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Never Stop Driving #148: The Kids Are Definitely Alright
Kids these days! I hear my fellow graybeards fret that too many young Americans spend too much time in basements playing video games or staring at their phones. Therefore, as the thinking goes, our car hobby is doomed. While I certainly share the screen concerns, I see so much evidence that those born since the late 1990s—Generation Z—appreciate four-wheel machines every bit as much as we do. This past weekend at the Waterford Hills racetrack presented another positive example.
I was there with my two sons for the third race of the Waterford season. I’ve written before about this well-run facility just north of Motown run by a local club of volunteers who host races and track days on a 1.5-mile road course. The club often invites other local car clubs to gather on the grounds during the races and this past weekend, Modded Detroit was in attendance.
Modded Detroit brought along food trucks and a sound system blasting music I didn’t recognize. A young crowd of about 50 drove a mix of newish sport-compact cars like Focus STs, Miatas, BMWs, and a few rotary-powered Mazdas. I spoke to several of the “kids” and witnessed the same bubbly enthusiasm I felt in my 20s. You could tell they were just thrilled to participate and be among people who shared their passion. Many of the cars were their daily drivers. For all of us, there’s a vast difference between the car you wish to own and what you can afford. Most of the Modded Detroit members were solidly in the latter camp. I loved the energy.
During race weekends, the track often offers slow parade laps for street cars. I view these parade laps as the gateway drug to track driving, an introduction to the proper place to learn the art of driving and of course going fast. On any given weekend, about 10 or 20 cars line up for parade laps, but this time, nearly every one of the Modded cars lined up to go on track, creating a snake of cars that filled the entire circuit. To those of us accustomed to being on track, the procession could be viewed as a yawner but based on the facial expressions of those exiting the track and the passengers filming, this group was thrilled. Kudos to the Waterford volunteers who reached out to the next generation. There are plenty of warm months to visit the track. Here’s a calendar of events.
Switching gears, did you see the Chinese electric car that ran one of the fastest laps at the Nürburgring Nordschleife? A modified version of a four-door production car called the Xiaomi SU7 circled The Green Hell in 6:22.091. For reference, that’s quicker than the Mercedes-AMG One and the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. Now, ’Ring times come with all sorts of caveats that make perfect comparisons tricky, but that’s still an incredible time.
Xiaomi, pronounced shau-mee, is the second-largest maker of smartphones behind Samsung. The company currently only sells cars in its home market but recently said it could start selling outside China beginning in 2027. From the reviews I’ve read, the cars sound fantastic. The SU7’s performance is more evidence that Chinese manufacturers have gone all-guns blazing into EVs while the U.S. seems to be backing away. GM recently announced that a $300 million investment in an electric-motor plant has evolved into an $888 million effort to build upcoming V-8s.
Before I wish you a fantastic holiday weekend, here’s some of the latest from Hagerty Media:
- The Man Who Saved Ferrari Heads to McLaren
- Going to see the new F1 movie? Here’s a review.
- The fastest V-8 cars face off in a drag race.
- Million-dollar Mustangs: The most expensive ever sold at auction.
Have a great weekend!
Larry
P.S.: Your feedback and comments are welcome.
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The cold harsh reality is that most kids have moved on. Many have gone to tech and some thstveould love to be into cars but just can’t afford it.
Even myself came with a father deep into computers. He knew to check oil and that was it. But a Neighbor had a stock car and he let me work and learn. My father supported me when mom was mad when I came home dirty at mid night.
If not for that neighbor I would never have gotten my start. Next I could but Chevelle SS at 16 years old in good shape for $2,000. GTO with Tri power for $3000.
I grew up in Chevelles and some cool cars dad had. Not mini vans or cheap import sedan.
Most kids today have never been in a fun car.
I go to many events and I’m the youngest there. While some kids participate they are fewer in number vs those we are losing to age.
Perhaps try some different events?
I believe there will always be “kids” fascinated with the “working of things”, maybe not always mechanical. However, some will be toward those things that are propelled in some way. Also, there will be those that love the feeling of speed and to some extent the “danger” of it. Competition will always be in the blood, maybe not as much in automotive as in the past but will still be there.
Charlotte like many urban centers is experiencing “street take overs” where younger people (no old farts participating) take over an intersection and do burnouts, donuts, etc. will spectators capture the action on their phones. In many ways that was like some of us “older” enthusiasts that may have street raced or doing burnouts etc. to impress our friends or doing something “dangerous”? I do not condone it just my personal observation and thoughts. Others I’m sure will have theirs.
Yeah, interesting point. Organized drifting already exists and I wish those knuckleheads would stop the takeovers.
Larry, Waterford Hills is where I went to Skip Barber Racing School back 1993! Very cool place! Yes, our car club has recently visited several high school tech schools and put on mini car shows for them. The interest that we observed in the automotive fields appears to be very strong. Also, with young people veering more toward the trades lately for obvious reasons, I think in coming years this and other parts of the industry will blossom. I know a friend of mine who co-owns a restoration business just north of Pittsburgh is always looking for new talent to add to his staff as his business continues to grow. So, I would agree, that the prevailing thinking about younger folk not being interest in the automotive hobby is probably a exaggerated. I think that they are just entering it in ways we older gray hairs did not, and some of us can’t, or aren’t willing to recognize this.
Well said!
Larry!
Your writing is beautiful. Keep it up!
Steve
What a fun and optimistic read!
As always.
Time for a road trip!
There is a group of “20 something’s” out here in Boondocks Ga who came up with a way to go fast cheap. They hit on buying former cop car Chargers at auction. A buddy of mines nephew got involved with the group about 1 1/2 years ago. They say that they can get the cars for less than the cost of a ragged out Honda and already be faster than some of the modded imports. Paul, my buddy’s nephew, has brought his car over to my home workshop a few times to use my 2 post lift for suspension work. Some of his friends also have asked to use it. If I don’t have something on one (I have 2) i have no problem letting them use it as long as they respect my rules (very few, mostly safety related).
So yes, there are some younger folks still “hot roding”. Maybe not as many as in the “good old days”, but they are just as enthusiastic.
+1
I think some of us mis-remember how many young folks were into cars in the “good old days” to begin with. When I was in high school, it was maybe 10% of the school population – max. Many were into sports, music, drama – and yes, quite a few were into ‘academic pursuits’ (something I avoided like the plague). I hung out within that 10% mostly, so in effect, my “whole world” was about the car culture. But I can look around at the people I went to school with and guess what? Only about 10% of them are still car folks (and we from the height of the hot rod era). My point is that not everyone was into cars back when “everyone was into cars” and not everyone is today. But we tend to view things through our own lenses.
I’m on the positive side of this discussion. Youngsters have tons of interests to choose from, and not ALL of them are going to land on cars. And of those that do, some of them will like hot rods, some will like off-roading, some will want a sport car, some an antique, a drifter, a tuner, a well, whatever… And my view is that this is much like it was in the 1960s!
“When I was in high school, it was maybe 10% of the school population – max.”
I think some of that might have had to do with location and what the school emphasized. As an example I attended a small rural school ( my graduating class was just over 110 students) yet the auto shop class was full, every period. A friend of mine’s family moved approx 25 miles away to a different school district and they didn’t even offer auto shop classes. And being in a rural area a car/truck was a necessity. No public transportation and any entertainment was miles away.
Granted this was over 50 years ago and things have changed at public schools. Most quit offering any type of vocational, wood shop or automotive courses decades ago, If any younger folks got into modifying/repairing cars, it was mostly from friends and neighbors that they learned. That’s why I don’t mind the younger crowd in my shop and even tho I’m personally not into the import scene, they are welcome as are those into off road trucks. They have an interest, I have experience ( and a lot of tools) and if it helps keep the tradition going, I’m in.
I couldn’t agree more and keep preaching that to my contemporaries. I recently retired from teaching high school 31 years. Throughout my career I had people telling me how bad kids were “these days.” I always corrected them saying that many of my students helped me see our future was in good hands. I see it in the car hobby too. Car shows and concours are better attended than ever, regardless of what they charge. When Car Week in Monterey has an “exotics” event aimed at young people, a person can hardly walk through it for the crowds. When I look at photos of classic car club meets in the 60s and 70s, most in the photos have gray hair. Certain cars attract certain generations and always will. Keep at it, Larry. Thanks!
In the Million Dollar Mustangs article, an Ivy Green 1966 GT350 is described. That car was once owned by a Mr. Cliff Hornback, in Vinita, Oklahoma. I learned this as I prepared an exact tribute to his car. I also learned at that time that Shelby made six 1966 convertibles, none of which were sold, but given away to friends and employees. The last of the six to be discovered was the Springtime Yellow car. I also had the good fortune to wander around a Shelby storage unit in Gardena, California. Carroll Shelby’s red GT 500 convertible was inside, as was a jet engined Cobra, and quite a few 427 Cobra chassis. I also watched Shelby ten-spoke wheels being cast in his wheel plant ! I tired of my replica, and after a while on a display circuit I took off and sold all the Shelby stuff (virtually instantly) and returned the car to its more humble roots as an A-code, 4 speed convertible.
As someone who actually has kids right now, I can tell you, just as many kids today are interested in cars as when I was a kid their age 30 years ago. Don’t judge the generation so harshly when you might not have much interaction with it.
Every week I read these comments, and occasionally I read an article talking about a single kid at a tech school or maybe one in a secondary level school racing program. Maybe try reaching out to some actual kids for some article material, or to their parents to kids to find out what is really going on.
I’m taking my youngest great-nephew with me to a show-n-shine this Saturday. He’s 14 and doing driver’s ed this summer. He’s been lobbying me to let him drive the hot rod when he gets his license, and keeps telling me he’s going to buy it when he gets enough saved up. When I take him to shows, sometimes his big brother shows up in either his slammed and tuned GTI or his jacked and chipped diesel 4×4. Yeah, neither of them are into cars…not at all…😉
I meet plenty of younf guys and gals into cars. They just ahave to start at a lower price point than most of us which is not different from any other time. They do tend to be mostly into imports so there is a often a difference in what they want.