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The fact of the matter is that politically it has been decided that the automobile will be the sacrificial lamb to make the people believe the problem of pollution has been solved. Never mind that the lions share of pollution is created by other industries. Many younger people have been brainwashed to see cars as an evil.

That being said, the car hobby in general only lives on so long as young people continue to get interested in the hobby. I think another major contributing factor is the increase in the cost of living which has made it difficult for normal middle class young people to buy the cars they really want, or even a car at all. We all must do our best to keep young people interested in the car hobby, whether it be classics or newer cars.

Gas prices will keep going up and that is fine with me because it will get the monster trucks and the rude people driving them off the motorways. Meanwhile Detroit has dropped all of its smaller lines with promises of electric nirvana. I haven't seen a recipe for disaster as big since the GM corporate memo on the Vega - "Give us an attractive design that will win accolades, but make sure you use only the cheapest materials to assure atrocious product quality that will alienate customers for decades to come." Not satisfied with meeting expectations they mandated the Chevy Defication (Citation) to get rid of those remaining customers who thought the Vega was a fluke.

But realities are stark. The nation's national debt stands at somewhere around $30 trillion dollars and the fake interest rate central bank has made realistic monetary impossible. One trillion dollars of taxes go uncollected yearly and even if the government raised taxes and reduced spending to balance the budget it would still take 30 years to get the nation onto sound financial footing. Remember when they talked about not creating undue financial burdens on the Nation's grandchildren? People like me never believed that crapola and so don't have any grandchildren.

The behavioral theories go like this: Youth rebellion started in the 1920's in response to the stupidity of World War One. Brand loyalties don't tend to last more than a generation because youth subconciously rejects the actions of their elders who created this mess. And rightly so. Nobody says they shopped at Sears because their parents did. I tell the people who are in love with Junkazon that a good percentage of that cut rate merchandise is likely stolen. Or counterfeit.

I remember the old days when people waxed sentimental about all the honest quality built into those Packards compared to the gimmick ridden stuff for sale new. I beg to differ on some of that especially given a repeating pattern I notice in Packard sales figures namely that a new model would be introduced, sales would soar and then plunge a few years later. That speaks to me as poor customer satisfaction.

Why should youth be interested old cars anyway? To preserve resale values? If preserving history is really that important why demand financial compensation as a requirement to preserve the stuff in the first place? It goes back to what Turnquist said about high prices creating barriers for true enthusiasts. So maybe these cars should be sold cheap to the deserving whomever that may be. Or perhaps the nobel should each mentor a youth and take them to Rabble Beach where they can experience as F. Scott Fitzgerald expressed in The Great Gatsby - People being rich together.

Given how many Packards are being chopped up and turned into junk street rods maybe the stuff should be given a decent burial instead.

In all honesty, I don't worry about young people not being interested in these cars. On Sunday I was working on my garage while the young Amazon driver stopped in asked about my cars. He was intrigued and thought they were awesome. I have a twenty something analyst that works for me and asked about the garage I was building and what it was for. I sent him some pics and history of them and again, nothing but interest and questions. One only has to see some of the programming on HGTV and the like to see that there are some young people with interest in preserving history. On the flip side, when visiting my in-laws over Memorial Day weekend I was floored with some of the things my twelve year old twin niece and nephew were saying. There is some serious brainwashing going on in school and social media. This is a concern. For those of you who watch the markets closely... lumber prices (futures market) are falling hard, real hard. Pain train is coming to town... my suspicion is that concerns of Americans will be shifting in the near future to things that really matter.

I would consider myself on the younger end of the spectrum (mid 30's). For much of my demographic, the thing that hinders us the most from getting into classic cars is the cost. At this point in life, myself and many of my peers have young families and the priority is (rightly) to them. There isn't always a lot left over for things that aren't a necessity like a classic car.

Time is the other factor. Guys in my age demographic are typically heavily involved in their career, and most free time would be spent with the family (ideally). Between work, family, and other obligations there usually isn't enough time for someone in my situation to do much to restore a car.

It wasn't until last year that I finally was able to get a Packard, after having wanted one for 12 years. And the one I got was inexpensive compared to most. I've earned good money but up until now all the money has been going to more important things. I finally reached the point where we could set some aside for something completely non-essential like my Packard.

I spend what time I can working on it, but that is not much. An hour or two during the week, and a couple hours on the weekend. Not much, but some.

I think the interest for classic cars is there. But the reality is that for most in my age group, purchasing a classic is not feasible from a financial or time management standpoint.

-Kevin

Hey Kevin,

Boy, you sure said a mouthful there! I wanted a Packard since I was 20 and finally got one (and like you, not an expensive one) at 61. I am 66 now and only now, do I have the time and a bit of 'leftover' cash to be able to work on the car and 'bring it back. In my working years, time and money made owning a hobby car quite unrealistic; other, more important things would have suffered. I totally agree that the interest is there in the younger folks. I end up talking to a lot of 'kids' (to me) in parking lots and car venues, and the respect they show for old cars is real and genuine.
I laud you for putting your family first. Maybe as your kids grow older, they'll show some interest and be in there wrenchin' with you! Chris.

Kevin, you might not have much time to spend on your car, but you have sure made a big improvement on it.

To add to Kevin's answer, I'm early 30's and would echo the same. And I don't even have a family. I enjoy working on old cars because of my father, a huge car guy. But the reality is, it's quite expensive. And most guys my age a reminiscent of the cars of their youth, i.e. 80's and 90's imports. The classic car clubs are having and will continue to have trouble attracting young members. Not sure what the answer is, to be honest.