What has happened to Americas' Youth?

[90mustangGT]

Every generation looks at the newer generation and says the same thing. The reality is that if you could go back in time and see your generation through your more mature eyes the way you were when you were that age I can bet you would see that you all weren't all that smart back when you knew everything.

Things change, some for the good, some for the bad. The fact is the good ole days weren't all that great.

It is true though that the gearhead mentality is near dead. Back then, we took pride in knowing how to work on cars. Then again, we didn't have Xbox's. Kids today are all about gaming and social networking. Maybe it's better because there are a lot less kids being killed in car accidents. I lost a lot of friends in car accidents. Happened all too often.

 

[Cobra912]

this is why I go drag racing and hang out at the track. Not too many there don't know what kind of car they are looking at.

 

[aar0s]

The fact is the good ole days weren't all that great.

Dont know about you but mine were pretty good, but not as good as the years to come!

 

[bdazzgt]

(steps on soap box) I have realized that people these days are pretty much worthless. Its not that there is not good people out there but it seems like everyone wants stuff for free and doesn't know the value of working for it or working on it. I got my first mustang when i was 14, i mowed lawns for two years to get it where it would ru,n turning every wrench on the car. I later sold the car and bought my first fox, the rest is history. The moral of the story is that i worked for that. Ive noticed it even in the last few years that kids are worse then they were 10 years ago. There is no respect for personal property, or a work ethic. I also remember when my dad would buy things with a handshake......ahhh those were the days (steps off soap box).

 

[mr.bubbles]

For most people, it is too expensive of a thing to get in to in today's economy. Between insurance, gas and maintenance; cars are very expensive and many people can't justify spending so much money on a mustang or camaro when you can can drive a much more reliable and practical honda or toyota for a fraction of the price. I'm 18 and attending college and I have an '88 5.0 project car, but my daily driver is an '08 civic si. I chose the civic because I need something reliable and good on gas and I actually find it to be way more fun to drive than my mothers '06 GT. Its just how things are changing, everything is becoming more and more expensive and consequently there are fewer and fewer people wishing to spend their money on older V8 cars.

 

[Boosted92LX]

I decide to take my youngest ( 13 yr old) to Sonic tonight. Just Me and him.

I pull in w/ the Mustang expecting to see some high school kids and their cars, but was surprised to find nothing of the kind. The place is full of Camrys, SUV's Minivans, and general people movers. I pull in and don't even get looked at. I and my son get out of the car and sit at one of the tables in the middle area and order our food. It's 75 degrees, and low humidity today, but there are still the families running their cars w/ the A/C cranked and the windows rolled up so as not to expose themselves to the "drive-in" experience.
( Isn't the reason you go to Sonic is to kind of get a little piece of what it used to be like in the 60's and 70's)

Soon enough an F body and a 6 cyl 04 mustang come in w/ about 6 teen age males, but again to my surprise, they stick to themselves, and hang on the other side of the courtyard dicking around.

Finally the Icing on the cake. A guy pulls in, in a gorgeous 57 HT chevy.
I give the guy a nod and give him a chance to order. The teenagers on the other hand walk up to dude and ask him what kind of car this was???

That's like confusing the Washington monument with the Eiffel tower.

I let out a little laugh amazed that the car that was once an Icon and literally was lusted after by every car-guy kid in my school has now become a vehicle from Mars.

Like em or not, those cars are waay cool. Back in the day, when they're set up w/ a 6-71 on top of a BBC, and all that junk is under the hood wheeezing away,You know that if you valued your ass, you'd better leave dude alone.

For little Johnny to not know what it was, he should've been made to stand in the corner.

I know exactly what you mean, Mike. The good ol' days are definately gone. I remember the days when Friday night the downtown strip would be lined up with young people and cool cars. There were always a few guys a little older with the really fast cars- The ones with the rep of being real bad asses. Everyone in town knew who they were.

Street racing wasn't yet taboo, and sexually transmitted disease was remedied with penecillin. There were no cell phones, no caller ID, and the auto parts stores used books instead of computers and some dumb teenager wanting to know if you've got airconditioning.

You could buy a fully loaded Chevrolet Suburban for under $20k.This was the most expensive American vehicle I'd ever seen.

I remember freaking out after sticking the gas nozzle in the filler neck of my fastback and seeing that gas had risen to $1.02 a gallon. I thought crap, how will I ever afford this?

Rock and roll was the mainstream music for teenagers, not hiphop.

No one knew what crack cocaine was.


A handful of my old buddies and I got together the other day to visit and were talking about the old times. We all had a good laugh when one of them was telling us about driving his '70 cuda to the local Sonic. A teenager in a honda with a fartpipe stopped to check out his car, and told him it was the coolest Camaro he'd ever seen! Welcome to the future.

 

[Flavadave4]

I feel that many Americans have forgot the hard work their ancestors had to do to accomplish anything in this country. I think many today have a sense of entitlement to what they should have, whether it be employment, homes, vacations, toys or cars. I own a small car dealership and everyday I have people in my office that really cannot afford the car or truck they are looking to buy but feel they deserve. I listen to them talk and often think their motivation for purchasing is to impress or make them feel better about themselves. Many of them have so much debt from this cycle of borrowing that they will never see the light of day.

 

[darthcual]

Well, if today's generation is screwed up, who do we look to for the blame? Many of the older guys who are complaining are fathers. Have you taught your children well? I know from my experience my father was a great role model where paying the bills were the main concern. But he never took me aside and taught me how to shave. Threw a footbal with me. Took me fishing and/or camping. Taught me to work on cars. Told me about the birds and bees or how to treat a lady. I can still remember being about 13-14 yrs old and finally just giving up on trying to get his attention. I dont hate him. But, I make damn sure my kids dont see me like I see him.

 

[FastDriver]

With regard to the overarching generation, unless it's going to lead to something constructive, there's no point in blaming the past.

In your case, the identification of that problem has led you to be a better dad, and that's a good thing.

 

[LarsD]

I feel that many Americans have forgot the hard work their ancestors had to do to accomplish anything in this country. I think many today have a sense of entitlement to what they should have, whether it be employment, homes, vacations, toys or cars. I own a small car dealership and everyday I have people in my office that really cannot afford the car or truck they are looking to buy but feel they deserve. I listen to them talk and often think their motivation for purchasing is to impress or make them feel better about themselves. Many of them have so much debt from this cycle of borrowing that they will never see the light of day.

This is quite true also. I work with quite a few people like this, and have family like this. It baffles me how buying a house that is over four times your yearly gross is a good idea. On top of having three car payments.

Well, if today's generation is screwed up, who do we look to for the blame? Many of the older guys who are complaining are fathers. Have you taught your children well? I know from my experience my father was a great role model where paying the bills were the main concern. But he never took me aside and taught me how to shave. Threw a footbal with me. Took me fishing and/or camping. Taught me to work on cars. Told me about the birds and bees or how to treat a lady. I can still remember being about 13-14 yrs old and finally just giving up on trying to get his attention. I dont hate him. But, I make damn sure my kids dont see me like I see him.

Sounds like we have the same Dad.

 

[sd455]

Its not your "School smarts" Its your "Street smarts"

Take my word for it, Had all the "experts" tell me my idea to take my startup public from the "get go" would fail....... sold it and retired at 40 (14 years ago)Very happy watching my kids grow up, traveling and collecting cars. (Maserati and one 88 Mustang) If I would have listened to the experts I'm sure I would be a middle aged layoff purchasing agent. High school class of 75nothing more then that. As to young kids and cars, maybe its because the main stream media for years and years has been telling people that if you enjoying driving then your "killing" the planet. I had a 25 year old family friend tell me that. With a straight face no less.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Well, if today's generation is screwed up, who do we look to for the blame? Many of the older guys who are complaining are fathers. Have you taught your children well? I know from my experience my father was a great role model where paying the bills were the main concern. But he never took me aside and taught me how to shave. Threw a footbal with me. Took me fishing and/or camping. Taught me to work on cars. Told me about the birds and bees or how to treat a lady. I can still remember being about 13-14 yrs old and finally just giving up on trying to get his attention. I dont hate him. But, I make damn sure my kids dont see me like I see him.

Mehh, I think a lot of it is a generational thing. My dad was 40 when he had me, and although I love him dearly, we don't really have much in the ways of common ground other than our automotive niche.

I've always though he never really "got me" and as a youth that really bothered me. Looking back on it now, I really can't fault him. He's from a generation where you worked your ass off for everything you had. Where it was perfectly acceptable to be driving at the age of 12-years-old if you were raised on a farm. Where a treat was fresh fruit from the garden and a special occasion meant you and your 3-siblings didn't all have to share the same bath water.

He had it fairly tough growing up, but did quite well for himself later on and although I wasn't handed things on a silver platter, both he and my mother made sure I and my sister would never have to scrape to make ends meet like he did growing up.

As for today’s youth...I most certainly blame the Gen X'ers. Most of them were dumb asses when I went to high school and they're still dumb asses now. And most of their kids are as well.

When you think of it...there were sooo many advancements made during the Gen X generation, that made life easy for a lot of people. With some people, easy = lazy. And considering it seems that technological advancements for the Y-Generation dwarf that of the Gen X'ers....I would imagine people are going to get even lazier.

 

[Boosted92LX]

Precisely. My Brother in law has a double masters degree, one from A&M, but couldnt change the oil, or flat tire on his own car. Unfathomable to me.

There's a young engineer where I work (I think he's 27) who is an A&M tard. He is a MECHANICAL engineer and he sat on the side of the road all night with a flat tire, and a good spare with a jack. He really didn't have any clue how to change it. This is the same jackass who says non degreed employees shouldn't be considered for mechanical department supervisory roles because of lack of qualification.

The younger generation's sense of entitlement does amaze me, especially idiots like this. "Mom and dad sent me to college, now you owe me a better salary than everyone else, reguardless of how much they know." /Drool


Seriously?

 

[jrichker]

Human intellect is divided up into two categories: Knowledge & Wisdom.
Knowledge you get from books, education, and training.
Wisdom you get by applying what you know to life, career and the problems of life.

It seems that there is always a shortage of Wisdom and an abundance of Knowledge. Maybe some day the human race will figure out that there needs to be a balance of the two...

 

[LarsD]

Human intellect is divided up into two categories: Knowledge & Wisdom.
Knowledge you get from books, education, and training.
Wisdom you get by applying what you know to life, career and the problems of life.

It seems that there is always a shortage of Wisdom and an abundance of Knowledge. Maybe some day the human race will figure out that there needs to be a balance of the two...

Lot of truth to this. I work with a bunch of very intelligent idiots.

 

[smokin joe]

Well, if today's generation is screwed up, who do we look to for the blame? Many of the older guys who are complaining are fathers. Have you taught your children well? I know from my experience my father was a great role model where paying the bills were the main concern. But he never took me aside and taught me how to shave. Threw a footbal with me. Took me fishing and/or camping. Taught me to work on cars. Told me about the birds and bees or how to treat a lady. I can still remember being about 13-14 yrs old and finally just giving up on trying to get his attention. I dont hate him. But, I make damn sure my kids dont see me like I see him.

My dad sounds like this too. However he did throw the baseball with me as a kid and we did go on family camping / fishing trips. He was a good provider for our family always. His father died before he turned 18. So I can't really say anything about his parenting style.

In the last 7 years I feel that we have really gotten closer though. He was not a car guy, but is working to understand what I think is so important about them to me.

As for kids now days.....Technology happened, pop culture has changed, and it's just the way the world is.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

The whole thread amazes me. Appears that many of us share similar relationships w/ their parents, and just as many have some really good insight into what is going on as the children of the late 80's and early 90's grow up to father their own.

Mostly, I find it refreshing to see that the car-guy culture here doesn't automatically equate to an intellect comparable to a 15 watt bulb. Having lived in the south now for over 20 years, I just have become "comfortably numb" and have had to dumb-down my conversations w/ my local friends so as not to talk over their heads.

I got busted for using "pushing the envelope" last week, and had to explain what the hell I was talking about when I used it to say that the latest crop of "street tired" turbo cars running 4.60's in the 1/8th are on the edge.

I can't say that the car spun it's tires, I have to say the tires. A remove-able carrier from a 9" is a "chunk"

The local tracks are full of 18-25 year olds running what they brung down here, and I agree, culture and demographic go hand-in-hand in determining who will be a car guy or not. So if the car still has a "chunk", and it cannot be referred to as having it's own parts, then maybe that is part of what it takes to keep the sport alive and well.

Mostly, I believe that you are born that way.

You can't make somebody like cars, and they don't grow into the sport/hobby. You either are one or you aren't.

My 18 year old thought that oil was supposed to drain after you took off the filter. HE is NOT a car guy.

My dad was a "tinker-er". He had just about every tool known to modern man. He would dick around w/ anything mechanical to include maintaining the family cars. When I came to him asking for advice on whether or not it would do any good to rebuild the 115,000 mile 289 K code engine in my 65 GT, he talked me out of it.

I had to learn everything I know on my own, and while he did do some things for me helping w/ my cars, he always was trying to turn me away from the "dark side" of hotrodding. His last piece of advice (that I ignored) was to sell my mach 1. He reasoned that after he drove it from Council bluffs IA. to Onawa IA in 32 minutes, (a distance a little over 60 miles) he determined it was too fast for me.

 

[25thmustang]

You can't make somebody like cars, and they don't grow into the sport/hobby. You either are one or you aren't.

I wonder about this one. When I was young I loved and lived for cars. I started racing at 15 at the track, was into 1/4 midgets when young, restored a 66 Mustang with my father from age 10-13/14 and had a fox at 16. My brother never had any interest in cars. Drove a 91 Chevy Blazer until he graduated college and was into sports and school.

Fast forward to a few years back and on a whim my father and him put in motion plans to drop my dads old motor in an 86 roller we had, and have my brother try it out. Low and behold he now races his car more than I do, purchased his car trailer, his new truck to tow it, and dedicates a lot of time and energy into it.

A guy who never cared a tiny bit about cars until he was 24-25, and now he seems to be more into it than I am...

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Well I would say that there are always gonna be exceptions.

By far and large, the "pseudo" gar guys that had one in H/S because they thought it was the thing to do and not because they lived for it, are the ones driving the mini-van today. They really weren't back then, they certainly aren't now.

Personally in the 37 years that I have been driving, I have only went a few years "on the wagon" in between car addictions. Most of the guys I know that have dropped out altogether are the ones that say it was "too expensive" or "too much trouble"/ and then get in their 2010 what-evers and go to the bank to make a car payment.

As far as drag racing goes, I'm that guy.

For me the $40,000, 95mm turbo, 1600 HP, Alcohol fueled car that kept blowing stuff up catastrophically was..."Too expensive, AND too much trouble.

But driving a fun street car will always be in my blood.