No new petrol/diesel heads in sight
Discussion
Discuss... The lack of oomph on the part of the latest generation. They only seem interesting in faeces book and t
tter. If they have a bigger screen then they don't care about CC's. Infact they don't care about cars, less about bikes. I reckon we are dying out. It feels very sad. I have a big TV, a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone.. Yet my car and bike are more important than all this to me. Maybe dial-a-fk-apps rule now, but how limited. Where's it going for fans of the internal combustion engine?
tter. If they have a bigger screen then they don't care about CC's. Infact they don't care about cars, less about bikes. I reckon we are dying out. It feels very sad. I have a big TV, a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone.. Yet my car and bike are more important than all this to me. Maybe dial-a-fk-apps rule now, but how limited. Where's it going for fans of the internal combustion engine?I dunno.. I don't think there's that much of a lack. There's still loads of 'kids' at the local car park on a weekday evening in their cars. Some modded, some not. I'm sure some of them will continue on to become petrolheads.
My boy's 3 and loves cars and bikes. Hopefully, a little of my petrolheadery will rub off on him as he grows.
I don't think there's less desire or interest, but I do think that it's maybe less accessible with current cars being so much more of a 'sealed unit' and so more difficult to fettle on a budget on your own drive.
My boy's 3 and loves cars and bikes. Hopefully, a little of my petrolheadery will rub off on him as he grows.
I don't think there's less desire or interest, but I do think that it's maybe less accessible with current cars being so much more of a 'sealed unit' and so more difficult to fettle on a budget on your own drive.
I'm mid-20s and I feel very young if I go into a motorcycle dealership! Speaking to my bike instructor a while back, he reckoned splitting the test into two modules, followed by the ever more complicated age-based licences applied to young people who want to learn to ride have turned a generation off biking. His main business in under-30s was young men wanting to learn to ride 125s for work commuting and otherwise not being interested in graduating to bigger bikes.
feef said:
I don't think there's less desire or interest, but I do think that it's maybe less accessible with current cars being so much more of a 'sealed unit' and so more difficult to fettle on a budget on your own drive.
Completely agree with this. You can't do anything except routine servicing on a modern car without access to prohibitively expensive equipment. Even replacing a battery on many cars now requires an adaptation to be run.As a consequence, cars are less appealing. How many of us "bonded" with first cars by taking them apart, fettling, tweaking, making cock ups and fixing them etc. I think if I grew up with today's cars, I'd probably have a different interest. The vast majority are little more than appliances. Ruthlessly efficient and better on paper than the last generation, but completely lacking any form of interactivity or character.
Plenty of them round here. I live near a college and every day I see young blokes and their cars. They seem just as much petrol heads as I was when I was at college. Come to think of it, I couldn't afford a car then so at least they're driving earlier than I was.
At local classic car shows there's always a good crowd of younger enthusiasts with cars I reckon are far too recent to be called 'classics' but are as well cared for as the older stuff people my age drive.
At local classic car shows there's always a good crowd of younger enthusiasts with cars I reckon are far too recent to be called 'classics' but are as well cared for as the older stuff people my age drive.
Mastodon2 said:
I'm mid-20s and I feel very young if I go into a motorcycle dealership! Speaking to my bike instructor a while back, he reckoned splitting the test into two modules, followed by the ever more complicated age-based licences applied to young people who want to learn to ride have turned a generation off biking. His main business in under-30s was young men wanting to learn to ride 125s for work commuting and otherwise not being interested in graduating to bigger bikes.
I dunno, I see far more younger folk on bikes now than I used to. Smaller capacity engined bikes (51-125cc) are the biggest selling sector of the bike market, and seeing a decent growth over the last year (up 10%)Test passes have been increasing, from 32,000 in 09/10 to 45,000 in 12/13
http://www.motorcycletrader.net/img.aspx?OBJ_ID=55...
I've always been interested in cars and how things work ever since a very young age, thanks in part to my dad being such a petrolhead too. All I can remember is spending weekends at car shows and fiddling about under bonnets with him. Before long I started collecting old farm machinery and motorbikes to learn the basics, then slowly the toys got bigger!
It can seem difficult to access from an insurance standpoint etc. but it's all about having priorities. As has been said car culture has evolved a fair bit. You do get the sit down the park in your Fiesta brigade, you get the modifiers, you get old fashioned collector/tinkerers like myself. I know a fair few mates who are well into their cars but I imagine less so than years ago. After all in the 1980s for example it was a lot easier to take your average car to pieces and change it/make it go faster than what it is now in the age of computers and electrickery.
I go to an engineering college part time with my job and find it quite strange that the majority of my classmates have absolutely no mechanical interest/petrolhead-type hobbies outside of their career. There's a couple of gamer geeks and fair play, everyone to their own. I'd much rather be outside and enjoying real life though.
It can seem difficult to access from an insurance standpoint etc. but it's all about having priorities. As has been said car culture has evolved a fair bit. You do get the sit down the park in your Fiesta brigade, you get the modifiers, you get old fashioned collector/tinkerers like myself. I know a fair few mates who are well into their cars but I imagine less so than years ago. After all in the 1980s for example it was a lot easier to take your average car to pieces and change it/make it go faster than what it is now in the age of computers and electrickery.
I go to an engineering college part time with my job and find it quite strange that the majority of my classmates have absolutely no mechanical interest/petrolhead-type hobbies outside of their career. There's a couple of gamer geeks and fair play, everyone to their own. I'd much rather be outside and enjoying real life though.
It's sadly true as most very young buyers tend to go for the newest boring car/bike
they can afford, as the age of said vehicle is all that matters (white good). I'm tired of people telling me that a 12 year old car is very old and will break constantly and also people calling Porsche 996's classics. WTF?
I'm 25 and I do run a silver Passat Tdi as a daily, but only as a cunning disguise to appear ordinary and free some money for a very unusual choice of other machines that only true pistonheads could appreciate. I'm certain nobody would be able to match my very random collection:
79 Honda CX 500
71 Fiat 500
03 Buell XB9S
54 SHL M04 (just google the damn thing)
71 Ural M63
56 Ural M72
Searching for a Wiatka scooter to restore BTW, but I'm still sane
To cut things short: I may be one of many exceptions to the rule, so please don't generalize.
they can afford, as the age of said vehicle is all that matters (white good). I'm tired of people telling me that a 12 year old car is very old and will break constantly and also people calling Porsche 996's classics. WTF?
I'm 25 and I do run a silver Passat Tdi as a daily, but only as a cunning disguise to appear ordinary and free some money for a very unusual choice of other machines that only true pistonheads could appreciate. I'm certain nobody would be able to match my very random collection:
79 Honda CX 500
71 Fiat 500
03 Buell XB9S
54 SHL M04 (just google the damn thing)
71 Ural M63
56 Ural M72
Searching for a Wiatka scooter to restore BTW, but I'm still sane
To cut things short: I may be one of many exceptions to the rule, so please don't generalize.
I get a lot of young kids, 12 - 16 come and look in my w/shop to see what I guess would be what they call "see what that mad old git is up to now with those cool cars"
One of them, young Josh just turned 15 helps out on Saturdays and holidays is almost my adopted son now! A right petrol head and picking up all my bad habits too. Nice to pass something on to the younger ones.....
One of them, young Josh just turned 15 helps out on Saturdays and holidays is almost my adopted son now! A right petrol head and picking up all my bad habits too. Nice to pass something on to the younger ones.....
My parents were never petrolheads, but my grandfather was. I am a car fanatic of any kind at 18 and have loved them as long as I can remember. The one car me and my dad both obsess over owning an E24 635CSi. I have a few friends who love cars too and bikes. My mum won't let me own a bike though...
I still think there are a good number of younger enthusiasts out there, just as has been mentioned, insurance costs hinder many. Also as the job market isn't to strong and many go to uni where they have no money, a large number of would be enthusiasts can't indulge. And of course there is a vast majority who don't give a st
Also with modern cars, there isn't a lot you can do to them especially with insurance as it is, therefore your young petrol head now has a financed audi a3 which he/she may wash occasionally
However I'm 22 And would consider my petrol head and have a fair amount of friends who are, of which have an interesting assortment of cars. I sold my first classic to someone who was 19 and had had some interesting cars, early BMW's etc.
So all in all there probably aren't as many up and coming petrol heads as there used to be, but there's still a decent amount of younguns who are
Faeces book and tter 
tAlso with modern cars, there isn't a lot you can do to them especially with insurance as it is, therefore your young petrol head now has a financed audi a3 which he/she may wash occasionally
However I'm 22 And would consider my petrol head and have a fair amount of friends who are, of which have an interesting assortment of cars. I sold my first classic to someone who was 19 and had had some interesting cars, early BMW's etc.
So all in all there probably aren't as many up and coming petrol heads as there used to be, but there's still a decent amount of younguns who are
Faeces book and t
ter HertsBiker said:
Discuss... The lack of oomph on the part of the latest generation. They only seem interesting in faeces book and ttter. If they have a bigger screen then they don't care about CC's. Infact they don't care about cars, less about bikes. I reckon we are dying out. It feels very sad. I have a big TV, a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone.. Yet my car and bike are more important than all this to me. Maybe dial-a-fk-apps rule now, but how limited. Where's it going for fans of the internal combustion engine?
You're probably a middle aged man with little or no interaction with young people and maybe feel slightly out of pace with what the "latest generation" are up to. If you see young people on public transport or coffee houses and see them with their electronic gear then that's what you'll associate them with.tter. If they have a bigger screen then they don't care about CC's. Infact they don't care about cars, less about bikes. I reckon we are dying out. It feels very sad. I have a big TV, a laptop, a tablet and a smart phone.. Yet my car and bike are more important than all this to me. Maybe dial-a-fk-apps rule now, but how limited. Where's it going for fans of the internal combustion engine?Similarly, if you go to a car show, you're less likely to find younger people there with their cars because they don't have the cash. It's people in their 30s and 40s who have the money to spend on sports cars, for the most part. My friends are all quite into their cars but to buy anything reasonably cool or sporty is horrific on the insurance.
Maybe you should spend more time with younger people, understanding what makes them tick and maybe share a bit of your motoring wisdom, rather than berating them. After all, we decide which care home you go in to
feef said:
I dunno, I see far more younger folk on bikes now than I used to. Smaller capacity engined bikes (51-125cc) are the biggest selling sector of the bike market, and seeing a decent growth over the last year (up 10%)
Test passes have been increasing, from 32,000 in 09/10 to 45,000 in 12/13
http://www.motorcycletrader.net/img.aspx?OBJ_ID=55...
It isn't that simple. 125s are growing due to commuters switching because of the very easy 100+ mpg, not for petrol-headedness. Test passes only increased in 2012/2013 because of the licence changes, and people wanting to get it done before it was too late. Test passes have been increasing, from 32,000 in 09/10 to 45,000 in 12/13
http://www.motorcycletrader.net/img.aspx?OBJ_ID=55...
CBR JGWRR said:
feef said:
I dunno, I see far more younger folk on bikes now than I used to. Smaller capacity engined bikes (51-125cc) are the biggest selling sector of the bike market, and seeing a decent growth over the last year (up 10%)
Test passes have been increasing, from 32,000 in 09/10 to 45,000 in 12/13
http://www.motorcycletrader.net/img.aspx?OBJ_ID=55...
It isn't that simple. 125s are growing due to commuters switching because of the very easy 100+ mpg, not for petrol-headedness. Test passes only increased in 2012/2013 because of the licence changes, and people wanting to get it done before it was too late. Test passes have been increasing, from 32,000 in 09/10 to 45,000 in 12/13
http://www.motorcycletrader.net/img.aspx?OBJ_ID=55...
I'd love to learn to ride but there is no way I'm getting on a 125. I had a quick Google and apparently the super sporty CBR125rs I see about get to 60 in 10 or 11 seconds on a good run... That's appalling. But in order to get the seat time I'd have to get one, in which case I don't and moan on forums about how I don't have a bike license
.How are you measuring this lack of interest? By your own encounters? By what young people drive?
I've met loads of young people who are mad on cars. The internet is full of them, all of the car spotters are young chaps, every show Ive been to has had a large number of young people as have race events. So I fail to see how you've come to your conclusion in truth!
Tbh, cars are pricey, as is insurance. You aren't going to see many under 25s showing off their cars at meets - as they are rarely cars to show off, nor are you going to be able to 'spot' car people by what they drive as such, as students rarely bomb around in tvrs like all you oldies can with your low premiums and mid life crisis funds.
I've met loads of young people who are mad on cars. The internet is full of them, all of the car spotters are young chaps, every show Ive been to has had a large number of young people as have race events. So I fail to see how you've come to your conclusion in truth!
Tbh, cars are pricey, as is insurance. You aren't going to see many under 25s showing off their cars at meets - as they are rarely cars to show off, nor are you going to be able to 'spot' car people by what they drive as such, as students rarely bomb around in tvrs like all you oldies can with your low premiums and mid life crisis funds.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff