The new generation of car enthusiasts...

[JACK250]

I can't help but notice my generation (I'm 17 in about 2 weeks) has very little interest in old cars... All of my car friends are mid 40's, and they all met their 'car friends' back in the 80's when they were all doing up cars. At the time you didn't have to search a forum to find like-minded enthusiasts.

At my school I have 2 mates that are into cars slightly, nowhere near to the extent of myself. And the people I do know that are into cars that are this side of 20 all want VT commodores with 20" rims and a massive stereo. For the record, I have been very lucky, having been able to earn my own money, and at the age of 12 get my first project car, an XY. And since have saved enough after selling my half to dad to own a car outright, my XM Van.

So, my dad's theory is that the younger generation are into older cars, but can't afford them, but I disagree. You go to a classic show and shine, and the vast majority of people there are middle aged or older. And I have seen plenty of P-Platers driving VT's and later, even VE SV6's etc. Even for 10k you could build a cool HR cruiser or something like it if you were that way inclined.

Not only do people my age take no interest in the classics, most aren't even interested in cars at all. So what has caused this? And more importantly, if in years to come there is still the means to use old cars (fuel for example) will anyone even been interested in them?

The future for someone like me who has grown up as cars being near everything they love sure looks grim...

[gthofan]

I think the main reason, is that newer cars are dirt cheap, don't need restoring, and have plenty of power. Or don't care about the old classics, and would rather buy some 22,000" chrome rims rather than have a bumper bar re chromed.

[onfire]

Originally Posted by gthofan

I think the main reason, is that newer cars are dirt cheap, don't need restoring, and have plenty of power.

I also think for the majority of younger guys, restoring or doing up an older car is not exactly viable due to either earning and average or low income, the financial and mechanical costs and risks restoring an older car are a lot higher than buying and then doing up a potentially much more reliable and safer modern car.

Then once most young men reach their early to mid 20s, with in some cases education is out of the way, the idea of owning a home is becoming more and more real. Financially putting all your money into a restoration would be out of the question if owning a home is in sights. Followed by family and commitments, then finally in your 40s and 50s you'll be ready to build a car.

But as for the guys in their 40s who met all their car friends in the 1980s, and are into older cars.. it would be like me and others, in their mid 20s repainting and restoring our XR6/8s 15-20 years from now after keeping it all that time.

[Scooter]

Oh well, at least you have got your head screrwed on right! Those sorts of people are the type that walk around with their pants around their knees and wear their hats backwards too, so that says something right there! XM van, Very nice. I know when ever I go on a cruise, all the young blokes would rather bat off over their new rims, lowered suspension, big stereo etc. on their E series, AU or BA, and not even care about old bombs like mine!
Times are changing rapidly, Metrosexuality is the in thing these days?

[Franco Cozzo]

Why drive a 6 cyl XY when I can drive a 6 cyl BA/BF which is much more powerful?

[Scooter]

Originally Posted by XCPWSF

Why drive a 6 cyl XY when I can drive a 6 cyl BA/BF which is much more powerful?

Because it is not about the "power"!
But yeah, it will be more reliable, have air con, power steer, electric everything blah blah blah. Personal preference I guess.

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by XCPWSF

Why drive a 6 cyl XY when I can drive a 6 cyl BA/BF which is much more powerful?

One is for transport, the other for driving.

Get a pristine example of each model and go for a drive side by side, i know who will get the looks and the thumbs up. _2:

[Saraco]

Originally Posted by XCPWSF

Why drive a 6 cyl XY when I can drive a 6 cyl BA/BF which is much more powerful?

And about as common as dirt! At least the XY stands out!

[montyv8]

Originally Posted by XCPWSF

Why drive a 6 cyl XY when I can drive a 6 cyl BA/BF which is much more powerful?

awesome. a powerful 6cyl BA.
You wouldn't care about the lack of power from the XY's 6, when cruising the beachfront etc at 2mph enjoying your classic ride, and all the admiration from the bystanders ;)

I've got an XB coupe, sure it goes stupid-fast.. but when i do a city cruise on a fri/sat night, the 'traffic' is usually at walking pace.. I'm fine with that. From one end of the city to the other its nothing but thumbs-up, cheers, people coming up to the car and saying how awesome it is, even if sometimes they do call it a charger lol.. but yeah it's an awesome feeling. And on the way home i get to wind it out a bit.. Open road, windows down (my 'aircon'), cool song on the stereo and the grumpy clevo singing away.. can't beat that feeling ;)

Recently we had a brand new VE SS manual in our possession. Had all the bells and whistles, was damn fast, and fun on a twisty road.. But it had about as much character as a stock BA XT reps car. did nothing for me. Had to drive that through the city on a sat night once.. it actually felt weird.

Enough rambling from me. except one last thing. When I open up the garage door to get the coupe out for a drive, I still get butterflies in my stomach.
a combination of cubes, curves, and character will do that ;)

[pottery beige]

The smell of old vinyl make's me want to get all jiggy.... :

[Falcon Coupe]

This has been discussed before it's an interesting topic, been a couple of years since it came up.

The below links have plenty of reading if you're interested, a few of us got together to promote the older cars but it never got off the ground.

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=53460

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=79683

[ieatsports_cars]

i have a Xr6 ! i love old cars too ! but they are too far out of my price range ! i would love to own a Xw gt or a xb gt ! but any way i do like the newer stuff too my dream car would be either a eb or el gt

[cruzzinZH]

im 21 and all my mates think im crazy coz i would rather my zh fairlane over some pos rice car or commodore,they are always telling me to do burnouts and put my foot down but i tell them its not what its for,it made for cruising.

ive always like the older cars since my dad had his xw wagon and xp sedan.

[SSD-85]

If I could swap my xr8 for a 60-70's V8 Ford, id do it in a fraction of a heartbeat. Anything newer than what I have just does not interest me.

Im with you on this Jack250. It could have 20 bazillion inch rims with stereo system that could drown out the space shuttle and the most you will get out of me is laughter. No school like the old school.

Once the Galaxie's on the road, itll be the XR8 gathering dust in the shed :

[chrisfpv]

I'm 20 and to be honest I don't know anything about the older classic cars to actually get interested in them or ever own one.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by XR6AUS

I'm 20 and to be honest I don't know anything about the older classic cars to actually get interested in them or ever own one.

I think that right there sums it up.
If Dad didnt have an older car when you were growing up - what hope is there (in most cases)?

At the age of 20, you probably didnt even know a car was a car till you were about 5, which at 15 years ago which brings it to 1995.
In 1995, if you didnt own a new/er car, you could assume that the family car wouldnt have been any older than 5-7 years which brings it back to EA/VN days.

A lot of the generation would be in the same boat.
Pretty hard to have an interest in Classics when no one was driving them around.

Also, in generations to come, the EA/VN era WILL be the Classics to this generation.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by davway

I think that right there sums it up.
If Dad didnt have an older car when you were growing up - what hope is there (in most cases)?

At the age of 20, you probably didnt even know a car was a car till you were about 5, which at 15 years ago which brings it to 1995.
In 1995, if you didnt own a new/er car, you could assume that the family car wouldnt have been any older than 5-7 years which brings it back to EA/VN days.

A lot of the generation would be in the same boat.
Pretty hard to have an interest in Classics when no one was driving them around.

Also, in generations to come, the EA/VN era WILL be the Classics to this generation.

This post stands true for me, when I was growing up our family car was a crappy EA Falcon up until 2003. I didn't have an interest in cars AT ALL until 2007 when I got my Ls and drove for the first time.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by davway

Also, in generations to come, the EA/VN era WILL be the Classics to this generation.

So I keep the EA with the stuffed head gasket just in case??

Originally Posted by iliov

Why would you want some car made in the 70's when a 90's+ car has aircon, better power, easier to maintain and more comfortable to drive.

better power? easier to maintain? more comfortable? has air conditioning? were these invented in the 90's? I have a P5 LTD 1973. You should look that one up if you dont know what they are ........ and what about a real driving experience?



| [/url] |

[SSD-85]

Originally Posted by auslandau

So I keep the EA with the stuffed head gasket just in case??

better power? easier to maintain? more comfortable? has air conditioning? were these invented in the 90's? I have a P5 LTD 1973. You should look that one up if you dont know what they are ........ and what about a real driving experience?

Correct, one thing i get a lot is fuel economy. Firstly, I don't have it for the damn fuel economy. Secondly, carburettors can be tuned to be just as economcial as EFI with the same compromises (if any) in power. Agree with driving experience too, drove a ZG Fairlane 302 the other day, newer cars are too "clinical". Enjoyed it far more than the contemporary offerings. But thats just an opinion of course.

[RAPID_BA]

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

[Road Games]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

Yep ,thats stereotyping at its best !

[flappist]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

Well you must be pretty old driving around in the ancient BA falcon, after all a standard FG XT would thrash your car.......especially with you driving it....

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

Please stop posting on anything regarding classic cars, this I'd not the first time you have had a brain fart on the topic.

Depending on how things pan out I plan on having atleast two classics, one will be a fairlane ZG or ZH....as I have pics of myself when I was an infant in dads cars...and he will get a kick out of cruising around in one again.

Also nice knowing your car won't be depreciating at an astonishing rate aswell.

Classics are great for cruising in, you can sit on the speed limit and still feel good. If it needs to be explained then the person won't get it anyway.

[big_landau]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

your a 100% bonafide goose.

[xbcool]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

great thread even its been dug up after 12+ months


your right hulkba old blokes like old cars cause they understand them they grew up with them.

and a stock 6 should beat up on an old school v8 in every area ( power handling and braking) and in 30 more years 4 cylinder cars will probly beat them as well ,it's called technology we have to have it.


the only place the newer cars don't win is in the looks department ,stuff from the 50s to 70s has style newer stuff all look the same.




just my opinion now I'm going back to clinging onto my past



steve

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by HULK_BA

Isnt it pretty easy?

Old blokes like old cars because they are the cars that were around when
They were in their prime. They cling for dear life to the past, even a stock 6 cylinder these days would give an old GT the hurry up at a set of lights, much safer, more reliable less petrol, better looking, more comfy etc etc etc

Its the old guys who wanna cling to their past, otherwise old cars make little sence.

I'm guessing here, your either trying to get a bit of a rise from the crowd, or you have know idea why we like these old cars


yea I'm not a young bloke at 39, but its not about haning on to my youth, my first car was an XC falcon when EA's were new so a bit like having a BA or an AU now, I then went on to late model cars, now even though I get a nice new company car every couple of years the car with my name on the papers is MUCH older than my 1st car ever was the car in my shed is older than my parrents, why man if I have to explaine it you wouldnt understand

Its not about going fast we can all only drive the speed limit, but I would rather do it in a car that doesnt look exactly the same as the one infront of me or next to me.

As for reliablity that other people are waffeling about, a well maintained olled car is reliable.

I dont have to think any more about taking my XP on a trip than I do my work car, I always do the usual pre trip checks and as such have never had an issue

[BOSHOG]

Originally Posted by davway

in generations to come, the EA/VN era WILL be the laughing stock to this generation.

fixed it for you, those cars are the lowlights for both manufacturers in my lifetime

i love all cars, my dad used to do hillclimbs in LJ toranas, i can still see the pics of him in the open face helmet and handle bar mo' in my head. then he had an MGBGT, and where i grew up that really stood out. as said earlier, being a car enthusiast really is bred into you. in the last 5yrs ive caught the bug (and i dont think he likes being outdone )

[chrisfpv]

Originally Posted by davway

I think that right there sums it up.
If Dad didnt have an older car when you were growing up - what hope is there (in most cases)?

At the age of 20, you probably didnt even know a car was a car till you were about 5, which at 15 years ago which brings it to 1995.
In 1995, if you didnt own a new/er car, you could assume that the family car wouldnt have been any older than 5-7 years which brings it back to EA/VN days.

A lot of the generation would be in the same boat.
Pretty hard to have an interest in Classics when no one was driving them around.

Also, in generations to come, the EA/VN era WILL be the Classics to this generation.

Pretty much correct.

I remember back in the 90s the top car we owned was a Holden VX wagon and I thought it was great. That's not to say if the opportunity was there for me to have a look at some older classics and go for a drive in one that I wouldn't be interested, as it would be quite an experience in my opinion.

[GTPete]

I feel sorry for enthusiasts who will only experience ownership of late model cars.

Part of owning a classic/muscle car is actualy working on the car. They are easy to work on and learn about, if you can read a manual then you can swap a manifold, remove your cylinder head(s), retune your carby.
A lot of blood sweat and tears go into owning a classic.
Its not for the half hearted. classic cars take a real commitment to own and maintain but the rewards of your hard work pay off when your out cruising on the weekend.

Modern day enthusiasts are more distant from there cars. Most pay someone to modify their car, engine tuners remap your ECU, a dyno is essential for just about any mod. You rarely break down on the side of the road and if you do your on a tow truck back to your tunners workshop. I doubt you will have a spare crank angle sensor in the glovebox.
Newer cars when compared to the old ones are not just clinical to drive there clinical to own.

For a generation that are coming thru that would rather play cricket on a computer then in the backyard its an easy choice. Go for a classic car that will take up a lot of time to own or buy a newer car, pay someone to modify it and away you go. The next generation will/are "Turn key enthusiasts".

[greenfoam]

Originally Posted by davway

Also, in generations to come, the EA/VN era WILL be the Classics to this generation.

They sure will, however I haven't seen a running EA in a long time now so I don't think there will be enough left in 10 years for it to ever be a classic. But VN's are well on the way, most of them drive to the scrap yard with rego still on them :p

I used to be really into old cars but I don't really think theres a sensible place for anything older than late 80s now. Parts are hard to find, the bodys weren't very well protected and rust easily etc. All a bit too much trouble even if they do look cool