How To Get the Younger Generation Interested in Cars

[admin]

My youngest son never really showed much interest in cars growing up. Now that he has his learners permit, his perspective is changing. Ever since I let him …

[Ed Poisson]

As a kid I'd do complete tear down of bicycles, that escalated into fixing cars as an adult.

[gitplayer55]

Not a chance in Germany. As you might know or not, since several months there are protests by students in several cities every friday called "Fridays for future", claiming that climate change will kill the planet in 10 years basically. Google the name Greta Thunberg and you know the types of people I mean. You won't be able to get them interested in cars. They are lost.

[Anna Gump]

I was always more interested in animals and nature and whatnot (I still am but that's besides the point). Cars were a very complicated mystery to me, and my dad and my brothers were the smartest people in the world because they knew everything about cars and how to fix them and things of that nature. I had a small interest in them, mainly because one of my brothers spent about half his life building his own race cars – race cars are cool, but it wasn't enough to get me into working on or building my own cars.
I never took a serious interest until about 21 after getting my second CRX and having to basically rebuild it from the bottom up because the thing had about 300k on it and really wasn't safe to drive. Now I'm more interested, it's made me more proactive about maintenance and repairing broken things sooner rather than later, I have ideas about things I want to do to my cars, etc. Some things remain a mystery to me, but there's always room to learn and that's what I plan on doing.

[Nick]

My second car was a manual. I thank my dad for introducing it to me. Both the cars I have now are manual. I've always been into taking things apart or at least knowing how things work. I grew up with legos and things to make me creative about the world around me. Pretty sure you can tell I'm not a Millennial at this point right?

[Joseph Cota]

In high school my best friends parents gave him an option when he turned 16. He could have a cheap crapcan of a car or they would buy him a chassis of whatever was straight at the junk yard and they would pay for the parts to build it. He chose option B and he found a 77 camaro rolling chassis. It took both of us 2 years to get that car built and running the way a bit of classic muscle car should. It was fun to drive and even though it had a considerable amount of power we both respected the work we had put into the car and I won't say we treated it with kid gloves since we did drive it and it went to it's natural environment of the drag strip a few times. We never felt the need to overdrive it or push it harder than we were comfortable. It was one of the few cars that I actually felt slightly scared to actually drive. It could pull high 9s. But even though it was my friends car and not mine it's actually what got me into cars both driving and wrenching.

[commodore665]

I think out of my whole family I'm the only motorhead

[Craig W]

Manufacturers don't make anything affordable worth talking about, that's the real problem and the fact that newer cars are mostly the same platform

[Gordon Huynh]

Being an early 30s millennial big city slicker, I wonder if the younger generation will even want to drive once self-driving cars will be on the road by the time they grow up…

If you live in a big city with insanely high cost of living, there's already so much tech services, car sharing, public transportation, urban/community planning that make life so convenient now that cars aren't necessary at all. BUT….god dammit, I loved cars since I was a kid and I can't live without my precious car.

[Daniel C]

My brothers and I use to wait for our parents to go to the movies, so we could steal the old man's truck, 1973 Ford F-100 with a 4 speed, and drive around on the country back roads at the age of 12.

[Trevor Rea-Stewart]

so cool dad!!!

[Otis PL]

Show him the versatility of an early Dodge Tradesman or Ford Econoline Shag Wagon Cargo Van. Essential equipment for a teen's social life.

[Burnitzki Cars & More]

I got really interested in cars after driving a 63’ Valiant.

[Automobilie]

I wasn't interested in cars until I got my own.

[Shawn Taylor]

I think manual transmissions will have a part in the future generations love of cars.

[László Tóth]

This does not work for my 9 years old boy. He has a chance to travel in a Lotus Evora and a Lotus 340R and he shows no interest at all. We work on these cars too and he never had a deeper look at them. He thinks the newer car the better. Not because they are any cool but because new is always superior to used in everything. I am doing something wrong, I know.

[Joshua Hussey]

I don't have kids of my own, but I think you've hit the nail on the head. If you put young people in something cool to drive they'll want to know more, to be "cool". I personally don't feel you "drive" an automatic, you just get in and fade out while you move from point A to point B. With a manual car however it is an engaging experience, and if it's in a fun car to drive such as your lovely GSR then the experience is that much more exciting. It saddens me that manufacturers are getting away from manual transmissions.

[TheDarkstar826]

To be honest, I hate owning a car…. I only like using your videos to repair my car and That's it. Plus, I could care less if my car is getting rusted too. I dont know why I feel this way about cars. I just find it annoying. No joke… i rather ride a skateboard, 3d print stuff, play games and learn science stuff.

[Nathan]

My dad was a hot rodder well he grew up during the muscle car era and owned a few when I was young as well loved them he would do donuts and burnouts. 2 of the coolest he had when I was around was a dodge dart, ranchero and dodge demon. But I always heard stories of his mustangs, fairlanes and torinos.

[WeAreTwoDoorsDown]

My interest in cars started with watching channels like yours, ThatDudeInBlue, and MightyCarMods.
Then, on a road trip to Las Vegas with my dad, we got passed by a Nissan 370z, and he commented how a car like that is the perfect car for someone without kids to just go on a trip with.
Later, I was going into a Best Buy with my dad, and we walked past a Honda CBR600RR in the parking lot. I noticed the tachometer ended at 20,000rpm and was immediately interested.
I decided I wanted a motorcycle as my first vehicle. I asked my mom, and somehow she agreed. She bought me a used 2009 Ninja 650R, and I learned to drive (ride) manual on it. I've dropped it several times, but I'll still never sell it.
A few months later, I was rear-ended in my high school parking lot, and insurance declared the bike totaled. We bought it back, but couldn't afford to make it road legal again.
We bought a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria at auction, as it has always been my dream car. It has been very reliable, and gotten me and my family everywhere we ever needed to go.
Both of these vehicles will never leave my ownership. The Crown Victoria will be turned into a vehicle honoring fallen police officers. The Ninja 650 will be put on a shelf and retired, since the cost to restore it to original condition is more than just buying a new one.

[ShopTalkWithJason]

I don't care if the younger generation gets into cars. In fact, I prefer they don't because that means more cool shit at better prices for me.

[Phil Ricci]

Yes, put him behind the wheel of a cool car, but also, he's doing something with his dad every day.

[Johnnie Burkhalter]

I used to be so unknowledgeable about cars I assumed that reverse engaged rear wheel drive in my moms civic

[Sean Slater]

I am 24, and i really love cars. But i probably only do because i had to work on tractors and lawn equipment as a kid.

[Ian Yeh]

I have two boys, one just turned 10, and the other one is 5. The 10 year old loves cars, and he got that from me by catching the car bug. The 5 year old is interested in cars, but really aren't into it. My 10 year old, starting from when he was about 2, was in love with cars, and could name off every single Hot Wheels car he owned, loved building Hot Wheels tracks with me, and now we play Forza and Forza Horizon games on the XBox. I have also let him sit on my lap behind the wheel of my car, letting him take control of the steering, while I work the pedals. I want to think he picked up his interest in cars through me, by being around me being crazy about cars. He's even pretty decent at driving go karts, and has posted some pretty good lap times.

The 5 year old likes the idea of cars, and that it can take us to places. He loves my car. Whenever we go somewhere, he wants to ride in my car, and gets somewhat disappointed when we tell them we are going in my wife's car. He plays some of the Forza games sometimes, but he wouldn't be heartbroken if that wasn't around.

My point is, cars are an acquired taste. If your kids spends any time with you, and they end up being car crazy, then you've introduced them to it. Embrace that, and cultivate that, as it is a perfectly healthy thing to get into, as long as they don't end up doing stupid stuff like street racing, or customizing their cars with loud exhaust and loud stereo setups to annoy people. Take them to car races, car shows, and play video games with them. Teaching them to drive is also a great time to bond and share that passion. But if your kid is not into cars, don't force it on them. Teach them the basics that are considered life skills (change the oil, change a flat, check the car before a long trip, wash/detail the car). Embrace other things that they are into, and maybe you'll find yourself a new hobby along the way. I will never admit it, but my kids are constantly teaching me new things every day.

[Aj Bodin]

1979 Chevy Luv was the first car I worked on, got me interested, that 60hp Isuzu was easy to work on

[madjak30]

Great topic!
I think just having a cool car that they want to be seen in gives them an interest 😎

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