This hobby is dying

[Sauron327]

My friend is at Ford Carlisle with his survivor lightweight 62 Galaxie. His is a featured car and inside. He said there are hundreds of Ford Focuses on display, and nearly a thousand late model Mustangs with typical fart pipes. There is a retired 80 year old race car driver there signing autographs who said old cars are pieces of garbage and new cars with all the computers are much better.

[jwbavalon]

I hope you are wrong Scott but maybe not.  A few years ago, I entered my restored  '71 Opel GT in the Import Class at a local car show only to lose out for 2nd place to a brand new Kia Optima.  At least 1st place went to a 1968 Triumph TR6.

[Sauron327]

I'm not wrong. Most young people today have very little mechanical aptitude and think a classic car is junk. Just saw a fart pipe owner go down the street with a tailpipe sticking out 2 feet at a 45 degree upward. Lot of classics cars are going overseas. The two elusive brothers out west amassing a over a billion dollar collection of classics is unbelievable. Kids today would think they are junk. I'm 56 and see it all the time. My friend is raising his 18 year old nephew and teaching him how to appreciate old cars and work on them. Pretty rare today.

I've also read that some classic owners would gladly convert their cars to EV. Yup, just yank out that original 427 and install a battery.

[maroman]

People are stupid, they buy what they are told to buy. In the 60 and 70's it was HP.  Then it was minivans, then SUVs {how many of you have them?} and now the push is electric. Doesn't matter if it makes sense it's what people are being told to buy.

[Sauron327]

Sheep. I have a 70 year old friend with a classic car collection that owns a hybrid, but he is not giving up his musclecars. Another friend had a hybrid but the battery was junk and replacing it was not worth it. He junked it. But he has over 50 gas and diesel powered vehicles he can jump in. I get ridiculed for my 97 crew cab Powerstroke. A guy in a Prius once looked at my 67 and shook his head in disgust. Dying breed.

[crossboss]

Sheep. I have a 70 year old friend with a classic car collection that owns a hybrid, but he is not giving up his musclecars. Another friend had a hybrid but the battery was junk and replacing it was not worth it. He junked it. But he has over 50 gas and diesel powered vehicles he can jump in. I get ridiculed for my 97 crew cab Powerstroke. A guy in a Prius once looked at my 67 and shook his head in disgust. Dying breed.

Gotta good story, and a payback to the lib greenies. Here goes: several years ago I was doing this film shoot (I'm a cameraman) at this posh Beverly Hills hotel and when it was finished everyone was waiting for their cars from the valet. There was this group of female reporters bragging about their Priuses, and 'saving' the world. My (then) 2005 Mustang GT arrives from the valet, and I turn toward the libs, and say "My Mustang burns rubber and gas!". I got this look of shock and horror from them. I promptly left 2 stripes of rubber in that snobby hotel.
Moral to the story: I will NEVER own an electric car, or get rid of my 'old' dinosaur Muscle Cars!

[MO]

To me, this is really no more than changing attitudes and taste. It's obviously how the guys that held model A's and T's, and other early cars, as well as hot rods in such high esteem. They saw the same diminishing interest. The hobby isn't dying, as evidenced by the continually escalating prices, but the fan base is getting smaller. My kids like the cars I like because they grew up around them, but they gravitate to today's technology, style and comfort. Their kids will only know current model trends.

[camaroboy68ss]

Its not fully dying, but I will say the restoration and preservation group is getting smaller, but I know quite a few people my age (30) and younger than still love playing with muscle cars and older stuff. Then there is still the massive group that like to LS swap all the old cars, I guess that's better than just tossing out the old stuff for scrap, but then to defend the younger crowd, its not cheap to restore or just maintain the old cars. When I look at project first gen Camaro's it hard for many to buy a decent project. Was just looking at a 69 RS coupe on facebook. 16 grand for a car that had the bottom 2 inches rotted off, no drivetrain, half the interior missing. Then all the metal work just to make it a solid base is gonna make many go broke.

I admit I have hoped that the early hot rods would start to get cheap as that age group that preferred them started dying off, but the pricing has only gone up, have not dropped at all.

[69Z28-RS]

As long as we keep DRIVING our older cars, where they can be SEEN by the public at large, then they will be appreciated.   It wasn't all just horsepower and noise for the older classics (as compared to newer vehicles)... Go back and look at some of the '60's ads for our cars... you won't look at many before you realize their appeal (compared to new cars today) Is also about STYLE...   new cars have NONE... 

[crossboss]

I tend to agree with most comments here. Yes, the 'Resto-Mod' crowd/trend is keeping the hobby alive. I support it. I also support keeping the pedigree of significant cars/models 'correct'. I also support vintage 'Hot-Rods' and 'race cars' of the past. Thats my worthless two cents...

[David K]

A good indicator would be cruise nights, cars and coffee, car shows, and swap meets. If you’ve done any of these lately, you already know that trend changed with the Charger 4 door Hemi years ago. If you watch Mecum or B.J. auctions, how many model Ts, As, or cars from the 30-s-early 50s are there? Not many, and every fan base is decreasing by the minute. Not everyone has to love or appreciate the muscle car era cars, as to each his own. I found my brother his 67 vert and he took it with him to SoCal in 97. He still drives it and is the cool dad with all the moms. The kids love the loud exhaust too. You don’t have to like a car with a fart can (I said fart), and pay it no mind because it doesn’t interest you. I’m sure back in the late 50s and early 60’s, there were a lot of parents shaking their heads about the young whipper snappers driving fast; and girls wearing fewer clothes. JMHO.

[169INDY]

"A good indicator would be cruise nights, cars and coffee, car shows, and swap meets. "

For me a Good indicator is people are restoring Four doors and wagons,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,amazing!

ALOT of parts and car will be available in the Next 20 years! (That was not a Gorey negative statement) just an eventuality - reality. 

as a point My family had to (Chose to) liquidate Dads Model T's, Packard, Hudson Etc, just as someone will distribute my Super sports and Z, as the world turns.
Enjoy them (& the friends) as best you can

[vtfb68]

Just wondering how many of us have cell phones or have benefited from modern medicine ? We are clearly on the world wide web. Older generation rodders decried flathead swaps, thought the world was ending then too. life goes on regardless of opinions. We should be happy with our life's and what we have accomplished. Me, me, me will never be a winning strategy.
 Hope we are not chasing kids off our lawns either. MTC
     
        VT

[Sauron327]

Was just looking at a 69 RS coupe on facebook. 16 grand for a car that had the bottom 2 inches rotted off, no drivetrain, half the interior missing. Then all the metal work just to make it a solid base is gonna make many go broke.

I recently bought a '71 429 Cobra Jet 4speed Torino driver with 70 percent original paint. Drove it home 25 miles then drove it to one of my storage places. 68K miles on the odometer and the car reflects it. $12,500. Minimal bodywork. I do this everyday as a resto biz. Without a network, most people are paying way too much. I will not pay $16K for a pos unless the car is valuable.

[crossboss]

Was just looking at a 69 RS coupe on facebook. 16 grand for a car that had the bottom 2 inches rotted off, no drivetrain, half the interior missing. Then all the metal work just to make it a solid base is gonna make many go broke.

I recently bought a '71 429 Cobra Jet 4speed Torino driver with 70 percent original paint. Drove it home 25 miles then drove it to one of my storage places. 68K miles on the odometer and the car reflects it. $12,500. Minimal bodywork. I do this everyday as a resto biz. Without a network, most people are paying way too much. I will not pay $16K for a pos unless the car is valuable.

Excellent deal! You purchased a pretty rare car for $12.5K, AND drove it home! This proves there are deals out there...IF you know where to look.