[SCG] SCG-list Digest, Vol 90, Issue 2

Mon Feb 3 12:32:43 EST 2014

Kid, schmid, NO ONE of any age should consider a car like that a daily driver.  Much as "trailer queens" are vilified by certain members of the hobby, I think that a car that has survived 50+ years in near pristine, mint, factory original condition with such low mileage ought to be a trailer queen or, at least, licensed with collector plates and driven only to shows.  It's only original once.

It's here that Corvairs' low price really hurts us.  This car no doubt sold for a price such that the buyer will not figure he has lost much if the car ends up being trashed.

Several years ago I looked at a similar low mileage, original Monza coupe for sale on Long Island.  The car was all original except for missing T-3s.  The seller had the car for a very short time and acquired it from the original owner.  Given that the seller had a collection of '63 Impala SS cars I strongly suspected that he had bought the Corvair just for the T-3s to put them on his Impalas.  At the time I had just bought my first Corvair and didn't have the money to buy another so I passed on it.  A few years later it turned up for sale again on a lot in the Bronx.  I put on my brave face and schlepped to the Bronx to look at it.  It had been bought by someone in NJ who treated it as a cheap daily driver and it had been trashed.  I wanted to cry.

Respect the car; respect your kid.  Let the car end up in the hands of a collector who will lovingly care for it and lovingly care for your kid by buying her/him a safe, modern car with crumple zones, pretensioning 3-point safety belts, anti-lock brakes; stability control, countless air bags; traction control, etc., etc.

Yes, we need "young blood" in CORSA or at least younger blood but I don't think getting kids with a brand-new license in their hands into the hobby is the way to go.  Our cars ought no longer to be considered the cheap transportation they were when we were that age.  They are now collectible cars and deserve to be treated as such.  I think the first step in attracting younger people to the hobby is to determine what is the average or mean age of current CORSA members.  I'd venture to say it's upwards of 50.  Then, aim realistically at lowering that average age by 10-15 years.  You'd still be hitting folks at a time in their lives when they should have some disposable income that would allow them the luxury of a second or third car as a hobby.  But not as their only, daily driver.  I have no problem with someone who takes a rust bucket that might otherwise be just junked and fixes it up to drive but this...?!?!

~Bill Stanley

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Sent: Mon, Feb 3, 2014 12:00 pm
Subject: SCG-list Digest, Vol 90, Issue 2

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Orig. '63 near Hollister, CA (hank kaczmarek)

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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 08:36:22 -0500
From: "hank kaczmarek" <kaczmarek at charter.net>
Subject: Re: [SCG] Orig. '63 near Hollister, CA
To: "scg-list" <scg-list at tiger.skiblack.com>
Message-ID: <A4228E3C47FD4065B5B963C039CB678F at OwnerHP>
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	reply-type=original

I was lightly chastised by my friend John Miller for my comment on this on 
FB.

I saw the pictures of the car.  It's simply in too immaculate a condition to 
give it to a kid.

In my law enforcement work in the 90's up to the present day, I've seen the 
results of giving kids spiffy cars in new or "Like New" condition like this 
Corvair.

I also don't know this young girl nor her family.  What I do know is all too 
routine,.

Kids (myself included when I was one) have an incredible feeling of 
independence when they get a car of their own.  That's a good thing.

however there are many distractions for young drivers, some of which were 
not present in our day, worst one being the damnable CELL PHONE.  Add to 
that friends in the car, loud music from the sound system, and the general 
excitement of being on the road and you have a cauldron of boiling potential 
disaster.

Just in my little, sparsely populated county in North Carolina, We are 
averaging one fatality a year in drivers under age 21, normally coming 
during the drive home from school.  The number of wrecks are much higher. 
For reasons known only to the Almighty, a lot of these wealthy parents will 
buy their pride and joy a NEW ford mustang or a BMW.  And they promptly wrap 
them around trees or ram them into other vehicles. Our last 2 fatalities 
were both girls.

About a month ago, a 17 year old girl (I know her and her family well as 
they go to my church) wrecked her mother's van beyond repair. REACHING DOWN 
ON THE FLOOR TO PICK UP HER CELL PHONE, TAKING HER EYES OFF THE ROAD, and 
slamming into a truck stopped in front of her. Luckily she was not harmed. 
I used to give her hell about her phone in catechism because as the Priest 
would be teaching, she would be texting.  She works as a cashier in a 
grocery near me, and when I heard, I saw her and told her I was very happy 
she was not hurt.  I then gave her hell because she could have DIED for her 
CELL PHONE.  She said "I knew that was coming from you Mr. Hank----and 
you're right".

And it seems to me that most children these days are not very concerned 
about what happens to ANY of their possessions.  Individual mileage may 
vary, but with 2 kids and 3 grandkids I see it in my own, plus the youth 
group in my parish.

A low mileage original Corvair in that condition being given to a child to 
drive is ludicrous.  I bet John miller 25 bucks she wrecks it, and we'll 
NEVER hear about it when she does.   The thought of giving that car to a kid 
is madness.

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End of SCG-list Digest, Vol 90, Issue 2
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