Important blog on Ford Collection

Mike V. Florida said:
It's not just cars. Where there were orchards and nursery's, there now none. The family's don't seem to want to do the work.

You guys in Ct. know the story about the Danbury Fair. The old man dies and the family said we'll take the money.

I really don't know what my grand and great grand children will do, Will they gravitate towards the feeling of doing things with their hands whether, hobby or career or go for the money?
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Funny you mention that, because I was just thinking the same thing. Fruit is terribly expensive in the stores and farmer's market, but when my friend's father died the kids tore out all the fruit trees. They didn't want to bother picking the fruit.:mad:
 
A couple of interesting quotes there

"... Also as said earlier a museum is something who smell a little bit the death because a vehicle is interesting in action, not silent."

"Jerry Poniatowski says:
October 27, 2016 7:56 pm
I just had to chime in on this. I work part time at The Henry Ford’s Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan driving the Model Ts there to take guests on a tour of the Village. Without exception, when folks get into the cars, they are HAVING FUN! I demonstrate the controls, talk about the car, its historical significance, compare it to modern cars, and explain why it was so popular and why it continues to be. You need to expose people to the cars in order to make it relevant. That’s what we do there."
 
Times are tough for young people. When I started working in the mid 60's you could stop at any business on both sides of the street and get hired when you walked in. RIGHT NOW. The only question asked was ''have you been in the Service yet?'' Some companies didn't want to lose new hires to the draft. Nowadays it takes 4 friends pooling resources to rent a dumpy mini-apartment. When Micky D's hires it's on the news for God's sake. I think in another 20 years when these younger types get settled into careers - the new generation of car lovers/restorers will come out of the woodwork.
 
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I'm 35. Been married for two years. I have always been a car/truck guy. My wife and I just bought a 31' Town Sedan. I plan on driving the car to work daily in the summer. I think @updraught is right, you just have to expose people to the cars.
 
jwilliams81 said:
I'm 35. Been married for two years. I have always been a car/truck guy. My wife and I just bought a 31' Town Sedan. I plan on driving the car to work daily in the summer. I think @updraught is right, you just have to expose people to the cars.
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Good for you. My son is 29 and he loves my Model As. He wants to get an old MG some day, but he is in graduate school, so who knows when? We have a couple of younger guys in our Model A chapter, so we just need to do what we can to keep it alive.

I think house museums and even places like Williamsburg are experiencing a drop off in attendance. Times change and we can't do much about it but enjoy ourselves. I do see the prevalence of cruise ins as a positive. Car shows tend to be popular, too, so there is interest. Let's just keep participating and let it be what it will be.
 
There will always be a very small segment of the population that will appreciate old cars. The problem is that that segment grows smaller every year. I have two A powered hot rods and drive them regularly. The only time I get any comments on the cars are from old pharts like me.

Quite frankly, I'm impressed by guys with a Honda Civic and a laptop that can wring gobs of power out of some of the rice burners out there. These are car guys (and gals) even if they aren't into Model A's.

The aftermarket high performance industry is about to hold the second largest (after the CES) trade show in Las Vegas next week; the SEMA show. The go-fast industry is doing quite well, thank you.

As several posters here have mentioned, things are changing and unfortunately they aren't in line with the thinking of many 'barner's.
 
IMO
modela@aol.com said:
I have attended many steam engine thrasherees over the years. Same deal with keeping this hobby viable. The expense, training, needing a steam license, and liability insurance is making it harder for these clubs. Years ago the high scrap metal prices took out a lot of these old steam engines. Close farm families are probably the key for keeping these engines and tractors going..

Also there are a lot of people in these hobbies that were skilled machinists. The young people now don't know what a Bridgeport machine is but can tell you all about 3D Printers...
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I beg to differ with you I have five young guys working for me all of them under 22 some in high school , yes they have 3d printers in their bedrooms (for real) but two of the literally just bought a Bridgeport last week and are starting to turn it into a cnc mill. These guys make things that you can only imagine. They just are not interested in old cars or steam engines they like modern fuel injection and electric motors such as Tesla's.
The mechanic is alive and well he has just evolved
 
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