[ChrisBlair]

It's been shown that the (polled) youth of today doesn't rank car ownership highly in general.

Part of this is their age- money is tight. Part of this is their world- social media makes their world smaller. part of this is job market trend- an influx of positions in cities. Part oif this is lifestyle desires- don't want the hassle. part of it is 'where the fun is'- the cities.

Some of all of that is simple shortsightedness- today is forever. Some of it actually is wisdom. Costs to operate and maintain a vehicle are much higher today in relation to the cost of living than in previous generations.

[Muscle Car Memories]

Originally Posted by jp23rockstar

I always wanted to know why today's youth isn't interested in sports cars? Actually second that, why aren't they in to cars in general? Is it that all cars today look the same? Is it the cost of the cars? Is it family requirements so they can't get a two door car? Just want to hear some opinions on this topic.

My son grew up with me always having a Muscle Car of some sort be it Ford or Chevy, various motorcycles including motocross and he is now 25 and could care less about cars even though ive offered to help him buy a car, he lives in California where I moved from and is a collection agent and a part time rapper and I personally dont understand the logic of some younger people today. I grew up around my father who never had Muscle Cars but always had a Ford of some sort and was always working on other peoples cars and when we would go to the store in his Galaxie 500 or other Ford he had he would always end up drag racing racing someone from stoplight to stoplight. He watched what is Nascar today and drag racing and I still do that but he really got me involved with cars I suppose when he started buying me Hot Wheels, car models, etc and its stayed with me to this day, even the Hot Wheels...lol

[pickwithaustin]

The whole "money is tight" doesn't fly with me. Back in the day, money was tight. Today's youth have far more than we ever had; designer clothing, fancy pants shoes, smart phones, tablets and devices, video games, etc. Today's children are brought up on computers. We had Matchbox and Hotwheel's cars. Today's car ads make it hip to climb into a KIA with the car buying considerations being which vehicle has the most speakers or the best bluetooth.

[anotherreject]

I think there are a few reasons why this generation are not into cars.
People are popping out kids at a faster and younger rate.
Sports cars and insurance are too expensive.
Internet and gaming allow people to live out fantasies without spending money on the real thing.
And lastly most towns/cities no longer have a "car scene". I now work in the town i grew up in and there are not any "car guys" hanging out. We had one particular empty parking lot and between 6 pm on friday to 10 pm on sunday people were hanging out, bullshitting, checking out other peoples cars. Now the lot is empty every day.
Also modern cars are coming from the factory with decent horsepower, all cars not just muscle/sports cars. If somebody can go buy a v6 family sedan that puts out 250-300 hp then they dont feel the need to buy a "go fast" toy.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by pickwithaustin

The whole "money is tight" doesn't fly with me. Back in the day, money was tight. Today's youth have far more than we ever had; designer clothing, fancy pants shoes, smart phones, tablets and devices, video games, etc. Today's children are brought up on computers. We had Matchbox and Hotwheel's cars. Today's car ads make it hip to climb into a KIA with the car buying considerations being which vehicle has the most speakers or the best bluetooth.

I disagree completely.

Half of us can't even find jobs right now. Sure you can work at McDonald's just to get by for now but that's not going to pay for a Camaro.

Hell I got a government job right out of college and thankfully I'm able to live fairly comfortably off my salary but I'm still nowhere near being able to afford a sports car. Couple that with $3+/gallon fuel prices and absurdly high car insurance rates and anything sporty isn't exactly practical right now.

[BlairW07]

I'd have to say lack of good jobs and student loan debt. I was lucky enough to find a good job but the student loan debt is still a little rough at almost $500/month straight out of college.

[pickwithaustin]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

I disagree completely.
Half of us can't even find jobs right now. Sure you can work at McDonald's just to get by for now but that's not going to pay for a Camaro.

When some of us were younger, we could not afford a top of the line sports car either. We had old cars that we hot rodded up, spending Saturday afternoon's in the driveway working on them to just make them run. We didn't have fantastic jobs either and it wasn't, at least for me, until I was older and with a family and home and such that I was finally able to start getting the finer cars - even though I had always had some hopped up muscle thing or another. Even then, it wasn't until the kids were grown that there was disposable income for really nice vehicles. One does not have to have the newest 2014 Camaro in order to be "into cars." Cars were different to us back in the day. I remember my first ride was a Ford Pinto. Tiny little four banger which, my friends and I promptly swapped out for a V8. Many Saturday afternoons were spent on that project, and many $2.65 per hour minimum wage pay checks.

Gasoline, though, definitely detours a lot... I don't "cruise" any more for that very reason. I remember gasoline at 50 cents a gallon... HOWEVER, wages were far lower back then as well...

[LStick]

Jobs that pay for cars like this have been drying up the last 20 years.

[pickwithaustin]

The average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. is $32,086.
(according to 2013 numbers reported by Kelley Blue Book)

[The_Blur]

In 1969, you could buy a Camaro SS/RS for way under $4k. Even at $15k/year, you could possibly save for 2 years and buy a car without any financing and still live comfortably. Today, a Camaro 1SS/RS costs under $35k, but the average person out of college can't get a job that makes $35k/year. They can, however, afford a used compact sport trim—Cobalt SS, SRT4, Civic Si—and play with that. For that reason, FWD "performance" has replaced traditional RWD performance vehicles for young buyers.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

In 1969, you could buy a Camaro SS/RS for way under $4k. Even at $15k/year, you could possibly save for 2 years and buy a car without any financing and still live comfortably. Today, a Camaro 1SS/RS costs under $35k, but the average person out of college can't get a job that makes $35k/year. They can, however, afford a used compact sport trim—Cobalt SS, SRT4, Civic Si—and play with that. For that reason, FWD "performance" has replaced traditional RWD performance vehicles for young buyers.

Agree there, 100%. Inflation is over 500% compared to 1969

If you bought a car for 4500 dollars in 1969, that is the equivalent of just over 30 grand today. Looking at it in terms of buying power, you'd think "Well that's about average for a new car today". True. But 4500 wasn't the average back then. Just under 3300 was the average. That $1300 difference would mean almost 8500 bucks today. Gasoline was the equivalent of 2.30/gallon or so in today's money: 35 cents back then.

6500 bucks would have bought an L88 Corvette in '69. In 2014 dollars that's about 42 grand- that's Camaro 2SS territory today. The L88 was quite near the pinnacle of bad-assery, second only to the ZL-1s. The top Corvettes today? 65 grand! That's 11 grand or so in 1969 dollars. You could have bought one '69 L88 outright and had a low note on a second one for that price.

[Dr. Evil]

Originally Posted by ChrisBlair

Years ago, a car equaled freedom, you could go where you wanted and do what you wanted. When your world gets smaller you don't need that degree of freedom. Suddenly someday someway that world will expand for most of these young people.

The bolded is the primary reason for most of it. A car represented freedom. With the connectivity of the internet there is no need for face to face interaction. Its the same reason why so many young people have a hard time holding a conversation face to face without distraction.

[Burn Notice24]

Originally Posted by 1fastmf

Seems every one my age(23) is into luxury cars more then sport/muscle cars

Same for me as well. Seems like everyone likes either luxury cars, trucks or simply doesn't care.

[ChrisBlair]

Originally Posted by Dr. Evil

The bolded is the primary reason for most of it. A car represented freedom. With the connectivity of the internet there is no need for face to face interaction. Its the same reason why so many young people have a hard time holding a conversation face to face without distraction.

That's an interesting observation.