The problem is there is no real youngins stepping up. None of these new members really want to come out. If big meets started again it would kindle the fire to bring people out more.
I do have lost all motivation on my car. Drove a mear 1000 miles or so since the swap. Washed it twice this year.
I think OSYN needs to hold a montly Sunday or Saturday night get together. Maybe going to old locations or new ones. It seems people are willing to come to meets if there’s interest. Having you back it will create the interest.
I see a very fundamental reason why so many people start to become less concerned with their cars. Investment.
The people that want to mod cars the most, don’t always have the money to do it properly, and the people that do have the money, often want to invest in more important things. (see: House, retirement, etc.)
It’s a process of stabilizing your life and getting all other finances squared away before you can really enjoy dumping money into a car. You start to realize how many other things are more enjoyable than bleeding knuckles on a dirty garage floor. Like having a more enjoyable social life, other finer things like boats and such. Don’t get me wrong, I love finishing a project, but I love all types of projects, not just cars.
Newman has a good process. He has an awesome, fulfilling project that I’m sure he will be happy with when he’s done, yet he balances his life out to enjoy other things, hence not working on said project during the summer. Kudos to him for that.
Sold my two cars last year, bought an econobox and a house.
This summer I have had zero interest in car stuff. I’ve been too busy buying shit at home depot, fixing up the place, then using all my credit card miles on home depot gift cards, then repeat the cycle.
Still love having a fun DD. but I dont spend all my $ on it, leaving things more or less stock and enjoying factory reliability.
:shrug:
I have become less concerned with building a fast car as I can now buy a fast car :shrug: Fuck modding and sitting on my back when I can have someone else do it and not have to worry about it.
so? I enjoy it haha
It’s sad to see the majority of the people on the site losing interest in cars but there is a new wave of people signing up. I wish I still had the CRX…i really miss having something to tinker with now and then…hopefull I’ll have a replacement very soon :snky:
Most of which are weak sauce like us or noobs that knowone would hang out with anyway, I see nothing good in the future form this “New wave”
yeah but most of them seem to know what they are talking about and dont seem like douchebags…but you think differently because some of them drive cobalts 
cars getting old, your getting old, what more is there to say?
Josh, I feel like what you said parallels a lot of what I feel as well. I put about 300 miles on the FD this year, never had it tuned, fuck, i never even changed the oil!! I just picked up a new (to me) DD and I was more excited about that then the fast car. I think that the spark will come back, you just never know when or where.
Im referring to the fact that they rarely post and never show up to events, that isnt a revival of the scene.
For me it comes in waves.
I have not had a toy of my own for many many years while the business was open, no shop race car, nothing. I just could not afford it with having bills and employees and what not. So I got my speed bug taken care of when working on everyone elses cars.
Sometimes I just want to be out of it then sometimes I am interested again. I like the intellectual stimulation that comes with diagnosing difficult problems or helping people get to the next level. That in itself is what revitalizes my interest. The last time my interest was revitalized for personal fun “hobby” time was when newman started the bmw project. Other than that it’s my profession so I stay on top of it and keep educated because that’s what you do in a profession. I didn’t do it because it was super interesting as much. I love and will never trade my life experience with cars. It has made me who I am and showed me soo many things that I value as priceless. I have traveled, performed and experienced soo many different things thanks to the automotive scene that I could write a very interesting book about it all. Automobiles have helped me become educated in soo many different areas of life as they encompass soo much of our daily lives, more than most people realize. From the construction, workings, social aspects. Everything. Cars permeate every sector of business, industry and life for almost all Americans. It’s like oil. Until you experience it, you really have to sit down to think about it in order to realize this truth. As a result of that I have a rich and vibrant pallet of knowledge in many areas all somehow connected to cars or because of being in touch with cars.
I have my E30 now. I love it. It’s the best car I have ever owned. I want to mod it. However the sensible (read poor) side of me says no.
My passions have shifted for bikes, which is kind of a gray statement because if anything I have more bikes in my personal history than anything. Having grown up working on Harleys and being around it my ENTIRE life, bikes are more engrained in me that cars. I have just chosen to shift my personal focus to bikes more so in the last couple years.
They are cheap to operate, fast and alot of the times fast stock, fun. The speed per dollar is much higher compared to cars. To me, riding is Zen. I feel soo much better whenever I ride. You are in touch with everything around you and the joy of your overall experience is multiplied that much more. To me there is nothing like it and almost to difficult to describe with words.
However, cars are a cornerstone in the person that is me. They will always be there like it or not.
Our constantly expanding customer base brings in new people that are fresh and exited as ever about building their cars and that keeps me pumped up about building and tuning them.
I find our core audiences are 16-24 and 28-40. There’s a gap in the middle where many people get out of it for a bit, generally for financial reasons, usually to buy a house, and then hop back in. The years each person does that seem to vary a little, but not a heck of a lot. By 30, most seem to come back, and some never leave.
I’ve also found that it’s not that these people who take a break lose their love for cars. They don’t put cars aside for another hobby, like say building model airplanes, they just put their hobby aside in general, put their head down, get a house and settle down, then “find” the money for their hobby again.
Again these are just generalizations, but I’ve seen a great deal of this over the years so I feel they’re pretty accurate.
Thats a great bit of insight Mike… never thought of polling you guys. :tup:
:word: That’s kind of what I’ve been doing. I’ve got the parts & funds, but none of the time. I’ve been spending all of my freetime working on a few projects in the house or with my wife who is recovering from a knee injury. I haven’t touched the “fun” car in my driveway in ~2 months. But winter’s coming 
Great thread here, very revealing. I’ll add my insight.
I’m in almost 100% agreement with Jay, Kyle, and Josh/s. I’m 24 now, and already have a couple cars that I had lusted for for so long. I’m quite content at the moment. The passion is always there still, but with the change in the scene with the people (ie: circa 2002-2003, BTC, meets at Beaver Island, etc.), I find myself enjoying the cars on my own accord now, more than at local meets and events. But in recent years, more than ever, I have mainly done a lot with the Kingston MR2 guys, Toronto Supra Club, and Lotus Limited events, when the time has allowed. Even that is rare though too. Add to the fact, I’ve owned a house for over a year now, have had a full time job for a couple years now, and it all just gives you a slightly diff. perspective. I’m just thankful for all the cool people I’ve met through the scene through the years. I’ve truly made some friendships that will long outweigh the nuts and bolts that make up a car.
What’s even crazier than all that though, is that I’m prob. one of the only guys that still has the car they entered the scene with. I’m glad I’m still excited about it as ever. Can’t get enough of it, even after over 6 years.
Aww…Joe…I think I just teared up a bit.
I find it fun to change the focus every once in a while and let some other projects sit. then in a few months, it is fun and exciting to work on it again. im 29.
Brian
+1
still have my 1986 fiero gt that i bought way back in July 1998, thats over 10 years for me. pretty good as seeing that just within the last 12 monthes i have turned over 5 cars/suvs.
A lot of this is true, as you get older most of the time priorities change and life changes. I know I personally have not lost interest at all, but my lack of free time stopped me from doing pretty much everything I wanted to do car wise this past spring/summer.
With work during the week and being gone basically every single weekend throughout the summer it made it hard to get anything accomplished. I think I only probably put 1,500 miles on my car this year and it’s been sitting since the beginning of August because of other things going on in life. Thinking about that sort of pisses me off though and makes me want to plan out spring/summer stuff better in the future.
Although since I’ve been living down in Texas it made me realize we have so much less time to enjoy cars and work on them than any people around the country that live in more favorable weather environments. Although I know every year when I pull my car out of storage after not driving it for 4.5 - 5 months it makes me appreciate it more.