Always used as daily drivers till the kids came along and I had to get something more sensible. Oh yeah there was a divorce in there somewhere where I was without anything but other than that I have always had a practical car and a muscle car but tended to drive the muscle more.
I have had 2 64 GTO's
A 59 Impala 2 Door Hardtop
67 Buick Lesabre
63 Impala SS that I swapped a richmond 6 speed into long before pro touring was a thing
and countless others have come and gone.

I have a 64 Tempest Custom now and out of all my cars I would have to say its the roughest one I have ever bought but children finances and time dictated a low entry price and this one came along and was too good to pass up. Now if I could just win the lottery and put some money into it.

[Half-Inch Stud]

Ya know, according to the Poll, 50-60 to 70-80s indicates there may be a bunch of old cars being sold the next 20 years.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Ya know, according to the Poll, 50-60 to 70-80s indicates there may be a bunch of old cars being sold the next 20 years.

Always an optimist, aren't you!

[dlloyd]

59 here and still playing with my toys

[Old Man Taylor]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Ya know, according to the Poll, 50-60 to 70-80s indicates there may be a bunch of old cars being sold the next 20 years.

My daughter says that she will give mine a new home.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by Half-Inch Stud

Ya know, according to the Poll, 50-60 to 70-80s indicates there may be a bunch of old cars being sold the next 20 years.

It's already happening.

[scott70]

Originally Posted by STEELCITYFIREBIRD

Still remember the exact 8 tracks in my brothers Formula:

Bee Gees
Eagles
Foreigner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkaW-6QOk70 (THIS SONG IS LOCKED IN MY MEMORY)
Chicago
ELO
Steely Dan
Fleetwood Mac
ARS

I kept the car, but pitched the 8 tracks one at a time as they broke.
He bought the car in 79, and would of bought a 1970 1/2 RAIV T/A, but my Dad said no because the owner had to do something under the hood to get it started.

I took it(Formula) for a ride when no one was home, got pulled over for scratching off 2nd gear. Asked the cop to give me some room to pull out when he let me go, told him I wasn't very good at driving a stick shift. I was only 14!

52 here. I hear you on the missed car.I was graduating high school and my father said he would help me with a muscle car as I had always liked fast cars. I was looking around and happened into a employee parking lot at a local GM dealership. Saw a 69 judge in its original paint,,mint interior. The only thing non stock was the cragars and the shifter which was a hurst 4 speed but had the seperate red handle for reverse. It had a 4 sale sign in it and I found the employee that owned it and took me for a ride.Wow,,i was sold. Buying price,,,1500.00. Told my father and he came back to look at it with me. The owner said every once in a while the starter would mess up and then work again. And it got 10 MPG. I told him thats the one I want but he talked me into his friends 67 cougar with 289 and toploader 4 speed. He said it started all the time and got better MPG. 1500.00 for that. Years later he said he messed up talking me into the cougar,,hind sight always 20-20.4 years later in 86 i found the 70 gto in my sig and still have it today. Buying price for the 70 GTo in 1986,,,,1700.00. Original drivetrain,,interior,in cardinal red but will be going back to the original mint turqouise and 69 judge stripe.When i bought it i didnt realize it had a 455 ,,thought it had a 400 until i went to put a clutch in it and a 400 clutch didnt fit,,too small. Thats when I started investigating and found out it was a 455 and #'s matching! Opened up the govebox when I got it home to find the original owners manual and papers to the original owner. Made some phone calls and found the old man that had bought it new,,,he asked if i would like a pic of it brand new and I said hell yeah. That pic is in my sig.

[MarkS57]

Originally Posted by Old Man Taylor

My daughter says that she will give mine a new home.

Pretty sure my son (24) will take the Tempest, he was a big help doing the engine swap and is interested. I don't know about the Fiero, a shame cause its a really nice lo mile car.