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The Future of our British Car Hobby

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I see the same thing with the shows I go to and the groups I belong to. I'm also one of the "young" ones at 61 with not that many behind me. Most who are, are like described, folks who grew up in a family where the cars were around. But my brothers kids aren't really interested in any of the stuff I've collected over the years, so who knows what'll happen when I finally go room temperature.
 
I think multi marque clubs are the way to pull in the younger element. As has been said people are interested in the cars of their youth and in single make clubs don't get exposure to anything else. If your club caters for anything from Mgs to Golf GTIs then the GTI owner gets the chance to see (and maybe ride in) something older which may spark his interest.
 
catfood said:
I think multi marque clubs are the way to pull in the younger element. As has been said people are interested in the cars of their youth and in single make clubs don't get exposure to anything else. If your club caters for anything from Mgs to Golf GTIs then the GTI owner gets the chance to see (and maybe ride in) something older which may spark his interest.
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That's an excellent point. I'll look into my local clubs and see if there are any that fit the multi-marque small bore performance category and I'll join. I think showing the MX5, GTI, WRX crowd what a well heeled (eventually) TR4 can be will help. We were at the Atlanta Historic races last weekend, and it was good to see several groups of HS kids sitting on their E36 3 Series project cars watching the vintage racers. There's hope!
As a few here know, I turn wrenches for a living. We have kids from the local HS come in for the afternoons to clean and do odd jobs. Literally 90% can't drive a manual and are unable to move a car with a stick.
I think this is a very productive topic that we should keep going. Any ideas shared here are helpful. If we don't get the younger generation interested, this hobby as we know it won't survive. Without demand for products there's no way to keep a business like TRF, Moss, Revington, etc. going. Keep the ideas coming. I'm willing to reach out and help in any way I can.
 
This past month we had British Car Day - the largest single day British Car Show in North America. I must say I have never seen so many younger people and, interestingly, I have never seen such a racially diverse ownership - most, not surprisingly from former British Colonies.

a couple of things.

1. Hipsters are into retro - often things like old Mercedes Benz Saloons but, there is a slight trend there (as evidenced by the number of old car backdrops in fashion advertizing)

2. It makes some people crazy (including me a little) but modern cars are welcome as long as they are "British" - so, we have a huge new mini group - many modified and most with younger drivers. Not classic and not really British but.... (likewise modern jags and deloreans (a big draw for younger folk) and even Cobras.

3. Many of our cars are among the most affordable out there and easiest to park - both advantages in a place like Toronto.

so, perhaps.
 
I've found that a lot of the younger generation that drive the sport compacts (Honda Civics with fart pipes, et al), tend to find the LBCs more fascinating than the Detroit Muscle Cars. The four cylinder engine is more familiar to them, and that they can actually tune one without the need for a computer intrigues them. Overall, the car is a lot more relatable to what they are driving currently. And, generally, an LBC is an easier car to get into financially than the 60's Detroit Muscle, as you can still find some decent deals on later Spridgets, particularly the rubber-bumpered Midgets.

There's always going to be someone who will appreciate a particular car -- how many people own Model Ts today that actually have childhood memories of them? Probably not many. What I'm seeing is a lot more interest in the '47 - '54 Detroit iron, not so much because people have childhood memories of them, but because you can still find decent examples priced reasonably for the hobbyists...and these cars are adaptable enough that you can pretty much go from a pure stock restoration to a completely insane custom.
 
For decades I wrenched for bean money. Repaired, serviced and restored older Euro-trash. One of our "seasonal" tasks was to service older Rolls cars which had been parked over the summer months while the owners were Up North. The Rolls' here were their grocery-getters while they spent the winter months avoiding the cold. Most were first-owner cars not traded for the new one Up There. Their next generation of offspring had zero interest in the summer-only lumps their parents left as that generation faded out, the kids all wanted the whizz-bang, go-fast cars. That part of our clientele melted away. Second and third owner specialty stuff like Porsches, Ferraris, etc. were almost affordable to the Yuppie bunch and we saw a lot of those for some time before the TestaRosa became a Barret-Jackson star. We still had a steady influx of full restoration projects but the handwriting was on the wall. No interest in the generations behind us to follow in our footsteps, most who were interested in cars generally were going to the various trade schools, learning the current tech to get dealership positions (and who could blame them!). If I'm out in one of my examples on the British Hit List (say it fast three times :wink: ), they garner most attention from those of my generation or the one just below. The Millennials walk past it with their eyes stuck to their iPhones after exiting their BMW/Audi/Porsche/Prius. It's somewhat disheartening.
 
Also disheartening - that "BMW/Audi/Porsche/Prius" would all be in the same group.

eek
 
Those Prius drivers who do look, usually smirk, with a seeming expression of derision on their faces.
 
"Also disheartening - that "BMW/Audi/Porsche/Prius" would all be in the same group."

All those companies only produce soulless lumps of plastic for the modern yuppie.
 
"soulless lumps of plastic"

The cars? or the drivers?

<ducks and runs>
 
Both.
 
waltesefalcon said:
"Also disheartening - that "BMW/Audi/Porsche/Prius" would all be in the same group."

All those companies only produce soulless lumps of plastic for the modern yuppie.
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As a big fan of sports cars and motorsports, this statement confounds the heck out of me. I'm most thankful for the products these four produce.
 
I prefer to drive my cars, not have a computer drive them based off of the inputs I give. I like prefer cars with a mechanical link between myself and the engine, steering, etc. In the past sports cars required the diver to learn how to drive them in order to push them to their limits, today's cars will compensate for the driver. That level of babysitting just takes out most of the enjoyment for me.
 
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Walt - as a retired AA pilot friend of mine says: "Soon the cockpit will have only one human and one monkey. Human's job is to feed the monkey. Monkey's job is to keep the pilot from touching any of the controls, so the automated systems can function without interference."
 
waltesefalcon said:
I prefer to drive my cars, not have a computer drive them based off of the inputs I give. I like prefer cars with a mechanical link between myself and the engine, steering, etc. In the past sports cars required the dive to learn how to drive them to push them to their limits, today's cars will compensate for the driver. That level of babysitting just takes out most of the enjoyment for me.
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So I get what you're saying because I enjoy that kind of driving too. Even driving vehicles with non-juice brakes and non-synchro gearboxes brings a smile to my face. But I can also get excited by what these four manufacturers bring to the table in today's market. A drive in Audi's or Porsche's latest stuff is also a wonderful experience.
 
I drove a Honda S 2000. I'd take one in a heartbeat. Drove a Porsche 911. Ditto. These are exciting cars that go like **** and still give you a decent ride. Drove a Prius. Couldn't get out of it fast enough. Don't lump them together.
 
All my "young" friends by comparison to most on here, love my british cars. Granted, they have an American spin on them. They get tons of attention by younger kids, many times people turning around in traffic or following me to my destination to ask questions about them.
 
Horses for courses really. I drive the Healey for fun but wouldn't want to use it on my 180 mile round trip motorway commute to the office. I'll stick to the Beemer for that.
 
anarchy99 said:
All my "young" friends by comparison to most on here, love my british cars. Granted, they have an American spin on them. They get tons of attention by younger kids, many times people turning around in traffic or following me to my destination to ask questions about them.
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speaking of which - how are your cars? is it time for an update?
 
Don't poop on the Prius too quickly. We live in Atlanta, and our traffic is as bad as anywhere in the nation. So we got a Prius C to use as our DD. Couldn't be happier. It makes zero sense for us to idle an IC engine from light to light when we can get 50-70 mpg in the exact same comfort, and the exact same speed, that an S65 could do over the same distance on our roads. I can literally beat a car across the city on my bicycle.
No way would I DD a high end car in this city, especially one with a manual transmission.
Different horses for different courses.
 
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