Just how old are we, anyway?

[FiatMac]

I bought my first Fiat, a '78 124 Spider, at age 41. Turned 67 last December.

[wiggo]

I belonged to the 25-29 group when I bought my first Fiat, a Ritmo/Strada Abarth
I belonged to the 46-50 Group when I bought my first Spider, a CS0 '80
I belonged to the 51-55 Group when I bought my second Spider, a VX '85
Now, I belong to the 56+

Still got all 3 cars, though

[pluktv]

Ha ha. Either way you look at this, the majority of us are old farts. We are ALL still cool though. Agreed?

[JEEPER]

Bought my 79 new in 79 when I was 35. I've had an MGA 58, Triumph TR3 58 in high school and shipped a BSA 650 back from Scotland when I got out of the NAVY in 69. Now I have an 05 TJ with a 7 1/2 foot snow plow for winter and the Fiat for winter. The TJ was a retirement gift to myself.

[fiat218]

Ha ha. Either way you look at this, the majority of us are old farts. We are ALL still cool though. Agreed?

[rupester93]

Wow, I have to be the youngest here coming in at 20 turn 21 in ten days.

[darksider415]

Wow, I have to be the youngest here coming in at 20 turn 21 in ten days.

Congratulations! Just remember, the Fiat and the Peroni don't go together, no matter how tempting it is to drink a couple while fighting the electrical system.

[seabeelt]

I'm 55 and our son is 25, so plus one in each category
R/

[ga.spyder]

Wow...one more year and I get to join the ''Old as dirt'' group

[rupester93]

Wow, I have to be the youngest here coming in at 20 turn 21 in ten days.

Congratulations! Just remember, the Fiat and the Peroni don't go together, no matter how tempting it is to drink a couple while fighting the electrical system.

Haha, I'll remember that, want to know something that will blow everyone's mind? They Don't offer auto shop in most schools.

[pluktv]

I was at a car show meet last summer. Plenty of cars, some pristine show stuff, daily running stuff, lots of choice (mostly American though)

I could n`t help overhearing two old geezers chatting next to me. They were looking around at the age demographic of the people that were in attendance who had either brought cars or just looking. The vast majority were definitely in the over 55 age group. "Who is going to look after all these old cars in 20 years" he said.

Sadly I see where this is going. My two boys (16 and 18) barely know where to put the washer fluid and check the oil. Very few young kids nowadays have the passion or knowledge for this stuff now. As Rupester says, it`s not something that is easily studied on a professional level either.

Just where WILL all these cars end up in 20 years or so?

(personally I am going to be buried in my spider, so mine doesnt count)

[darksider415]

I was at a car show meet last summer. Plenty of cars, some pristine show stuff, daily running stuff, lots of choice (mostly American though)

I could n`t help overhearing two old geezers chatting next to me. They were looking around at the age demographic of the people that were in attendance who had either brought cars or just looking. The vast majority were definitely in the over 55 age group. "Who is going to look after all these old cars in 20 years" he said.

Sadly I see where this is going. My two boys (16 and 18) barely know where to put the washer fluid and check the oil. Very few young kids nowadays have the passion or knowledge for this stuff now. As Rupester says, it`s not something that is easily studied on a professional level either.

Just where WILL all these cars end up in 20 years or so?

(personally I am going to be buried in my spider, so mine doesnt count)

Sadly, I don't know where the car bug is going. Even between myself and my 16 year old brother, there is a massive gap in automotive interest. He's interested in looking cool, I've always loved the mechanical side of things. Kids nowadays don't appreciate a car like they used to. Man, when I got my first car, I was just happy it had four wheels and a motor. Now, kids refuse to drive something that isn't "cool" in their eyes, whatever that means.

/oldmanrant

On the other hand, I was at a meet, the week before I bought my Spider, and there were several teenagers there with interesting cars, who cared about them, including one guy with a Saab 9-3 Aero wagon, and another who is restoring an X1/9. The passion is there, in some... It's just not as mainstream now.

[azruss]

I'm not sure it was ever very mainstream. In my youth, the technology was pretty basic and unchanging. It was the style that changed every year and that is what drew the kids to the car. Also, they were pretty simple so didnt take much tinkering to get things to work.
The big shift i see is that in my youth, being old enough to drive was a right of passage. It bought you freedom, a highly prized commodity. Seems like the kids today seem to be fine with mommy and daddy or one of their friends hauling them around. They don't want the financial responsibilities.
Personally, I blame it all on the smart phone

[spiderrey]

When my oldest son was 15, I bought him his first car. A 70 spider. Whenever I was in the garage workin on something he always wanted to be involved. The bug is still there. He had that 70, then had 2 different 68,s, then an 850 spider, then a 73 Pontiac Granville convertable with a 455 big block, Then an vw pickup, and a built 83 GTI and many more, even a few willys jeeps. He is now 26 and settled with a 68 Firebird, and recently picked up a one year only Pontiac tempest for his wife. She had one in high school but got rid of it when they began to have kids. So the bug is still there, just not as much as it used to be.

[rupester93]

My first car was a hand me down 94 plymouth voyager my mom had, had not been run for about three years since she got a new car, I had to fix it and still do all the work on it(currently repainting it) and before that my dad always had me helping him work on his van, at first I despised it but came around and now love the heck out of working on my car.