You may have heard or read that kids just don't like cars anymore. They're too busy playing video games and texting each other to bother with them. I think it's BS.
Sure, there may be some shifts in the way younger generations interact with their cars, but to say that they're completely uninterested in them is nonsense.
Consider this scene I observed in a local park yesterday. It was a kids birthday party and the parents hired some guys to bring out these kiddie karts for fun (it was in the Palisades, go figure).
It was clear that the kids were loving it. Girls and boys alike were driving and they were all concentrating like it was the last lap of the Indy 500. When the parents said to wrap it up, they all cried for "just one more lap!"
Granted, these kids were too young to be distracted by cell phones or iPads, but it doesn't change the fact they they were sucked in by the thrill of driving. The tiny electric karts were hardly fast, but it didn't matter. They were still steering, pressing the gas and hitting the brakes to get them around the track. It's an experience they probably won't soon forget, and one they'll never get from a video game or Facebook.
stovt001 says:
08:48 AM, 06/30/11
"Girls and boys alike were driving and they were all concentrating like it was the last lap of the Indy 500."
Hopefully they were concentrating just a bit harder than one particular driver on the last lap of the Indy 500... (just a joke, JR really did a great job).
Judging by the crowds at my local indoor electric kart track, and the popularity of games like Forza and GT3, I'd say there is still interest out there. It may just look different, be in different aspects of the car culture, but it exists. Maybe young people are spending their money on other things than building a hot-rod, but there are also tons of opportunities for track days, autocrossing, and legal drag racing. Considering all the headwinds like rising car, gas, and insurance prices, the war on cars from the ecomentalists, growing congestion, and all of the other gadgets competing for attention, I'd say the car world is going remarkably strong.
Nice post Ed!
stovt001 says:
08:51 AM, 06/30/11
Oh and one more thing.
A while back, I went on a pizza run (our favorite place doesn't deliver) and I pulled my Miata into a lot with a couple kids riding around on scooters. One kid rode back and forth behind my car, staring. As I got out, he hurried back to his friends and I heard him excitedly whisper "Its a Boxster!" Meh so he was a bit off, but the excitement was legitimate. There is something innately fascinating about cool, fast, sexy machines, and that nature will be hard to change.
streetsidestig says:
09:13 AM, 06/30/11
I wish karting was cheaper and more easily accessible here in the states. It seems like every F1 champion in the world started in karts. I've done it twice as an adult, and it's a blast, but at $25 for 15 minutes of racing, it gets pricey, and tough for kids to do on a regular basis.
fuhteng says:
10:25 AM, 06/30/11
Very cool Ed. I assumed they were pedal powered until I looked closer at the picture and realized there are different types of pedals. I like those little things. I agree with streetsidestig, I wish it was cheaper.
jr27 says:
10:39 AM, 06/30/11
Riswick, I'm 10 years old and I read IL every day. Not many other kids like cars, though.
jr27 says:
10:52 AM, 06/30/11
Riswick, I'm 10 years old and I read IL every day. Not many other kids like cars, though.