Do kids still love cars?

[jimmy156]

I'm a petrolhead and a teacher,

I do try to shoe-horn cars into my lessons wherever i can! But from what i can tell kids just aren't into cars like i was when i was a teenager. By kids i mean teenagers under 16, so not old enough to drive.


Anyone else feeling this?

Anyone on here have kids, do they have lambo posters on the walls or justin fking bieber?

[br d]

I have had some nice cars and I am always amazed by the reaction of really little kids. I'm talking toddlers here, both boys and girls. They will often just stop dead, mouth open and point while the mum tries to drag them along the high street! You expect it from school aged boys but the 2 or 3 year olds seem properly switched on to cars!

[73mark]

My boy is 21yo now but from about 7yo he couldn't wait to get bike then a car.
He new which one on both counts and worked part-time to save half the money.

We paid half and off he went,he's had 3 bikes/4 cars to date.

So I'd say most do.

[jimmy156]

br d said:

I have had some nice cars and I am always amazed by the reaction of really little kids. I'm talking toddlers here, both boys and girls. They will often just stop dead, mouth open and point while the mum tries to drag them along the high street! You expect it from school aged boys but the 2 or 3 year olds seem properly switched on to cars!

That's what i thought, but i am not seeing it!

[jimmy156]

73mark said:

My boy is 21yo now but from about 7yo he couldn't wait to get bike then a car.
He new which one on both counts and worked part-time to save half the money.

We paid half and off he went,he's had 3 bikes/4 cars to date.

So I'd say most do.

I am wondering if there has been a change in attitude to driving and cars in the last 5-10 years though, i just haven't seem evidence of todays kids being into cars!

[DUMBO100]

My Nephews don't seem to like cars despite me trying lots of different things including giving them my own, cherished toy car collection, taking them to motor shows, Top Gear Live and Go Karting but they still prefer Disney on Ice. The youngest even asked me to make the car engine less noisy?

[mike-r]

I had a passing interest while in school, and I missed the apparent glory days of the 80s/90s where everyone 'learnt to drive in a quarry' and had a field car, so the inaccessibility of it all never really sparked any real interest until I was earning and could afford to get into it. And I'm not a so I didn't have parents to gift me one.

[73mark]

jimmy156 said:

I am wondering if there has been a change in attitude to driving and cars in the last 5-10 years though, i just haven't seem evidence of todays kids being into cars!

My boy and all his friends are,but maybe they are just trying to one up each other.

[leafspring]

Depends what it is, most modern everyday cars are being kind, a little "uninspiring"

We've got a 53 year old bright yellow Land Rover.

Locally, Younger kids point and wave at the big Tonka toy, usually shouting about the big yellow truck asking "what is it" and "can we get one?" (irritates me when the parents say 'it's a Jeep' )

Teens tend to ignore it

20 year old upwards either just ignore it or ask if it's for sale (no it's not, never will be)

Edited by leafspring on Thursday 3rd April 18:50

[jimmy156]

mike-r said:

And I'm not a so I didn't have parents to gift me one.

I really really don't want to take my own topic "off-topic" but why do you feel that because someones parents have worked hard enough to buy them a car that makes that person a ?

[br d]

jimmy156 said:

br d said:

I have had some nice cars and I am always amazed by the reaction of really little kids. I'm talking toddlers here, both boys and girls. They will often just stop dead, mouth open and point while the mum tries to drag them along the high street! You expect it from school aged boys but the 2 or 3 year olds seem properly switched on to cars!

That's what i thought, but i am not seeing it!

Perhaps it depends on the car. It can be really annoying driving past a school at chucking out time, lots of shouting and jumping out. I'm always happy to chat to school kids about cars if they are genuinely interested but it often just seems to be an excuse for the loud mouth kids to show off.
Funnily enough I had one today. I stopped to let a kid cross the Zebra then he kept stopping and going back and forth, did it about 5 times, I ignored it of course but he was just showing off in front of his mates.

I'm a very balanced and fair sort of person but had he done it a sixth time I would have floored it and mangled his adolescent bones under my axles. It's the only way to be sure.

[Jasandjules]

Go out in a TVR and you will quite often get kids shout "nice car mister" and such things.



This is counterbalanced by some adults who suggest my sexual relationships are with myself...

[zarjaz1991]

The lower level of interest in cars among teenagers is entirely down to "global warming" indoctrination bks that goes on nowadays in schools. It has to be seen to be believed, kids are even told to go home and "tell their parents off" for driving to work.

bks. bks. bks.

[br d]

Jasandjules said:

This is counterbalanced by some adults who suggest my sexual relationships are with myself...

Common knowledge around these parts I think JandJ

[jayemm89]

They do I think, although I feel sorry for the 17-year olds of now who have joys like petrol at £1.40 a litre, black boxes from insurance companies and premiums of several thousand pounds. Makes me feel old even though I passed my test just seven years ago. Oh christ, I feel old now.

But I generally get a good reaction from people if I am out in nice cars. I especially enjoyed one lad on his moped giving me the thumbs up when I was in a 993, a few years before that would have been me on the moped

[digger the goat]

My son seems to love cars just fine !!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmy45ziYSLQ

[Dalto123]

I think some kids still like cars - though as one person posted, for those at the age of driving it's probably not as interesting due to insurance/ fuel costs.

This said, I did have a couple of 11/12 year olds (I'm useless at guessing ages) come up to me at the petrol station a few weeks ago when filling up to talk about my car (only a MX5) - seemed interested although they did ask it was a Diesel!

[Rickyy]

I think kids either love them at a young age or get into them when they start driving.

My little girl is quite into them, but thats down to me I think.

[lamboman100]

jimmy156 said:

I'm a petrolhead and a teacher,

I do try to shoe-horn cars into my lessons wherever i can! But from what i can tell kids just aren't into cars like i was when i was a teenager. By kids i mean teenagers under 16, so not old enough to drive.


Anyone else feeling this?

Anyone on here have kids, do they have lambo posters on the walls or justin fking bieber?

The under-23 market in western countries is definitely losing interest in cars. Fewer cars, fewer drivers and fewer miles. It is called peak-car and the industry is quietly worried. Too many other distractions now, like the Web, gaming, tougher tests, crazy cost of living / motoring, etc. And when driverless cars eventually take hold, in the 2020s and 2030s, the golden age of the car will unquestionably be over.

Having said that, if anyone has a cool car today (and not an anonymous box), then the reaction from everyone from 3 to 55 years is as strong as it ever was. Thumbsup, car photos, etc. etc. The interest in cars remains high, but there are just too many other things these days to occupy people's time.

[Rickyy]

lamboman100 said:

jimmy156 said:

I'm a petrolhead and a teacher,

I do try to shoe-horn cars into my lessons wherever i can! But from what i can tell kids just aren't into cars like i was when i was a teenager. By kids i mean teenagers under 16, so not old enough to drive.


Anyone else feeling this?

Anyone on here have kids, do they have lambo posters on the walls or justin fking bieber?

The under-23 market in western countries is definitely losing interest in cars. Fewer cars, fewer drivers and fewer miles. It is called peak-car and the industry is quietly worried. Too many other distractions now, like the Web, gaming, tougher tests, crazy cost of living / motoring, etc. And when driverless cars eventually take hold, in the 2020s and 2030s, the golden age of the car will unquestionably be over.

Having said that, if anyone has a cool car today (and not an anonymous box), then the reaction from everyone from 3 to 55 years is as strong as it ever was. Thumbsup, car photos, etc. etc. The interest in cars remains high, but there are just too many other things these days to occupy people's time.

Not to mention the cost of running one! Trying to get insurance for my little Brother on anything for less than £2k is proving a real challenge!