Study Says Younger Generations Aren't Into Cars

Honestly, I can see where this would be the case...at least where interaction with cars is concerned. I think they they still like cars and know a cool one when they see it. The problem is that an average person with even some hint of do-it-yourself inclination has no prayer doing much to or with their newer car. That ability pretty much ended in the late nineties. Take the late 90's Civics and Eclipses. They were very popular because an average kid could actually do stuff to it them themself. He/she could see and feel the difference of what they did. They could repair and/or mod things themselves. That creates an emotional bond and deepens the interest in cars in general. Before that, it was compact pickups. Before that, muscle cars and the like. Current cars, even ones getting on in age (8-10 years) are more difficult and expensive to mod. I guess that explains why my 18 year old son is trying to find a decent mid/late 90's Civic. Good for him!!!

I'm 20, I have friends who are around the same age and love cars, and I know a bunch of others who aren't my friends but are into cars. Also, I think people would be surprised at the number of young kids who can actually work on the more simple fixes and modifications in a car. But like the poster above said, it's tough to find new cars today that we can work on for a cheap price, and ones where we don't have to be full-fledged mechanics for. Older models are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Also, I have my doubts about this study gettin' their info from twitter, blog posts, and social networking sites. We might like cars, but it's not as if we're postin' about them to the world all the time. Other than Edmunds, I've never made one post about my car...not even when I had an accident or when I got a new one.

zoomzoom, is he going to add a fart-can? I hope so, because those are so COOL! (I see them constantly around here and I want to stuff fruit up each one of them.)

I posted on facebook when I got my G8 GT, but that was probably a one time thing. I agree with smudge, that the networking sites aren't the only places to go.

"I guess that explains why my 18 year old son is trying to find a decent mid/late 90's Civic. Good for him!!!"

Zoom, a mid-late 90's Civic in great shape can be pricey. However, if he finds one and decides to modify it PLEASE make sure its not been modified and tell him to do tasteful yet purposeful modifications as there are waaaaaay too many posers who give us true Honda enthusiasts a bad reputation.

BTW, I have a mint 95 Civic EX (EG9) sedan Isle green (dark green) over tan, with a 94 Acura Integra GS-R (B18C1 DOHC VTEC) engine, an ultra rare JDM Integra Type R 5 speed manual transmission w/LSD, custom individual throttles from a Toyota 4AG, RacingTechnologyCo custom carbon fiber velocity stacks, Autronic engine management system, AN-R header, Apex-i N1 cat back exhaust, Skunk2 stage 1 cams, Skunk2 valvetrain, fully adjustable Tein coilover suspension, Energy suspension bushings, Password JDM chassis braces (bronze), manual steering rack from 1993 Civic DX hatch, Quaife quick ratio rack and pinion kit, new engine mounts, Porterfield R4-S brake pads, stainless steel brake lines, Integra Type R master cylinder, Denji projector headlamps w/ McCulloch 8000K HID low beam, OEM JDM foglights w/ McCulloch (yellow) 3000K HID, OEM JDM gauge cluster from a EG9 Civic Ferio sedan, OEM JDM EG9 Civic Ferio badges, OEM JDM EG9 Civic Ferio power folding side mirrors, 16 inch DR-16 inch Drag rims w/polished finish (205-40R-16 Falken Azenis RT-615), 16 inch Rota GT-3 rims bronze w/polished lip (205-45R-16 Falken Ziex ZE-512) and a set of OEM Acura Integra "phat fives" (for the winter) that have been refinished.

Car is simple yet clean and tasteful. All modifications were implemented for an increase in performance.

fuhteng says:
07:15 AM, 10/12/09

NO! Thank goodness he has some sense. While he will be hopping it up a bit, he likes a nice low tone when it comes to exhausts. He'll likely do cold air, headers, cat back exhaust, 17" wheels, springs/struts and strut mount bar. That will be enough to make it a fun little ride. He actually already has alot of the stuff picked out. Just needs the car! The cool part is that I can help him do pretty much everything but the springs and struts. Cool for both of us!

hondacura4 says:
08:15 AM, 10/12/09

Trust me, I know! That's been the hardest part, so far. 90's gen Civics and Integras that are or are near virgin are harder and harder to find and I don't want someone elses riced out piece of junk. Some of these guys out there have no clue! It's kind of scary, really, but to each their own. Sounds like you have some sweet rides, though. Nice job!

If you read it on Twitter, it must be true.

It isn't only kids that are not interested in cars. One of the main reasons why U.S does not have their own Top Gear show is because of a poor demand. General population of men in this country are not interested in cars. Their knowledge is limited by only a number of HP, body kits, rims, exhaust and stereo system. When I moved to U.S. from Europe it wasn't difficult to see that difference. In Europe, kids grow up watching Formula 1 and WRC. The two leading racing sports where new technologies are tested and talent and skills of drivers (pilots) is an absolute must to compete. NASCAR on the other hand, on of the most watched sports in U.S., is very limited by its nature. NASCAR did change much for the past 10 years, where Formula 1 has started using KERS technology with its 18000 RPM engines already. There is this article that I read recently "Why America Loves NASCAR". http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/38840/recreation_and_sports/why_america_loves_nascar_racing.html
The first reason for watching it is that it - is easy to fallow. A guy who wrote this article said, "My wife has watched football all of her life, but to this day she does not truly understand the rules. However, the rules of NASCAR racing are fairly easy. As with any race, the NASCAR driver that finishes first wins. It doesn't get much easier than that." Huh????? If this is why people in U.S. watch their favorite car racing sport then I guess it is easy to see why young generation in U.S. have no interest in cars.

f1ndler: When I went to Europe and when I lived in Japan I saw the same things as here. A portion of the young population that loves cars finds a way to buy, modify and fix their cars. I don't think as a whole the U.S. loves NASCAR or has kids uninterested in cars.

I was born in the U.S. and not one of my friends or I have ever watched a NASCAR race, in person or on TV. With Japan's regulation its fairly expensive to buy and modify cars and they have a great public transit system. Its just not practical for a 16 year old to buy a car there. In the U.S. its partly based on money and transportation too. If you are 16, with a license you have to borrow a car or buy your own unless you dont need one to get around.

My ten-year-old loves cars. His bedroom walls are covered in SEMA posters. Some of his favorite toys are the battery powered remote controlled cars that can run about 20-30 mph. His friends love cars too. His friend's older siblings work on their cars (or trucks) all the time and talk about what they can do to make them better.

I know by 13, I was saving to get my first car which ended up being a 1969 Ford "3-on the tree". I ditched it after I rebuilt it because of practicality. Overall kids will love cars as long as its affordable and they can use them to get around.

Wrong, the enthusiasts are always a minority, you can't just take the pulse of youth-at-large and say "car enthusiasm is down".

I'm 15, and not to brag, but I know more then the salesmen at the dealerships, as I'm sure most of of you posters do. I've been a car freak (notice my name) since I was 4 years old, and it hasn't stopped. I can't see my love of cars ever going away.

Zoom, thanks. It's a lot of work, time and money but Ive had the car since new so it's not all that bad spread over 15 years. Fortunately for Honda's of that era, it doesn't take $1000's of modifications (unless you get into engine swaps and details like I have) to really enjoy have a fun driving car. A suspension and brake upgrade goes along way on these cars.

Civics and Integras respond well to engine and chassis mods, just make sure he does his research and uses high quality parts that work together as I've seen too many people skimp out, buy cheap parts that do little to nothing in terms of adding additional performance nor work well with other parts. I typically shop at the more expensive Honda based shops like JHPUSA.com, Inlinefour.com and PasswordJDM .com because of their wide variety of authentic and rare new/used OEM/JDM/USDM Honda/Acura parts. They also carry a lot of the Japanese based aftermarket brands that are well know throughout the industry like Mugen and Bride. After he gets his car, if you need any help or recommendations just ask. Good luck.

It’ll be zoomzoomn’s son’s car, not ours. We don’t need him to design it per our personal preferences, and the opinions of his female peers are much more important than those of a bunch of nerdy guys on the internet. I’ll limit my advice to: get an insurance quote before buying a car.

I’m still in my 20s, and I’d say that older people tend to be more strongly enthusiastic about cars than young people. They’re still important to everyone, whether they’re driving enthusiasts or not, but it’s not as deep a love. Insurance, police harassment, teenager tracking devices, public attitude towards modified cars and their drivers, higher acceptance of environmental side effects by young people, and an increased focus on practicality are making car enthusiasm a tougher hobby than before.

A lot of young people feel like there’s a “do as we tell you, not as we did” attitude from the older generation. People who street raced in the ‘60s now have more credibility as auto execs or auto mag editors, but if you did the same in the ‘90s you’re a pariah. Buy a loud exhaust for your Harley or your V8 and you’re cool with the forum crowd and with the police, but put one on a car that’s too quiet out of the factory and you get laughed at, even though the sound is only a fraction as bothersome as those Masterflow gargling sounds that go through walls.

But if we feel it’s important to cultivate more enthusiasts, then it’s up to us as post-school salaried consumers to buy more sporty cars and them look like cars that normal people can buy too. If everyone waits until retirement to get an interesting car, then their kids are more likely to do the same. In other words, buy an RX-8 instead of a minivan, unless you have three or more kids.

Inside Line attracts a car loving crowd (just look at most of y'all's user names).

The linked LA Times story has a bunch of comments from, er, "normal" people who could care less about owning a car - they've figured out that they are expensive suckers to own and operate. I wouldn't mind dumping mine for a golf car if I lived somewhere with cart paths. People are spending crazy money to customize and hot rod their golf cars (but - they are all retirees).

^+1, Carlisimo, but the Rx-8 is in serious need of a factory turbo!

+1, Carlisismo, but the Rx-8 is in serious need of a factory turbo!

My 15 year old son's primary passion is playing(and watching) sports, but cars are his secondary interest. Since attending the BMW CCA Oktoberfest he's all fired up to help me perform some minor restoration work on the 2002. He's also talking about working and saving up for an E36 325i or 328i and autocrossing it.

I think the story is pretty accurate. As much as I hate to say it, video games killed the enthusiast. That's not just in relation to cars, either. Why spend all that money on parts when you can just buy GT5 or Forza?

I grew up in the 90's and really enjoyed what I'd call the height of the aftermarket craze. Pricing have really stifled that economy though.

Regulation has killed the enthusiast too, particularly in California where it is illegal to so much as look under your hood.

hondacura4 says:
02:17 PM, 10/12/09

Yeah, he's pretty tight on what mods he'll do and I know enough not to let him get any junk for it. I used to work for an Acura dealer for over a decade (service manager). I've done a number of one-off porject cars in house and knew a couple of local, reputable tuners that I would bounce ideas off of so that I would not do anything foolish myself. The most sad part is that I had THE car...a '98 Civic EX Coupe 5-speed. It was going to be my toy...until my third kid came along. I sold it in '03 to buy my current car, an '03 Mazda 6s 5-speed (which has been nicely modded). I wish that I had kept that '98 Civic, but hindsight is always 20/20.

carlisimo says:
03:01 PM, 10/12/09
"It’ll be zoomzoomn’s son’s car..."

Hey, some input is always accepted, but in the end he will do what he wants. I'm only going to chime in a bit if he goes too overboard (read:$$$). College is first for him for now.