Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

[Kevin G.]

I thought it would be interesting to start a discussion here on the forum about attracting the "younger" crowd. Generally speaking, I don't see the love for cars in them.......

Remember when you couldn't wait to get your drivers license so you could get around town? Or perhaps take a girl to the drive in movies, or maybe to work just a town away? How about those nights at the hot shops (I'm a little young, but do remember). Today this just isn't far enough! These kids can be in Antarctica, under the depths of the seas, or on top of Mt. Everest from the seat of the favorite chair.

As for the prices of our beloved Corvettes, they are high and always have been. If you wanted one in the day, you would do what ever it took, to the point of building it!

Lets hear your thoughts and ideas on how to keep it alive!

[Terry M.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

Kevin,

You and others who want to attract "younger" members are urinating in the wind. Factors far beyond our control have attracted the so called millennials to technology. They will never turn to the "blood and guts" of old cars. Maybe their children will, if they have any; but we need to give up tilting at this windmill and enjoy ourselves -- without a for sale forum too. The Don Quiote-like search for this holy grail to make our cars mo0re valuable is a waste of time and energy.

Dick Whittington posted in the for-sale forum thread about how many members come here. It is way less than 500. This forum is well designed for technical matters and that is what we come here for. Leave the social and profit matters to other places. All we get is a lot of noise about nothing.

[Paul J.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

Kevin, this has been discussed here ad nauseum and those discussions are in the archives. Most of us believe that the younger generation is our future, even in collecting Corvettes, but time has shown that those few who are interested in cars will find their own means, such as rice burners and 4X4 pickups. NCRS won't see any younger members until they reach 40, or at least until they have enough disposable income to buy an expensive, infrequently driven second car. Perhaps newer Corvettes are driven more, but it doesn't matter. I get irritated every day while waiting those intolerable seconds for the Facebook and Twitter links to upload, and all for a bunch of people who are'nt paying attention and won't care for at least another 20 years, if they ever care at all. All this hype about the new C7 design for the younger generation. How many 20 somethings can afford an $80K car. I agree with you that the younger crowd just does'nt have the same desire that I had, even if they have been exposed to this lifestyle and these cars. I have two girls and two boys, all of whom are married, more or less. All of them know these cars and grew up with them. They love the movie American Grafitti and have been to car shows and cruise ins. Only my oldest son has any true passion. He is a heavy equipment mechanic and has the abilities to work on these cars, but even he does'nt have the commitment to buy and own a vintage car. Add to that the time required for his pending family responsibilites and the soonest we''ll see him on this forum is when he's in his 40's or 50's. It's just the way it is.

Paul

[Michael J.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

It depends. My son, 28, and my daughter, 26, grew up around me working on and restoring cars. Both learned to drive in a '68 GT350 Shelby. My son has dibs on my '67 L71, and I restored a '64 1/2 Mustang 'vert for my daughter which she drives on weekends. But, when they are doing a road trip, they do want technology and reliability, economy, and good gas mileage, so they have Hondas. Sports cars are way down the road for them, they are just really practical in everyday drivers. But their upbringing does attract them to the classic styles, kids who haven't been exposed to them, well......

[Edward J.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

Kevin, From what I see the younger kids are in to still into cars,newer rather than older, I have two boys that would love to get my C5 Z06. before they get behind the wheel of my 72/63 corvettes.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

As I've noted before my 17 yo son has OJ'ed with me, worked on old Corvettes with me and understands the value of my original 72.
He's already spoken for it, leaving the other cars to his sisters.

I purposely took the time to have him attend events with me (BG, NCRS) and work on cars with me ever since he was little.
Even yesterday we were working on his 1997 Honda Accord and my wife's 2008 Saturn Outlook.
The girls helped me work on his Accord earlier this year, replacing his master cylinder and bleeding the brakes. They now understand how much I hate brake fluid leaking out on my workbench - and the streak of missing paint on my vise is a reminder of the "why."
It made an impression with my 12 year old who now knows exactly why I was scrambling for rags to wipe up the fluid ASAP.

My point is that unless you get them involved - intimately - with it, the latest video game or phone will win their attention instead.

Patrick

[Patrick N.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

here is where the youth are focused, tuners and drifting are the hot rods and drag racing of today. My oldest can get her license but has zero desire to do so, why bother - the internet brings everything to them. There is plenty to do without ever leaving the house. She does however want me to teach her how to drive my 88 and hopes that can be her driver.

[Patrick N.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

As I've noted before my 17 yo son has OJ'ed with me, worked on old Corvettes with me and understands the value of my original 72.
He's already spoken for it, leaving the other cars to his sisters.

I purposely took the time to have him attend events with me (BG, NCRS) and work on cars with me ever since he was little.

My point is that unless you get them involved - intimately - with it, the latest video game or phone will win their attention instead.

Patrick

I'm with Patrick, it's no real mystery, I have four kids and they are all interested in the Corvette hobby. My boys wrench on my cars with me while my girls go to car shows and races together. All 4 want to own a Corvette at some point. I'm not concerned about the hobby in the least. Although, regarding video games, we race GT5 all the time. My 7 year old is amazing in the Z06. We just raced the Daytona 24 track last night and had a blast! The Z06 was banging out 1.46 minute laps! GM released the C7 in early Jan and we have been running it on Nurburgring to get a sub 7.30 lap time! FUN FUN FUN! If you have GT5, I will race you! (And beat you)

[Dick W.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

In my profession we have to deal with generational differences almost daily. Sellers don't want what their parents had, and buyers that do not want/appreciate what the older generations had. Today it is the me generation, they want what they want and right now.

SEMA did a lot of demographic research a while back and concluded we missed a whole generation of "car people", but the upcoming generation can/will be car people but it is up to us to to cultivate them, whether it be NCRS/AACA oriented clubs, racing/drifting, or just drivers. When someone comes up with the magic pill, they will be able to retire that day.

[Mark D.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

You and others who want to attract "younger" members are urinating in the wind

But, if you insist on urinating 'in' the wind, do it with the wind to your backs.

[Michael W.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

But, if you insist on urinating 'in' the wind, do it with the wind to your backs.

Is there an app for that? Ipad or Android, either will work.

[Willard M.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

Lately I have been thinking about adding a nice NSX to the stable so I have been lurking on some of their sites. One topic recently was asking about the age when owners first bought their NSX. I was amazed. Many bought theirs in their 20's, sometimes in their early 20's. These are not cheap cars but clearly Honda/Acura has an attraction that Corvette does not. I really don't understand why.

[Michael J.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

Lately I have been thinking about adding a nice NSX to the stable so I have been lurking on some of their sites. One topic recently was asking about the age when owners first bought their NSX. I was amazed. Many bought theirs in their 20's, sometimes in their early 20's. These are not cheap cars but clearly Honda/Acura has an attraction that Corvette does not. I really don't understand why.

Yes, but the NSX is long gone, maybe not to be reintroduced either, for a long time even with their 2012 concept out there. They were down to selling a few hundred by 2005 when they pulled the plug. Honda thought they could just put out a "new" model without anything really new, since that is what they have done with all their other cars, doesn't work with sports cars, for any generation, and as you said they are expensive too. The Japanese makers really don't "get" sports cars, luckily, since all their other offerings are so popular. But that new Lexus thingy is pretty impressive, and pricy, wonder how long it will last though, way out of the price range of Millennials.

[Steven B.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

In many cases nothing has changed over the decades. Growing up in the 50's and 60's young people had a couple of things to dream of and shoot for; getting a cool car and being a sports star, baseball where I grew up. The cars "lusted" for were either new cars like a 409, '57 Chevy, 2 seat T-Bird, Corvette, etc. A very, very few "older" guys around restored A's and T's, Duesy's, and some other marques. Younger people historically are not interested in restorations, even if the car was sporty and quick in its day. They, and we in the day, usually preferred a fast and unique car to begin with and modify those cars. Today new Corvettes and other sports and GT cars are for the most part out of the reach of most young people. Another factors, as mentioned on the TDB before, include the internet and social media. Today young people do not have to go outside their rooms to view and interact with the World or find excitement and identity which is too bad. I don't see alot of pick-up ball games any more or even 10-15 year olds on bicycles. Car restoration, and Corvettes are niche interests. Restoration and learning of the history of your car isn't exciting to many, but it is to those of us reading this forum. There is a reason swarms of younger people do not flock to cars, and Corvettes, today. Like it or not it is a natural force. We need to do all we can to promote this special car and interest in it. I still have have the first Corvette model I bought in 1960 (and all since then), I still have all the automotive magazines I ever bought beginning in the 50's, I still have the first Corvette I bought Nov. 1964 (and all the others). I realize I do not fit the norm and I don't expect there to be millions like me out there. We NCRS are the few, the proud, the-----

[Patrick N.]

Re: Cars can't take the Millennial Generation far enough!

Corvette has a great position in the market, it is the ultimate example of aspirational marketing -not priced for the masses, but not elitist either. What I find interesting is the NCRS path vs. Corvette ownership. I think they can be mutually exclusive. Corvette ownership does not mean someone will ever restore one or join this group. As the name implies, NCRS targets restorers, not owners. Although I bought my first Corvette when I was 21, I did not join NCRS until after I started restoring my 68 and was in my 40's. My perception was why bother? I did not have a car to restore.