A year ago, we were contacted by Liane Green, then a student at Coventry University in England, who was engaged in a research project about classic car ownership and the culture that surrounds it.
“My focus is to present the current problem facing the older generation of the Austin 7 motor car and community who are hoping to raise the profile and engage a younger generation of car enthusiasts,” she noted.
We responded with some thoughts and had forgotten about the email exchange until hearing again from her. The project has led to a video series with a general theme of “Cars Outliving Their Owners” and how to engage not only what typically is thought of as the younger generation, but even the more middle-aged (40s and 50s) generation.
“The current car owner dilemma is that the cars are quite likely to outlive their aging owners and community,” Green writes in the text that accompanies Episode 1, “so this series will bring experts and passionate owners and car clubs in the hope to build a future proofing strategy to encourage younger generations to take guardianship of these lovely historical motorcars.
“In the next episode we find out how classic car owners across the world are sharing their passion for preserving heritage vehicles with younger generations.”
Here’s the Episode 1 video:
In the video, mention is made of a program at the British Motor Museum that allows car owners to loan a vehicle to a younger driver for a year. Here’s a link to our story about the effort.
For more information, you might want to view the pilot episode of Green’s series.
I share my love of old cars by driving mine as often as possible. I am happy to speak with anyone who takes notice of my sparkling Custom color maroon and white 71 LTD convertible. Kids look at in awe because they likely never saw such a land yacht with a satisfying rumble from it’s headers. Same goes for my motorcycle. You just gotta share/show off what you love so others may appreciate it. C’mon, get those special rides out on the street!
I drive my 31 Franklin to get groceries normally on Sunday afternoons. It isn’t long before I have a small gathering around the car. “They had air cooled motors in 1931???” “You just drove that 20 miles here???” “Why does it smell like that ???” “Those rims are really wood??” “You mean you have to hand oil the rocker arms every 2 weeks??”
I think this is a great idea! These cars need driven, or else they will begin to dry rot; and this hobby/community needs to grow in order to survive and thrive. Although I know many older collectors will disagree with me. Those who don’t drive their cars, and those who only want to pay lip service to attracting younger enthusiasts will grumble that they don’t want any **** kids messing with their cars! But then it’s those same people who complain the loudest that there seems to be no interest among younger generations towards the vehicles that they own and love, and paid a ton of money for.
To this group I would beg the question how do you expect anyone else to have any interest in the same type of automobile you love/collect if you never allow them to have any exposure to it and keep it constantly out of reach?