<VV> Food for thought - New Generations
Shelrockbored at aol.com
Shelrockbored at aol.com
Sat Jan 11 12:03:50 EST 2014
When I work movie and TV shoots in Manhattan with a fellow LICA (L.I.
Corvair) member young people are fascinated with our Corvairs. Not only that,
two young women said to me, "I just love your car." It was my friends 1977
Dodge Aspen. Many young people were at Clark's last September and they
all felt the cars were "cool." No computer? Wow!!
Just because it's old does not mean it's dead. Antiquity survives.
Steve Sassi
L.I. Corvair
In a message dated 1/10/2014 10:32:49 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
dkeillor at tconcepts.com writes:
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.
> _______________________________________________
>
>
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