What's the real problem with Millennials?

"Stapleface" (patrickgruden) 09/20/2018 at 13:35 • Filed to: None

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My father was never really a car guy. But, nonetheless he did have some interesting cars while I was growing up. One of the cars I remember fondly was his 1984 Grand Prix. Even though I was young, I thought that was a pretty cool car.

His was brown, but you get the idea.

This is when it hit me. Maybe the reason that Millennials are so disinterested in cars is because of what they grew up with. Those of us born in the 70's and before grew up in the back of big station wagons. And most of those were pretty interesting. And even if your family didn’t have a station wagon, chances are they had a big old boat of a car that you could fit a baseball team inside.

I realize that society changes, and our needs for vehicles has changed as well. But I think we were just becoming accustomed to boring vehicles. I think there a couple different factors that could be the reasoning behind the feigning interest of this new generation of drivers.

Look at the best selling passenger vehicles for the last ten years. They’re all one form of beige or another. Nothing that stirs the soul. When this is what you are exposed to as a child, where’s the incentive for being a “car guy” (or gal). While the Camry might be a totally acceptable transportation device, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone opining for the day when they can finally get that Camry they always wanted.

Another factor I think to blame is the vehicle manufacturers themselves. Can anyone think of a mainstream car in the last 20 years that was exciting? I really can’t. Sure, you have fringe manufacturers, but they don’t sell in volume.

Finally, maybe the reason that Millennials don’t take an active interest is because they just weren’t brought up in a car culture. With the advent of computer aided electronics in most vehicles, few people ever wrench on their own cars anymore. Most of them are too complex that the average Joe might not even know where to start.

So maybe we have it all wrong when it comes to the Millennials. Maybe they haven’t let the car culture down, maybe the car culture let them down.

For Sweden > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:36

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Everything is wrong with millennials.  They were created by boomers, and everything boomers make is terrible

dogisbadob > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:38

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oooo a Gr and Prix with T-tops

DipodomysDeserti > For Sweden 09/20/2018 at 13:44

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I’m a millennial created by Gen Xers...which explains a lot.

Stapleface > dogisbadob 09/20/2018 at 13:45

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Sadly his didn’t have the T-tops either.  But it did have the two-tone paint.  I loved that car.  IMHO the Grand Prix was the best looking G-body.  

My bird IS the word > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:46

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Convertibles also bit the dust. I think those were also responsible for a lot of unintentional passion.

Brickman > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:47

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No one in my family was a car person, I grew up riding in a 80s Festiva, then a 96 dodge caravan till I was 25. I love cars and working on them , I just don’t own anything fancy :)

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:48

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Millennials are disinterested in cars because they’re broke AF and have huge student loans even if they have jobs with little or no wage growth, and for urban millennials specifically, car ownership doesn’t make sense as much as car sharing/renting/subscription etc. Unless they have very high paying jobs and/or well off parents who gave them good fun cars since they started driving , they just don’t have the time and money to invest in cars and car culture.

They get better enjoyment out of the latest electronic gadgets I would speculate. Also, I donno if the lack of mainstream cars being exciting is a contributing factor or not. You can still buy cheap fun used cars from the 90s and early 2000s if not a new Miata/BRZ

Also, on this statement

With the advent of computer aided electronics in most vehicles, few people ever wrench on their own cars anymore. Most of them are too complex that the average Joe might not even know where to start.

Wrenching- lack of it doesn’t deter you from being an enthusiast IMO. What is your definition of wrenching? Engine and Transmission swaps? You can still do maintenance like change your oil and fluids, filters, do a brake job, do simple mods such as intakes, lighting etc despite the advent of all these electronics and all that is still wrenching.

And despite all this, there are a lot of Millennial enthusiasts all around. Those who are genuinely interested will find a way.

Sweet Trav > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:48

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That’s a nice opinion you have too bad it’s wrong.

someassemblyrequired > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:52

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I think some of it is the fact that you can “experience” a lot of things through the internet, that you would never experience back in the day unless you got out of the house and found some like-minded people. You’re never going to buy a Lotus or Alfa to daily drive when you can have a Camry that never breaks and enjoy a healthy percentage of the experience of sports car ownership via Youtube.

Stapleface > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 09/20/2018 at 13:53

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Sure, thanks for shooting my theory full of holes ;)

I actually wrote this 5 years ago and realized I never even published it. So I figured what the hell and set it to publish.

As for millenials all being broke, point taken.  But I know quite a few that aren’t in a bad financial situation, and none of them even care about cars at all.  Hell, I’m a solid Gen Xer and most of the people when I was young didn’t care about them either.  I guess with those people having kids, it was bound to get worse.  

Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 13:57

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Well I think you can blame the newer cars on CAD software. There is really only one design in the universe that has optimal strength and weight. Manufacturers found this out 20 years ago and that is why most cars look the same these days. That’s why manufacturers add swoopy lines to the sides of cars, they can’t really modify the base structure. 

Die-Trying > Sweet Trav 09/20/2018 at 14:01

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id rather have the small crappy olds........

but you missed an opportunity on the aerocoupe........

CobraJoe > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 14:07

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This is when it hit me. Maybe the reason that Millennials are so disinterested in cars is because of what they grew up with. Those of us born in the 70's and before grew up in the back of big station wagons. And most of those were pretty interesting. And even if your family didn’t have a station wagon, chances are they had a big old boat of a car that you could fit a baseball team inside.

Boring cars are not a recent phenomenon. The entry level Fairlane in 1966 had a 120hp (gross rating) 200ci I6. Backed up by a 3 speed slushbox or a wide geared 3 on the tree, it surely wasn’t anything exciting to drive. Plus the 4 door wasn’t that great to look at (just another generic sedan in it’s era), and a wagon was a people hauler like a crossover. (Nobody wanted the extra weight of a wagon if it wasn’t needed ). Even the colors weren’t that wild, off-white and pale colors were common.

Looking back from today, people remember the remarkable vehicles more often than the average sedan. Though , any of the “average sedans” from the 60s are interesting vehicles today, but that’s mostly because of the novelty of their age.

So maybe we have it all wrong when it comes to the Millennials. Maybe they haven’t let the car culture down, maybe the car culture let them down.

I’d blame car culture for excluding people who could become interested in cars, but for other reasons . Either by tribal style exclusion, or by excessive costs, or by fear of repairs, or by simple prejudice, I’m sure there are many people out there who would be more enthusiastic about driving if they could find a community that fits.  

adamftw > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 14:14

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One of the coolest cars to come out of the late 50s was a basic AF commuter car that happened to have a sweet top of the line trim package available for 3 years.

The Chevy 210, aka the Bel-Air.

dogisbadob > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 14:19

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The GP Aerocoupes are cool :o)

Shankems > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 14:50

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Almost all cars are boring. Just like people. I do not believe wrenching on your own car is a necessity for being an enthusiast . But people need a place from which to connect to cars. Which are growing few and far between.

As a m i llennial (87) I will take yet another opportunity to say #notallmillennials. I had zero interest in cars until I was 18 or so and had to replace the Buick Regal my parents had allowed me to use . The third dealer my father took me to was a Pontiac dealer with oodles of everything in stock, cause GM was going under. I was totally disinterested and wanted to leave when I spotted some hood scoops jus t down the line. G8 GT with sport pack the guy said. V8 365HP he said. It had been u sed in a local golf tournament so it was 10 grand off. Bought that sucker a day or two later. Steal of a lifetime at   22K out the door.

That was my jumping off point and made me a car guy . Hell, I’m driving practically the same car 10 years later. Except now i t’s just a supercharged   Chevy SS with  a stick.

Sweet Trav > Die-Trying 09/20/2018 at 14:58

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Aerocoupes are horrifi c abominations.

jimz > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 15:01

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This is when it hit me. Maybe the reason that Millennials are so disinterested in cars is because of what they grew up with. Those of us born in the 70's and before grew up in the back of big station wagons. And most of those were pretty interesting. And even if your family didn’t have a station wagon, chances are they had a big old boat of a car that you could fit a baseball team inside.

I highly doubt that’s the case. I was born in the mid ‘70s and pretty much everything people drove was Malaise-era grief. Up in Michigan, cars never lasted long due to rust, so all of those cars I built models of (‘70 Boss 429, ‘69 Talladega, etc.) had long left the roads by either rotting away or by being put into storage by an owner who Knew What He Had. Hell, my dad’s ‘73 Cougar had rust holes in the quarter panel and trunk floor you could stick your fingers through by 1977. Oh sure, there were some  late ‘60s/early ‘70s cars out and about, but if it was still being driven it was probably little more than a rusty, smoke belching piece of shit at that point. 

I honestly think it’s just a general cultural shift. back in the day, getting your license and a car was a main way you could hang out with your friends w/o your parents being around. now kid “socialize” via their phones. And I’m not painting that as “kids today are just worse,” ‘cos I’m sure had the modern smartphone and networks existed back when I was a kid we’d have had our faces buried in them too. part of the cause of this is because app developers are no dummies, things like Snapchat have features (“streaks”) which are intended to get teens literally addicted to using the app. The other part is that “helicopter parents” have been replaced by “lawnmower parents” who handle everything for them, including driving them wherever they need to go. If you’re raised in such a way where you depend on your parents for literally everything, they drive you wherever you need to go, and your friends are just an app away, what’s the incentive to go through the hassle of getting a driver’s license? Especially when public schools in many states don’t offer driver’s ed anymore? we saw our cars as a step towards independence and freedom from our parents. two generations of helicopter parents and (now) lawnmower parents has (IMO) led to kids today being honestly scared of independence.

jimz > CobraJoe 09/20/2018 at 15:18

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Boring cars are not a recent phenomenon. The entry level Fairlane in 1966 had a 120hp (gross rating) 200ci I6. Backed up by a 3 speed slushbox or a wide geared 3 on the tree, it surely wasn’t anything exciting to drive.

yep, I tell people this all the time.  For every 428 Cobra Jet Mustang on the road back then, there were probably 1,000 Mustangs with wheezy 6 cylinders or 260/289s underhood.  

Die-Trying > Sweet Trav 09/20/2018 at 15:23

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well, they look better in person.......

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > DipodomysDeserti 09/20/2018 at 15:52

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Me too.....

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Brickman 09/20/2018 at 15:55

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Conversely , my whole family was/is into cars, my ma drove modded Mustangs, Turbo Lasers, Camaros, etc while I was growing up.

I think that has something to do with my love of modifying “mundane” vehicles. It’s far more fun to smoke someone with a car they think is slow than to smoke them with a car that should be fast.

TwoAngryCarbs > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 16:30

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I disagree, I spent my childhood being driven around in these cars:

I love them both and there were always enough fun/interesting cars on the road to keep me entertained without my parents or family having to own them.

As for the wrenching argument: I thought that having to deal with the constant stream of issues on my car would be fun but it turned out to be a pain in the ass because I don’t have the right equipment yet. I think it’s much easier to bond with a car that’s reliable and doesn’t leave you stranded.

ranwhenparked > Stapleface 09/20/2018 at 17:25

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You mean, besides the fact that none of us can take a joke and we’re always clutching our invisible pearls,  permanently offended by everything, all the time? Because that’s what I hate most about us. 

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Stapleface 10/19/2018 at 14:20

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On average, Millennials have no buying power relative to boomers.  This topic is of interest to me because my parents’ (and in-laws’) circles love to bag on us for being lazy and entitled. Millennials are not flush with cash like their parents were and my opinion is that there are very clear historical reasons for this.

The ‘Murican boomer generation grew up in an anomaly—the US had largely avoided the total destruction that was WWII. The 50s and 60s were a period of extraordinary economic dominance while the industraliased countries of Eurasia were rebuilding from smoldering ruins.