[Mgs] Diminishing returns

[Dan DiBiase]

Hi, Rick. Regarding your first point, I have 2 comments - people tend to be
interested in the cars of their youth, so for many of a slightly older
generation than us (I am 64) that would mean cars from the '40's and '50's.
I've been to hot rod shows locally where many of the owners are in their
late 60's and '70's. I guess many of us around my age saw these little
British cars putting around in the '60's when we were kids and that kindled
our interest (I had a friend growing up whose Dad had an MGB-GT). I have a
nephew who is big into cars and he and his friends are into '80's cars like
BMW's and MR2's (he and his dad, my cousin, actually own several '80's BW's
and a first-gen MR2). So, while I wouldn't say the current generation isn't
into cars, it's just not the cars we like. And of course, current mod
trends include things like air bagging cars so they can be lowered to
within an inch of the pavement, negative camber wheels, loud farty
exhausts, crazy lights, etc. It;'s not what we like, but that's probably
part of the point...

Dan D
'76 MGB
Central NJ USA

On Tue, Nov 15, 2022 at 7:01 AM Richard Lindsay <richardolindsay at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hello MG friends,
>    I recently attended an 'All British Car Show' in a neighborhood called
> 'The Woodlands', here in South Texas. It was a fun show with MGs ranging
> from a single 1934 PA through to many MGB Tourers, all dominating the
> collection of British marques. Just guessing, I estimate about 30 or so
> cars in total were on display.
>    Two issues came to mind, one obvious from talking with the owners, and
> another a worrisome trend.
>    Firstly, almost all of the MG owners and restorers were gray haired old
> men. Now, I won't make any gender related comments but it is obvious that
> our hobby and passion lives on, mostly in old people. That's just fine
> because retired people have more free time to pursue the hobby. But where
> are the younger people? Will there be replacements for us as we fade away?
> And what will happen to our cars? I already see too many cars
> left languishing or worse, decaying in garages and storage.
>    Secondly, I wonder about the whole car hobby in general. What cars are
> being restored today? Sixties 'muscle cars' may always be popular but so
> many of them are resto-mods, not restorations. But what newer cars can be
> restored?
>    I recently gave away a rough Jaguar XK8 because it had a failed CAN
> buss, and therefore couldn't pass safety and emissions inspection. Most of
> the repair parts for that car are still available, if at better-than-gold
> prices, but how many hobbyists can diagnose, repair, and restore serial
> computer networks like the Jaguar's CAN buss?! BTW, a CAN bus is a serial
> computer network not terribly unlike the old strings of Christmas lights
> where if one lamp goes out, they all go out! Well, except in the XK8, if
> one component like the transmission reverse safety switch goes out, the
> whole network goes down. Everything from the engine to the seat position
> computers! And do you think Jaguar sells the diagnostic tool to find the
> 'burned out bulb'? Yea right.
>    My point isn't to criticize Jaguar. Rather, it's to make the point that
> modern cars, especially the interesting and exotic ones, just aren't really
> restorable - not by hobbyists like the next generation of potential
> enthusiasts (or us?!). So is ours a dying hobby? I fear so. And in the
> extreme, do you want your grandson attempting to restore a 400 volt
> electric car? Yikes.
>    So what should we do? Well, first of all I think we should save all the
> old British cars that we can. Wait! Don't we already do that?! My wife says
> that, "I never met an 'old junk car' that I didn't love!" I also think we
> should introduce our cars and our hobby to younger people, especially kids.
> Car shows and tech sessions help with that. Not only might that exposure
> help to preserve our cars, maybe, but also there's lots to learn pulling
> spanners that wiggling an X-Box controller just can't teach! There is a
> kind of perverse value in 'busted knuckles'.
>    As we say, 'YMMV' but my grandson loves my old cars and he can handle a
> Whitworth spanner quite expertly. My granddaughter likes the cars too but
> 'My Little Ponies' are more fun, for now.
>
> Yes, YMMV,
>
> Rick
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