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You are right, Kevin, this is a great thread. I also agree with Erik about Packards being "adult" cars. When my wife and I were discussing the idea of buying my Bumblebee, she told me that she had never entertained the idea of owning a "doo-wop" car! I think I correctly pointed out that the '55 Clipper was not a car for teenagers ... it was the kind of car that their parents would have liked. I think that clenched the deal.

Like others here, my father never owned a Packard either; but my grandfather did, though I do not know what year or model it was. I asked my mother if Dad and she had ever contemplated buying a Packard and she said no, because they were too expensive. My father did own a Kaiser Manhattan, which he told me was a great car. My folks tended to be Ford people, with a couple of Chryslers thrown in for good measure. I'm not really sure why, but I think my father would have rather been run over by a GM car than own one. Go figure.

It is cool, though, my mother, who just turned 89, really likes the Clipper and enjoys riding in it. This Saturday I will pick her up at the retirement community she lives in near Frederick, MD and take her to the Packard Swap Meet there. I know she will like seeing all of the beautiful old cars and talking with the "young" folks who own them. And if any of you 20- or 30-somethings show up there, be sure to say hi to her! Your presence at these events is welcomed and appreciated -- you belong at Packard events just as much as us old folks, maybe even more.

Speaking about young people and cars take a look at this article from the Detroit News today.

Why don't young people want cars?
It's not that they don't, it's that they really can't afford them - yet

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130509/OPINION01/305090320/Why-don-t-young-people-want-cars-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

While the article deals mostly with the purchase of a new car, it also helps to explain why young people are not into buying a second, vintage car for a hobby.

Some talking points from the article:

? Young people are buying vehicles at a considerably slower rate than their parents and grandparents
? Nearly half of drivers age 18 to 24 told technology research firm Gartner Inc. they'd choose the Internet over a car.
? The younger buyer has been the most unemployed and the most underemployed, has been leaving households later, starting families later, all because of the recession
? The percentage of teenagers with driver's licenses is off nearly 20 percent in the past decade
? Nearly half say they'd rather communicate digitally than hop in a car and, say, cruise Woodward Avenue with friends.
? [Young people] are burdened with record-high student loan debt. The cost of attending four years of college has increased 5.2 percent annually during the past 10 years.

That last point caught my eye. A 5.2% ANNUAL increase for 10 years equals a cumulative 66%. So while college costs are up 66%, I seriously doubt that wages and salaries are up 66% too.

As Graham Kozak mentioned in an earlier posting on this thread high student loan debt is (for a second car) is a big deterrent - especially if you were not lucky enough to inherit a car.

I'm not the least bit apt to believe that age has anyhting to do with ANY type of car ownership nor any collectible ownership encouragement. Only exception mite be an age preference among very late model cars. Over 40 set an SUV, under 40 set a small car. And i see alot of exceptions to that.

A gearhead is a gearhead whether age 15 or age 150 years old. The only difference is recollection of memmories. But fond memmory is strictly an enthusiast level interst. After all, how many 60 years olds have any kind of vintage car or collectible unless it is something just left over from decades past of life???

We have to seperate life experience from any affinity toward any collectible(s).

On the other hand is social-econ trend shifts in the entire population. For the general population and historically the automobile of ANY kind represented an adventure. Over the last decade or two it has become something more utilitarian, kind of like a home appliance. BUT gearheads will always be gearheads.

Health Care has gone almost twice that amount over the last 10 years.Then there is food, shelter , proprty taxes etc.Its good the Government doesn't count these things or else they could not say we have no inflation.Thank God because my wages have gone up 0% in the last 5 years.

THe 4 year degree and health insurance is quickly going to the way of unions, LEGAL marriages and denominational indoctrination identification. But gearheads will always be gearheads.

The gearhead analogy is certainly applicable, but I think Roger makes a somber point: Kids, at least a lot of them in urban areas, are not as into cars as those of us aged 60 years or older. Part of the problem is the fact that gas prices are so high that it makes cruising almost too expensive for a lot of younger people. Another problem is the cars -- most of the lower-priced new cars are as exciting to drive as a plain baloney on Wonderbread sandwich. It may nutrition, but little else.

Kids are also more limited in their freedom to just leave the house and go for a long drive. When I was 16/17, I could tell my mother that I was going to see some friends and all she would say was to remind me that dinner would be at 6 p.m. Now, with "helicopter" parents, a teenager cannot just go out for a drive without facing the third degree, being tracked electronically, etc. Who would like cars and driving if you were subjected to this constantly?

Finally, new cars. Open the hood of a late-model car and you will see a large plastic cowl over the top of the engine. You can't even see the thing! Forget crawling under the car to change the oil or the alternator: only certified mechanics need apply. We used to change things on our cars, adjust the timing, flush the radiator, etc. Such actions today could void the warranty.

It is a sad situation when a 16-year-old prefers to sit on his butt in his room surfing the web rather than roll down the windows and enjoy the wind as he moves over the countryside.

You dont have to be in your sixties to enjoy these older cars. Im in my early 30s and I love the 1930s cars. A big difference I see is that people my age that are interested in older cars are mostly self employed, and usually more into muscle cars! (I got rid of my muscle car in order to get my 36 Packard.

I agree with PackardV8: Gearheads will always be gearheads. The question is, how does one get to be a gearhead? For many of us, including me, it was at the shoulder or hip of your dad, uncle or older cousin as they were working on their cars. Some of my earliest memories (I am 54) are those occasions. All you get to do now on the newer vehicles is top off the windshield washer fluid and the coolant overflow bottle.

That being said, when you do have the opportunity to perform some maintenance on your car, take your kid out and explain what's going on. If you are enthusiastic they may even enjoy it. Let them help out a little bit too. It'll get them off the couch, computer, Iphone, etc and spending some time with a real person.

I have done this with both my daughters (21 & 18) and now they love going to car shows with dad. They are constantly taking pictures of old cars on their cell phones and showing them to me as potential "projects".

Pack120c,
I agree with you, my children 25, 23, and 18 are assisting me whenever I'm working on my cars (I do most everything myself), thus learning about the components and their function.
My Gearhead education started at my fathers shoulder over 60 years ago.( Please forgive me, I'm 10% over sixty and a bit )

Tom

Well, I am only 43 years old. And my first ride in a Packard was probably when I was a few weeks old. No I don't remember it but the attached picture of the 1952 300 is the one I rode in. My Grandfather was a Packard Dealer in Tucumcari New Mexico on Route 66. The Ole Girl was driven by my granddad, and then shoved into the adjoining malt shop storage room about 35 years ago next to a 57 Hudson Hornet. I hear the gas prices were too much for the Thunderbolt! So several years ago My Dad gave me a choice, the Packard or the Hudson, I chose the Packard, and he put a pile of money into the paint, and interior, but passed on 11-11-11. Now the 52 is in my driveway here in Colorado Springs. I am the namesake of my grandfather so it just fits...

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