Why aren't young adults into sports cars like years past?

[LStick]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

In 1969, you could buy a Camaro SS/RS for way under $4k.

In 1969, 150 bucks a week was an awesome take home pay for a 40 hours.

I was in High School working part time for 1.80 an hour.

No 69 Camaro for me.

[rebelyell22]

I know a lot of guys my age with sports cars/muscle cars

[6bangerBOOM]

I don't really know that this is completely true. I've always loved cars and many of my friends share this passion as well. We're going through a tumultuous time economically and possibly environmentally, so obviously people buy fuel efficient vehicles and drive them with all manner of snide snobbery (another hasty generalization). But, if the late model Camaro/Mustang/Challenger have proven anything it's that the state of performance vehicle enthusiasm is alive and well, and still able to perpetuate itself within a younger buying audience.

[rebelyell22]

Watch "ThatDudeInBlue"'s videos on youtube. The car culture is definitely alive in my generation

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by SSmoothie

A lot of the them have money but they want to spend it on the latest electronic gadgets, updating every six months for the new option. When I was young after paying all my living expenses I would spend it on my cars. We didn't have cell phone etc. buy.

The cost of a new car isn't even in the same ball park as funding 'typical' gadget buying. Few replace their smartphone on an annual basis, every 6 months is rarer still. The average is something like 1.5-2 years. Tablets would probably be similar, maybe a bit longer. Laptops maybe every 3 years. Video game systems come out every 5-6 years. That works out to somewhere between $50-100/month.

Please tell me where I can buy, insure, and fuel a performance car for that kind of money.

Originally Posted by pickwithaustin

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...

When you adjust for inflation, the minimum wage through most of the 60s and 70s worked out to $19-20k/yr. Today its down at around $15k/yr. That affects things quite a bit

The cost of fueling cars is actually less today than it was 'back in the day'. Sure, gasoline is more expensive but again ... adjust for inflation and that $0.50/gal is up to $2.50-$3.00 (going back to the early 1970s). But the cars now burn 1/2 the fuel (if not 1/3) as they used to. So in the end, it works out cheaper today than 40-45 years ago.

Originally Posted by LStick

In 1969, 150 bucks a week was an awesome take home pay for a 40 hours.

I was in High School working part time for 1.80 an hour.

No 69 Camaro for me.

That was 1969 you say. So adjusting for inflation ... that $1.80/hr would be around to $11.50/hr. A lot of highschool kids would probably love to be making that kind of money. Actually, there's probably a lot of people with a university degree that wouldn't mind making that these days.

[xc_SS/RS]

Money I would say is the primary reason, and a good number of my friends are either into trucks and 4x4's, they have the cars that their parents bought/provided for them still/they want luxury vehicles. Also a large portion of people are getting into the culture that deals with slamming cars to the ground with stupid camber and stupid stretched tires.

[2ss-booya]

because the first question out of their mouths are "what mileage does it get?"

[rebelyell22]

Originally Posted by xc_1le

Money I would say is the primary reason, and a good number of my friends are either into trucks and 4x4's, they have the cars that their parents bought/provided for them still/they want luxury vehicles. Also a large portion of people are getting into the culture that deals with slamming cars to the ground with stupid camber and stupid stretched tires.

Here we do have a LOT of hicks in ragged out z71's with 12 inch lifts. Unfortunately, the "hellaflush" thing is big where I live. Ricers and rednecks... then me lol

[xc_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by rebelyell22

Here we do have a LOT of hicks in ragged out z71's with 12 inch lifts. Unfortunately, the "hellaflush" thing is big where I live. Ricers and rednecks... then me lol

Yup sounds exactly like the kids around where I live plus we have a good number of kids that like to take out their parents really nice cars. Muscle cars aren't exactly that big here. Lots of GTI's, WRX/STI's, and Civic Si's. My brother has a '13 Mustang GT and a guy down the street from us just recently moved from a Challenger SRT8 to a '13 GT500. Otherwise muscle cars aren't too popular.

[PHXLT1]

Originally Posted by 1fastmf

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

People, especially youngsters, are into riches. Sure, a new sports car is nice but if you really want to be noticed then drive luxury.

[Camaro_Corvette]

Like has already been said. Our generation has a whole crop of different problems than the boomers of the 60's. In the 60's average joe with half a degree could get any job he set his mind to. The millennials had to put in 4 more years of school just for a hope of a good life. What did they get at when they turned 22? SCHOOL DEBT! Usually an outrageously high number that is well into the tens of thousands. There goes that performance car they were hoping to get

But wait a minute, every job they apply to requires 3+ years of experience in the field. Thus scaring them off, from even applying for the job. "Screw that performance car, I better get something that will get me by."

Not to mention the insurance costs, plates, and registration for the millennials generation is absolutely a crock of shit.

Then if they have a girlfriend. FORGETTABOUTIT......


It's not that they are not into performance cars. They simply just can't get one when they want to. Then they start having kids, all the sudden they just want a family car, OR something more luxurious for their years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears...


PS: Not to mention that all of our shit is designed to break after 22 months forcing us to buy that shit again. Back in the day, you bought it once, and you were done...

[JAX CAMARO]

I agree with several things that were said and the reality of our kids not being into the same things as us is real. I started working at 14 ( yes still in school) and at 16 bought my first car a 67 Chevelle Malibu and it was great. Oh did I mention it was for $500.00.
At that time I was making like $35.00 a week clear and paid cash for the car. No Insurance then and I moved onto a 1970 Chevelle SS like 4 years later out of school and had my first auto loan for 3 grand. Gas was 50 something cents a gallon and I had Numerous friends that all had muscle cars and the girls loved them. It is very hard to compare money then and now and what you can get for your money today.
And I also had my share of Motorcycles from my first bike in the 70's a 500 Honda thru many others including 4 new Harleys and none of my kids have a muscle car or motorcycle and I don't see any in their future. Different times !
I Love Pie !

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Camaro_Corvette

Like has already been said. Our generation has a whole crop of different problems than the boomers of the 60's. In the 60's average joe with half a degree could get any job he set his mind to. The millennials had to put in 4 more years of school just for a hope of a good life. What did they get at when they turned 22? SCHOOL DEBT! Usually an outrageously high number that is well into the tens of thousands. There goes that performance car they were hoping to get

But wait a minute, every job they apply to requires 3+ years of experience in the field. Thus scaring them off, from even applying for the job. "Screw that performance car, I better get something that will get me by."

Not to mention the insurance costs, plates, and registration for the millennials generation is absolutely a crock of shit.

Then if they have a girlfriend. FORGETTABOUTIT......


It's not that they are not into performance cars. They simply just can't get one when they want to. Then they start having kids, all the sudden they just want a family car, OR something more luxurious for their years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears...


PS: Not to mention that all of our shit is designed to break after 22 months forcing us to buy that shit again. Back in the day, you bought it once, and you were done...

I sometimes wonder how shocked the Camamro5 membership would be to learn that our average moderator was in their mid-20s when they joined the site staff

Hardly any of us owned a 5th gen when we became mods (in some cases because we were mods before Mar 17th, 2009 ... or because of reasons explained within this thread) ... but at the very least, the enthusiasm was there.

[GriffJ]

I'm at the very tail end of Generation X(1980). I had a couple ls1 fourth gens and a 04 GTO in the late 90's and early 2000's. There was a pretty decent young guy car scene during that time here in Austin. My son was born in 2006 and sold my GTO for a SUV. He requires no special seating now so I went back to a muscle car. I was actually surprised after looking at the Austin meetup thread and seeing that it was basically dead. We use to have 40+ cars every weekend in ~2003.

I think there are a few reasons why the younger crowd is less interested.

1. Access to social media/gadgets as mentioned earlier in the thread. These things eat up free time like crazy.

2. Money. Young adults are coming out of college with 80-100k in debt with no real guarantee of a job. A lot of the younger crowd that does drive higher end cars are geeks that have money. They seem to be split between driving the latest battery powered econobox or a performance vehicle.

3. Cost of cars. I bought my low option Z28s for less than 22K new. A V8 now is pushing 35k. Wages haven't increased enough for most people to handle the price increases. The insurance for early 20 year old male on a V8 was insane(I paid 2K+ year) and I would imagine it is even worse now.

4. Urbanization. Another one mentioned earlier in the thread. The 20 somethings with any money all want to live in the middle of downtown here in Austin.

5. Diesel trucks. You rarely saw a modded truck 15 years ago. Now you can't look up without seeing somebody driving a 700HP diesel truck. I think this fad took a lot of the guys who would be driving a muscle car.