about as cool as it gets

[f14rio]

[montec]

nice

[AKBEEMER]

Very cool car.... Bike and trailer not so much.

[179219]

IMO... its only the trailer thats not up to snuff; but I like it all.

[jopars]

IMO, the POS trailer has the best fenders of the lot...

Honestly, I wouldn't be interested in any of it.

JP

[RINTY]

It would be worth having a rig like that, just to take to the National.

But I'd love to have a bobber, for day rides. I'd be the coolest guy at our local biker hang out.

[36654]

OK, so I live in an area (near Carlisle and Hershey, PA) where I can view a lot of rods and "Muscle Car Classics". For the most part, they are toys of the 65+ set.

Being 10+ yrs younger than that age group (thankfully), I'm not much of a fan of these cars; having grown-up with Japanese motorcycles, VW cars and several really lame GM & Ford products from the 70 and 80's. In any event, when a I was in my twenties, I can still recall me and my friends being excited about new cars.........the RX-7, Datsun Z-cars and the 810's and, of course, whatever European product was available.

But, today, amongst the younger folks that I work with, the subject of cars never comes up. I find that strange, especially since I work in a large engineering lab. A heated discussion on the relative merits of Mac vs PC might occur, but rarely a word on cars.

Perhaps, physical travel is no longer important or enjoyable.

[35634]

But, today, amongst the younger folks that I work with, the subject of cars never comes up.

+1 I got my 19 yr old stepson hooked on manual transmissions and he actually has some interest in cars and bikes now, besides the boombox and cruiser aspects or them. But to most kids, they're just appliances. Maybe it does have something to do with growing up in the 60's rather than the age of minivans and computer games.

[lkchris]

But, today, amongst the younger folks that I work with, the subject of cars never comes up. I find that strange, especially since I work in a large engineering lab. A heated discussion on the relative merits of Mac vs PC might occur, but rarely a word on cars.

Some good to this, I think.

I grew up with my Dad a partner in a truck dealership and I've seen all the old iron I can stand. Zip/zero/nada nostalgia for me for old junk like small block chebbies (AKA boat anchors), Harleys, street rods, etc.

The USA has 2/3 of its auto majors just out of bankruptcy or given to Italians while Germany leads the world in automotive technology. Not much nostalgia for old BMWs either--they, too, look like they were built by blacksmiths.

Yeah, good luck trying to sell that junk to today's younger folks. Try telling them how your rotary dial telephone was cool, too, and about the encyclopedia salesman. If they could afford one, they'd own an M3.

Some evidence? Get Zite for your iPhone and you'll be overwhelmed how "young" the intended audience for that is. Then check the Auto news section--just about all BMW news.

[36654]

Some evidence? Get Zite for your iPhone and you'll be overwhelmed how "young" the intended audience for that is. Then check the Auto news section--just about all BMW news.

iPhone?

[braddog]

Back to the original post.

When I see a pic, or better yet, the real thing like the car, trailer and bike in the picture I can't help but be in awe of the person that went through the work to build them. As for me, I used to work on cars out of necessity when my wife and I were first married, drove older vehicles, and couldn't afford mechanics. That said, I never developed a love of working on vehicles.

To build a custom car or motorcycle, you not only have to have a nack, but also the desire to do so.

I've worked on cutting edge technology in the computer industry for over 30 years. Because I'm close to it, I'm not easily impressed by it and in fact tend to want to get away from it since it's "work" to me. It's also probably why I'm impressed when I see an old car fixed up to be a rod pulling a custom bobber. It's not something I would consider tackling, yet someone else did it to perfection.

[crazydrummerdude]

But, today, amongst the younger folks that I work with, the subject of cars never comes up. I find that strange, especially since I work in a large engineering lab. A heated discussion on the relative merits of Mac vs PC might occur, but rarely a word on cars.

Perhaps, physical travel is no longer important or enjoyable.

I'm 26 and an engineer. To blanket my peers in a mildly offensive stereotype: they're all a bunch of spoiled children from yuppie families whose parents bought them their first and second "safe and reliable" cars and now that they're adults, their wives tell them what they can and can not drive. It's a sea of Honda Civics, Hyundai Sonatas, and similar absolutely uninspired cages. Their excuses are: "it'll last forever" but they end up replacing them every 2 years and ~60k miles; "it gets great gas mileage" but my motorcycle gets better; "the wife wanted more of a family car" but she already has her own.

[Bohan]

.... they're all a bunch of spoiled children from yuppie families whose parents bought them their first and second "safe and reliable" cars and now that they're adults, their wives tell them what they can and can not drive. It's a sea of Honda Civics, Hyundai Sonatas, and similar absolutely uninspired cages. Their excuses are: "it'll last forever" but they end up replacing them every 2 years and ~60k miles; "it gets great gas mileage" but my motorcycle gets better; "the wife wanted more of a family car" but she already has her own.

Interesting observation

[crazydrummerdude]

Interesting observation

I want to reiterate the part you cut out: it's an offensive stereotype steeped in sarcasm. In fact, it would be the negative light of my peers situation. I'm sure they'll say it's not that bad.

[braddog]

I want to reiterate the part you cut out: it's an offensive stereotype steeped in sarcasm. In fact, it would be the negative light of my peers situation. I'm sure they'll say it's not that bad.

No, actually, I think it's pretty spot on. But then, not everyone's a throwback like you, Nathan. And I mean in that in the most positive way.

I had heard there was a survey taken where teenagers overwhelmingly said they'd choose internet access over the use of a car. The bottom line is that with everyone and everything "connected" these days, the need for transportation isn't as great. I grew up in rural North Dakota where my closest buddy was 5 miles away. There were no "home" computers, so to communicate, it was either telephone or face to face. I got my first motorcycle at 13, a Honda CB100. It provided me the ultimate freedom to go where I wanted, albeit illegally. Most of my friends also had small motorcycles. It was awesome.