Cars and Car-less. Fewer young drivers and car buffs?
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09-05-2015, 04:40 AM
#12
Thanks to Roseanne for posting this opposing view link on Facebook: http://jalopnik.com/...v=1441311426782
09-05-2015, 05:06 AM
#13
Good article...he mentions 24 Hours of Lemons, which my car nut nephew is involved in. And Katie's Cars and Coffee out in Great Falls, a cool Sat AM gathering of some seriously amazing cars and their owners. I need to go out there again - haven't been in awhile.
09-05-2015, 05:42 AM
#15
Funny how these things work but I can share my views on the subject since I wrote a piece a month ago on this topic for our club news magazine. I'm chairman of the MGA club for Michigan and have to come up an article every two months. Here is what I wrote for Sept/Oct:
What’s the future hold? In the past it was extremely rare to see Rowdies with cars listed for sale. As the current crop of MGA owners age I see more and more For Sale signs on the cars we love. In the distant past I only recall a few Rowdies selling their A’s. One belonged to Rick Case. His MG was a Meadowbrook Concourse of Excellence show winner when it was held near Rochester, Michigan. The car was restored specifically at his shop for that show with the intent of showing it off to sell. If I recall correctly its new owner in Europe purchased it for $12,000. That was easily three times the going price for a top level MGA in that time period. Another A that I recall being sold was that of Rob Cote who sold his national award-winning car due to a growing family. He sold it to a fellow Rowdie. Sales were rare in the distant past.
Fast forward a few decades and it’s a completely different story. The values of many MGAs today are nearly double Case’s Concourse winner. Although profit taking might be a factor in selling, a bigger factor seems to be the driver’s age. We hear many of our aging owners saying they no longer can work on their cars. Or they report they have such difficulty getting in and out of them, so they feel its time to pass them on. Gosh, just in the past couple years Rowdies who sold cars include Doug Butcher, Art Lewis, Ed Schofield, Don Holle, Mike Moder, Dennis Ferguson, Mark Barnhart, Herb Maier, and likely others I don’t remember. At this writing we have four cars for sale - Bruce Nichols, Mike Goeddeke, Larry Sprouse, and Rich Pollion. If I were to survey this lot I bet nearly every one of them will tell you they loved their MGA and the time they spent together. The old line “Enjoy them while you can” doesn’t just apply to your children.
If you attend a large car show like Mad Dogs, you are sure to hear conversations on the future of our old British cars. Who will want to own our cars when we are gone? Will they become museum pieces? Garage art? How do we get young people interested in MG’s? That latter question always makes me smirk. We see NAMGAR is asking it. We see Hagerty Insurance is asking it. I hope I am wrong but my short answer is - You won’t. Growing up it didn’t take long for me to see that sports cars were the package that excitement came in. By the age of eleven I was smitten bad by the sports car love bug just from seeing one. I’m sure many reading this had similar experiences. Or perhaps a family member or neighbor’s ride was the turn-on. But I think people are kidding themselves to think that era can return. There will be a small percentage of young people that show interest but it will be small. My jaw dropped at this year’s Mad Dogs event when a young man, likely age 16, with his father walked up to me and asked if my car was for sale. So not all is lost. What excites most eleven year olds of today? Based on my small sampling it is playing war games over the airwaves on their phones. It will take more than an MG to get their dancing fingers off the keyboard. So my solution is to get young girls interested in MG’s and sooner or later the boys will follow. I think top down motoring is still appealing to today’s youth but they would much rather be seen in a Jeep. Still, the MGA gets more than its share of attention with its classic British lines and a drivetrain that easily keeps up with today’s roads and traffic. I don’t see them becoming a museum piece in our lifetimes but rather becoming more desirable in a niche market where they will continue to bring driving enjoyment for years to come.
According to a recent article in Bloomberg News “The roads in America are going gray. From 2003 to 2013, the number of licensed drivers over the age of 65 surged by 8.2 million, a 29 percent increase, according to U.S. Census data. The very old were particularly stubborn about pulling over for good. There are now about 3.5 million U.S. drivers over 84, a staggering 43 percent increase over a decade ago. On the other end of the age spectrum, teenagers no longer have the income or inclination to own a car. Over that same 10-year period, the ranks of drivers age 20 declined by 3 percent.” Ironically, this momentum runs against a central strategy in the auto industry: Get them young. Believe it or not, we older drivers are not just the future for the MGA’s but we are the future for the auto industry as well.
What’s the future hold? In the past it was extremely rare to see Rowdies with cars listed for sale. As the current crop of MGA owners age I see more and more For Sale signs on the cars we love. In the distant past I only recall a few Rowdies selling their A’s. One belonged to Rick Case. His MG was a Meadowbrook Concourse of Excellence show winner when it was held near Rochester, Michigan. The car was restored specifically at his shop for that show with the intent of showing it off to sell. If I recall correctly its new owner in Europe purchased it for $12,000. That was easily three times the going price for a top level MGA in that time period. Another A that I recall being sold was that of Rob Cote who sold his national award-winning car due to a growing family. He sold it to a fellow Rowdie. Sales were rare in the distant past.
Fast forward a few decades and it’s a completely different story. The values of many MGAs today are nearly double Case’s Concourse winner. Although profit taking might be a factor in selling, a bigger factor seems to be the driver’s age. We hear many of our aging owners saying they no longer can work on their cars. Or they report they have such difficulty getting in and out of them, so they feel its time to pass them on. Gosh, just in the past couple years Rowdies who sold cars include Doug Butcher, Art Lewis, Ed Schofield, Don Holle, Mike Moder, Dennis Ferguson, Mark Barnhart, Herb Maier, and likely others I don’t remember. At this writing we have four cars for sale - Bruce Nichols, Mike Goeddeke, Larry Sprouse, and Rich Pollion. If I were to survey this lot I bet nearly every one of them will tell you they loved their MGA and the time they spent together. The old line “Enjoy them while you can” doesn’t just apply to your children.
If you attend a large car show like Mad Dogs, you are sure to hear conversations on the future of our old British cars. Who will want to own our cars when we are gone? Will they become museum pieces? Garage art? How do we get young people interested in MG’s? That latter question always makes me smirk. We see NAMGAR is asking it. We see Hagerty Insurance is asking it. I hope I am wrong but my short answer is - You won’t. Growing up it didn’t take long for me to see that sports cars were the package that excitement came in. By the age of eleven I was smitten bad by the sports car love bug just from seeing one. I’m sure many reading this had similar experiences. Or perhaps a family member or neighbor’s ride was the turn-on. But I think people are kidding themselves to think that era can return. There will be a small percentage of young people that show interest but it will be small. My jaw dropped at this year’s Mad Dogs event when a young man, likely age 16, with his father walked up to me and asked if my car was for sale. So not all is lost. What excites most eleven year olds of today? Based on my small sampling it is playing war games over the airwaves on their phones. It will take more than an MG to get their dancing fingers off the keyboard. So my solution is to get young girls interested in MG’s and sooner or later the boys will follow. I think top down motoring is still appealing to today’s youth but they would much rather be seen in a Jeep. Still, the MGA gets more than its share of attention with its classic British lines and a drivetrain that easily keeps up with today’s roads and traffic. I don’t see them becoming a museum piece in our lifetimes but rather becoming more desirable in a niche market where they will continue to bring driving enjoyment for years to come.
According to a recent article in Bloomberg News “The roads in America are going gray. From 2003 to 2013, the number of licensed drivers over the age of 65 surged by 8.2 million, a 29 percent increase, according to U.S. Census data. The very old were particularly stubborn about pulling over for good. There are now about 3.5 million U.S. drivers over 84, a staggering 43 percent increase over a decade ago. On the other end of the age spectrum, teenagers no longer have the income or inclination to own a car. Over that same 10-year period, the ranks of drivers age 20 declined by 3 percent.” Ironically, this momentum runs against a central strategy in the auto industry: Get them young. Believe it or not, we older drivers are not just the future for the MGA’s but we are the future for the auto industry as well.
09-05-2015, 08:07 AM
#17
Did you ever wonder if the authors of some of these articles are writing what they want it to be?
Was the author one of those who just never got it?
Looking at his publication record, he seems to be the classic watcher rather than do'er?
Certainly not to be confused with Denise Mccluggage.
Was the author one of those who just never got it?
Looking at his publication record, he seems to be the classic watcher rather than do'er?
Certainly not to be confused with Denise Mccluggage.
09-05-2015, 07:06 PM
#18
Dave,
That's a very good and interesting article, but I think there is one thing that you have to take into consideration. The MG as we know it has been out of production for the better part of 35 years. Today's young people have no idea what an MG is or was. If they were able to see them, not as antiques from 35 or more years ago, but rather as cars that people actually drive and could buy they may feel differently.
When we were kids we saw British and Italian sports cars daily. The generation before us drove them, and we saw that. My first ride in a sports car came when one of my older sister's boyfriends took me for a ride in his brand new Triumph TR-3. I was 12 and couldn't see over the dashboard, but the noise, the ride, the gauges, the shifting all came together to make me fall in love with sports cars. When do today's youth get to see or experience that?
I have read that General Motors is quite concerned about the lack of interest in cars by todays youth to the point that they've hired a staff to write about their cars on social media in an attempt to reach the kids.
I do agree with you that many of today's young people are more interested in video games and electronic devices than cars. I also know that a lesser percentage of young people apply for drivers licenses than in the past. But I do know that there is a large number of young people who still believe in the thrill of cars and driving. Ask my son Adam and any of his college friends. No, they don't lust after the old British sports cars, but they would love to get their hands on a BMW M235, Audi S4, and etc. Each and every one of them wants me to leave them my S2000 in my will (sorry, Adam gets it). They drive Miata's, BRZs, FRSs, RX8s, Civic Sis, modded Civics and anything else they can afford and enjoy. And yes, some drive Jeeps. Almost all of them drive manual transmissions, and all of them dream of having a 10 car garage filled with the cars they love later in life when they can afford it. Just like we did.
I also know that this isn't only among my son's friends or his circle of friends at his college. There are young people at virtually every college participating in car clubs and car events such as Formula SAE at engineering colleges and university.
My point is there is still a big number of young people who are enthusiasts, only the cars they lust after have changed.
That's a very good and interesting article, but I think there is one thing that you have to take into consideration. The MG as we know it has been out of production for the better part of 35 years. Today's young people have no idea what an MG is or was. If they were able to see them, not as antiques from 35 or more years ago, but rather as cars that people actually drive and could buy they may feel differently.
When we were kids we saw British and Italian sports cars daily. The generation before us drove them, and we saw that. My first ride in a sports car came when one of my older sister's boyfriends took me for a ride in his brand new Triumph TR-3. I was 12 and couldn't see over the dashboard, but the noise, the ride, the gauges, the shifting all came together to make me fall in love with sports cars. When do today's youth get to see or experience that?
I have read that General Motors is quite concerned about the lack of interest in cars by todays youth to the point that they've hired a staff to write about their cars on social media in an attempt to reach the kids.
I do agree with you that many of today's young people are more interested in video games and electronic devices than cars. I also know that a lesser percentage of young people apply for drivers licenses than in the past. But I do know that there is a large number of young people who still believe in the thrill of cars and driving. Ask my son Adam and any of his college friends. No, they don't lust after the old British sports cars, but they would love to get their hands on a BMW M235, Audi S4, and etc. Each and every one of them wants me to leave them my S2000 in my will (sorry, Adam gets it). They drive Miata's, BRZs, FRSs, RX8s, Civic Sis, modded Civics and anything else they can afford and enjoy. And yes, some drive Jeeps. Almost all of them drive manual transmissions, and all of them dream of having a 10 car garage filled with the cars they love later in life when they can afford it. Just like we did.
I also know that this isn't only among my son's friends or his circle of friends at his college. There are young people at virtually every college participating in car clubs and car events such as Formula SAE at engineering colleges and university.
My point is there is still a big number of young people who are enthusiasts, only the cars they lust after have changed.
09-06-2015, 02:28 AM
#19
There is another point to consider.
When most of us vints were young, newly minted drivers there was a world of difference in the handling between a sports car and a standard American land barge.
A light quick nimble little car could drive circles around some of the tanks on the road.
A youthmightbe able to elude law enforcement by simply not slowing down in corners that a cop car would have too.
These factors were pretty self evident at speeds well within the speed limits.
Fast forward to today's economy vehicles.
The performance envelope is well beyond normal legal operation, and this is for cheap cars.
Are there better cars available that perform better? absolutely but the performance is only readily exposed at the limits not within everyday use where it is a much subtler change.
So why would the new driver get excited about a sports car or any car?
When most of us vints were young, newly minted drivers there was a world of difference in the handling between a sports car and a standard American land barge.
A light quick nimble little car could drive circles around some of the tanks on the road.
A youthmightbe able to elude law enforcement by simply not slowing down in corners that a cop car would have too.
These factors were pretty self evident at speeds well within the speed limits.
Fast forward to today's economy vehicles.
The performance envelope is well beyond normal legal operation, and this is for cheap cars.
Are there better cars available that perform better? absolutely but the performance is only readily exposed at the limits not within everyday use where it is a much subtler change.
So why would the new driver get excited about a sports car or any car?
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