<VV> Food for thought - New Generations

[Dave Keillor]

Seth, thanks for posting that.  He makes some good points.  I do disagree
with him, though, on "lack of access". There are a lot of interesting cars
that are quite affordable.  Corvairs, for example, but there are also a lot
of others.  I also agree on "drive them".  In last year's Michigan and
Wisconsin road in our Corvair restomod, I can't count the number of people
we talked to about cars and Corvairs.  No scratches or dings in the high
buck paint job, but perfect paint is not the point.  It's the journey and
the people you meet along the way.


Dave Keillor


On Thu, Jan 9, 2014 at 1:11 PM, <Sethracer at aol.com> wrote:

>
> I thought that Corvair folks might find this  interesting and provoking.
> From a source called "Sports Car Digest"
> The Next Generation of Car Enthusiasts
>
> By Bill Bounds
>  (http://www.sportscardigest.com/wp-content/uploads/DSC_0175.jpg) I’m just
> going to put it out there, as a younger person  this hobby/sport is
> frustrating. The issue at hand is access. The internet is  great for
> contributing
> knowledge to the equation, but it can’t compare to  standing by as a
> Ferrari
> 340 roars off into the distance. The former helps  reinforce passion, the
> latter creates it. The problem is, with the classic car  market on a
> rocket-propelled incline, the amount of times anyone can stand next  to
> something like
> that is approaching zero. Even the mid and lower grade levels  of classics
> are becoming hard to attain or encounter in normal life. Have you  priced
> out a ’50s pickup lately?
> I am personally sandwiched right in between GenX and GenY. As I like to put
>  it; I have no interest in fighting the system, but the system sure seems
> intent  on fighting me. I had the good fortune to have a racing enthusiast
> for a father,  and a British-car-owning tinkerer for a grandfather. Every
> blessing is a curse,  though, and the things I used to have access to are
> there
> no longer, leaving  only the desire to forge my own memories, to create my
> own stories with  automobiles.
> Here are some contemporary models that I can talk about with a decent
> amount  of depth through my own experiences. I would expect someone of my
> generation  could keep up with the conversation. EC1, EF, EG, EK, EM1,
> DC2, DC5;
> GC8, GD,  GE; NA, NB, NC; YJ, TJ, XJ; W10 (AW11), W20, W30; ST-165, ST-185;
> AE86; R32-35.  I tossed the Jeeps in for fun.
> To counter that, here are some models I can again talk about with depth
> that  I would expect Sports Car Digest readership to identify with. Tipo
> 750,
> 101,  105, 115; Type 35, 35A, 35B, 37, 39; TdF, SWB, PF, GTE, GTO, LM;
> TR2-6;
> XKC,  XKD, XKSS, XKE; 901, 911, 904, 906, 910, 917, 956/962. And on and on.
> Both generations have the same alphabet soup. Both generations have the
> same  passion. The gap between the first group and the second group seems
> obvious to  me, it’s about access. I have friends that can tell the
> difference
> between a D16  and B16 Honda motor blindfolded, but they couldn’t tell you
> the
> difference  between a Type 35 and a T-26. An XK120, 140, and 150 are all
> the same to them  just like a third, fourth, and fifth generation Honda
> Civic
> would look the same  to others. I know the differences because I’m
> passionate enough to seek them out  on both sides. I don’t think, however,
> that the
> average contemporary “car guy”  has anywhere near the access necessary to
> know that Bentleys, Voisins,  Delahayes, Abarths, and Lancias are worth
> appreciating. Without access to cars  like that, I’m not sure it’s
> realistic to
> expect them to.
> As the subject of this hobby gets more and more expensive, cars will be
> driven less and less. Not many Lusso owners will let that kid in the
> parking
> lot  sit in the driver’s seat for a minute. A Gullwing won’t be seen
> anywhere but a  concours. All Cisitalias will end up in warehouse
> collections where
> only the  caretakers walk in and out. Such a climate does not create that
> passionate spark  that draws people into the hobby. So if any Sports Car
> Digest readers do have an  interest in broadening that horizon, I would
> ask one
> thing. Drive your cars.  Drive them in public. When you see a kid smiling,
> or someone smiling like a kid,  stop and talk to them. Silver Ghosts to MG
> TC
> s to split-window coupes to  Ghiblis. Automobiles are inherently engaging,
> so give yours the space and time  to engage others as they have engaged
> you.
> I know I am grateful for those who  took the time with me, and I will pay
> that forward as soon as I am able.
> Creating my own stories with automobiles is exactly what I intend to tackle
>  in this space. How does someone with a huge pile of enthusiasm and average
> means  find ways to maximize his access? My answers include things like
> habitually  attending the Amelia Island Concours, autocrossing, buying a
> Jeep,
> working on  one of my grandfather’s cars, road tripping, LeMons/ChumpCar
> racing, attending  The Mitty and the ARRC at Road Atlanta, rallycrossing,
> and
> on and on.
> If it burns dinosaurs, I think it’s awesome. From ’30s French grand
> touring  cars and ’50s European sports cars to British Touring Cars and
> Baja
> trucks, it  doesn’t matter. I like all of it.
>  _______________________________________________
>
>