Well you asked for opinions and here’s mine, sorry it will be a bit of a rant.
I’m sick of baby boomers looking down at younger generations for everything they do. “Well back in my day, yada, yada, BS.” “These modern kids and their cell phones blah, blah, blah.” It’s all the same BS with EVERYTHING.
Here’s the real deal: wages have been stagnant in the US since the 1970s (inflation adjusted). Housing prices have sky rocketed thanks to idiotic government backed loans (simplified explanation). Cost of education has sky rocketed thanks to idiotic government backed loans (my wife works in higher education, the waste is mind boggling). The value of higher education is the lowest in history because every kid growing up was told to go to college and financed the trip with afore mentioned idiotic government back loans. The US has some of the highest income disparity in human history (most of the wealth is concentrated in boomers). Cars are more expensive mostly due to idiotic government regulations. There are vastly more cars on the road, making most trips a stop and go mess. Speed cameras and stop light cameras increase the likelihood of a ticket. The cost of insurance is insane. For instance, after I taught my then girlfriend now wife how to drive, she bought a beater to get around in. The cost to insure was around $1,200 for six months, and that was state minimum coverage! The car only cost $3,400!
These boomer idiots really think some 18 year old kid is going to work a paper route (has to have health care now so he’s more expensive to employ) for a couple of summers then go out and buy a 30K Mustang!!! A 30K Mustang doesn’t even have a V8. The ironic thing about it is that if this 18 year managed to get a good job and buy that Mustang there would be another article about “irresponsible” Millennials (hate that term) that buys “toys” instead of starting a family. Can’t win for losing.
Here’s the real deal. Car culture isn’t dead, cruise ins are dead, at least as far as people under 40 are concerned. Why in the world would I go to a cruise in and sit under the hot sun next to my car so I could talk to old boomers, like in this article, about how terrible my generation is? Go to one of the often sold out track days at your local track and guess what, there are young people all over the place. Car companies aren’t making track day specials because they DON’T sell. The sun does not rise and fall on a 46 Ford or old Chevy pick up. Why in gods name would anybody but a boomer care about modding the Honda accords of their day? No, you’ll see a twenty year old saving up and slowly turning his Miata into a racecar (Miata’s are girl cars, right Boomers) or some up and coming corporate exec tracking his 911 GT3 (the car so in demand that used versions can cost MORE than brand new cars).
In the end, when I drive my C5 Vette, little boys…and sometimes girls, still stop and point. People will always love cars.
Car Culture is NOT dying. It is changing. Lots of Millennials are buying cheaper cars, such as rat rods and tuner equivalents to rat rods. Also, Cruise-Ins are not dead nationwide, in Northern Indiana there are many cruise-ins that include several Millennials alongside baby boomers, and they have a mix of classics, hot rods, muscle cars, modified pickup trucks, rat rods, European sports cars, tuners, modern muscle and occasional supercars. Not all boomers have bad views of Millennials and their cars.
Car culture isnt dead. its just changing. Following the trail of fads (although I dont understand todays fads). Im 30, have a family, and have only owned 2 cars in my time driving,
First car I had was a 2001 hyundai Tiburon. Not exactly a tuner car but there was some things you could do for them, still slow as crap though and not impressive. There were no amazing cars to be bought for cheap at the time, nothing struck me as this is an affordable sports car for a kid. I drive a 2009 cobalt now with some little modifications here and there and I see kids these days buying used Evos, STis, BMW M3s, mustang 5.0s and wonder where the hell were these cars when I was 18 looking for affordable used cars. lol.
The part I dont understand is taking these amazing driving machines and purposely making them low and slow with extreme camber. I hate buying tires, I guess kids love buying tires these days.