What happened to young people and driving culture?

[Wageslave]

Every generation has had those problems. When I first went to college, income based payment wasn't a thing. Instead you had loans that couldn't be discharged in bankruptcy, AND, there was no reduced payment.

Can't afford it? Tough cookies, we're garnishing your wages, and taking your cars and houses for delinquency after going to court.

You don't have to deal with that. EVER.

Medical bills without insurance? Sure, but a bankruptcy fixes that, IF you choose to go without in the first place. I know plenty of people (not all mind you) who plead the arguments I hear here but have to get the latest iphones, or 120/mo cable TV package, xbox live gaming pkus internet packages...and all other kinds of "luxuries" the rest of the world has done without through history. Either you're so so poor without assets there's low income state provided care, or, you make it a higher priority. Even the Starbucks craze, or a lot of the food kids eat... man, spam as part of a meal to replace meat that was too expensive just ain't even a thing anymore, don't get me started on that.

(I do agree with base depreciation for certain makes and models... otherwise wed all love to have that aston martin and ferrari parked next to a Cummins diesel in the driveway. supply and demand, it's always been like that too, not just recently.)

Very very little of what we considered as was "fun" in my days in the 80s/90s is a felony today. In fact, I really can't think of one example?

And news flash.... crazy girls have been a thing as long as there have been girls. Not a new phenomenon. ; )

I forgot all the parks and fields were privatized and closed. We used to have 20 kids show up with one ball and play for hours. Maybe that's been made a felony too. Or bike riding. Or dropping $20 on a fishing license? Kids can be kids if they want. They just aren't interested unless it's new, trendy, and expensive.

FWIW, there's generations beyond the boomers in the military. Luckily, there's enough non-cry babies to support minimal staffing. Although, there IS a legitimate talent shortage and problem with fitness standards and new recruits vs earlier years...

I'll say this, then I am done.

As far as student loans go, that problem is just as bad now as it was then. Those debts will still haunt you forever, plus as long as you have them you cannot get a loan from the bank for anything that doesn't have it's own equity for fear that you roll whatever money you get from the bank into the student loan debt and then file bankruptcy to clear the debt. Add that to the relaxed interest rate controls on student loans now, and you can be screwed for most of your adult life pretty quickly.

As far as medical debt, it would cost me about $600-1000 a month for personal health insurance. I don't think doing away with cable and XBOX Live is going to fill that hole in my budget. Not even skipping the avocado toast is going to do it. That is like buying a brand new iPhone every month for the rest of your life.

As far as felonies go, drag racing your friends with that project car is called Reckless Driving now a days. Booze cruising is called Underage Drinking and DUI. Maybe you and your friends did none of these things, but a lot of others did.

Also, we live in a day and age where a girl can say that you sexually assaulted them with no proof, and if you can't conclusively prove that it could not have happened, you are going to jail. If you still can't prove that it didn't happen at trial, you go to prison. Laws these days make dating a borderline dangerous proposition.

As far as outdoor activities, you can blame years of helicopter parenting and telling kids that every person they meet is a pedophile and a murderer, and that anywhere out of Mommy's sight is a scary place.

 

[ck80]

I'll say this, then I am done.

As far as student loans go, that problem is just as bad now as it was then. Those debts will still haunt you forever, plus as long as you have them you cannot get a loan from the bank for anything that doesn't have it's own equity for fear that you roll whatever money you get from the bank into the student loan debt and then file bankruptcy to clear the debt. Add that to the relaxed interest rate controls on student loans now, and you can be screwed for most of your adult life pretty quickly.

As far as medical debt, it would cost me about $600-1000 a month for personal health insurance. I don't think doing away with cable and XBOX Live is going to fill that hole in my budget. Not even skipping the avocado toast is going to do it. That is like buying a brand new iPhone every month for the rest of your life.

As far as felonies go, drag racing your friends with that project car is called Reckless Driving now a days. Booze cruising is called Underage Drinking and DUI. Maybe you and your friends did none of these things, but a lot of others did.

Also, we live in a day and age where a girl can say that you sexually assaulted them with no proof, and if you can't conclusively prove that it could not have happened, you are going to jail. If you still can't prove that it didn't happen at trial, you go to prison. Laws these days make dating a borderline dangerous proposition.

As far as outdoor activities, you can blame years of helicopter parenting and telling kids that every person they meet is a pedophile and a murderer, and that anywhere out of Mommy's sight is a scary place.

Fair enough, since you're done I'll leave most of that alone (it applies to everybody regardless of age anyways) but... Here's a little helpful advice:

If you're basing the home purchase issue off personal experience, get a new loan officer. If enrolled in an income based payment plan, only the monthly payment reported to the bureau is used against your DTI ratio. Many loan programs are out there, including CONVENTIONAL loan programs as low as 3% down. If in a rural area, USDA loans with 100% financing are available. And all kinds of things between. But you HAVE to look AND ASK. Nobody's gonna do it for you.

If you were going off anecdotal evidence or "stories" you read, fear not, it's not bleak and hopeless as they want you to believe. See above.

As for the heath insurance, can't help or speak to your coverage choices, location, etc, but I will say that a non-retired non medicare heart disease and diabetic older couple I know were paying LESS than that... so that's certainly interesting. Keep shopping, many policies are less than those "exchange" things, try credit unions, other things you might be part of - car insurance, professional orgs, AAA, etc. health insurance itself has increased in cost, because of those minimal coverages they require now... but we all face it, with the same risks.

 

[pontiacgp]

I thought this was just about why it seems many kids are not interested in the car culture......I think we can blame the parents if they don't have a G body to get the kids interested. My grand kids like riding in my GP instead of their dads BMW so I am doing my part.... 🙂

 

[Daca214]

i can certainly agree. i am rebuilding this regal for and (sometimes) with my son. i am trying to get him as excited as I am about it. but not so much. oh dont get me wrong, he wants to drive it, and all his friends think its dope when they hear that low rumble when its running, but putting in the "work".... i dont see the same level of excitement. to be fair, at his age I was surrounded in a cloud of smoke and drink, so i didnt want to do any of the renovation work my father had me doing. but those skills stayed with me, and now, like my dad, i can fix just about anything in my house, car, etc. (except welding, I suck at welding)

i just hope what we are doing now pays dividends in the future for him. annnnd as a bonus, I get to drive the regal whenever I want for now.....

 

[fleming442]

<carelessly stabs throttle and grabs gears in the 67> from the back seat: "Daddy! You didn't tell me to hold on to my butt!"

 

[-83MONTESS-]

Value of money adjusted to the late 70s or early 80s when you hear about $100 cars it's like paying... I dunno, $35 or $40.

Expecting to get the cool collectable cars for what almost nobody else ever has sounds.... entitled.

Well obviously $100 is an exageration.

No one said anything about EXPECTING cheap stuff. Just pointing out that older/classic vehicles are obviously much more expensive and harder to find now than "back in the good ole day" regardless of inflation. Time does that. No whining or complaining here. I have no issue with the way things are because I don't know any different. Just shedding some light as to why interest among the younger crowds is dwindling.

 

[-83MONTESS-]

you are mistaken, I know a few technicians who have quit working at dealerships due to the problems of trying to diagnose these new cars even with the best equipment. What seems to come in with a minor issue can end up with a repair bill thousands of dollars. One of my son's better half had the Land Rover Sport which had the problem of the car going into limp mode at any time for now reason at all and no check engine light would come on. They had to shut the car down and restart it after a few minutes. The dealer knew about the problem but had no fix for it so the car was dropped off at the dealer and left there. I know of two Jeep that the dealer took back cause the technicians could not find the cause of an electrical problem. I have a friend with a Vette that had an intermittent starting problem. The Vette was at the dealership for 4 months while they tried to figure out the issue.

I understand where you're coming from but far more good has come from technology than bad. And im talking about in general not just automotive.

 

[pontiacgp]

I understand where you're coming from but far more good has come from technology than bad. And im talking about in general not just automotive.

that is debatable, new isn't always better or good but that is a different topic

 

[ck80]

Well obviously $100 is an exageration.

No one said anything about EXPECTING cheap stuff. Just pointing out that older/classic vehicles are obviously much more expensive and harder to find now than "back in the good ole day" regardless of inflation. Time does that. No whining or complaining here. I have no issue with the way things are because I don't know any different. Just shedding some light as to why interest among the younger crowds is dwindling.

It's all relative really... those "muscle car era" gas guzzlers were the 15-20 year old cars of their time... it helps why they were cheap.

Comparatively, trifives and that era, not to mention all the lead sleds... those were comparatively expensive looking back at the generation before.

My grandfather sold his (at the time) 9 year old 57 chevy for $50, running driving all the rest. The replacement for his kid was a wrecked rebuilt gtx, but all the same.

Now, in the 80s or 90s, you weren't getting a running driving tri five for $50.... but oh how you wished you could!

Still, even in the late 90s a $500-$1000 60s mustang, or $3000 challenger convert weren't unheard of.

20 years from now, kids are gonna be saying "man, that's unfair. My dad could got a (insert here - 02 camaro, 01 firebird, 300zx, etc for under $2000! Unfair!)

One thing I've never been good at either was living in the moment - I always plan 2 steps ahead while trying to hang in the past. Plenty of cars I could had "at the time" I passed over to cling to what came before.

Looked to fix that, it's why we've added a '14 and '16 mustang to the stable when they were around new. ('14 being last of the live rear axles; '16 being one of the last opportunities to get the venerable v6...)

that is debatable, new isn't always better or good but that is a different topic

Time for a.....

 

[Clutch]

Don't ask me I was a wheel man before I had a driver's license and I will not elaborate