It’s been fairly difficult to come up with a subject to write about here lately. There hasn’t been much going on to chat about. To be truthful, I have changed direction three times since I began figuring out what I’m going to do with this column. Indecisive me… LOL. But here goes!
Just the other day, I was chatting with a young man. He works for one of the local hot rod shops and does a very fine job. It turns out though that he is a little conflicted with his desires for his career.
You see, like many young people, his interests lie with import cars… And more specifically, JDM (Japanese design and manufacture). It seems that he is getting some pressure from others around him to switch from the import genre over to American customs and hot rods. The problem is that this pressure, however slight, is causing him concern.
My point here is that we older folks that wish to encourage young people to get involved in our hobby, maybe doing a disservice by exerting pressure. The hard truth is that JDM cars are usually less expensive for folks to purchase and maintain than our muscle cars, customs, and hot rods. They very well may be the only way that young folks can get involved with the automotive hobby at all. As experienced hot rodders…
We know all too well how expensive it can be to purchase and maintain an old car! Most young folks don’t have very deep pockets to experience our older cars personally. Our hope should be that they get interested in doing the mechanics, electronics, paint, bodywork, etc., on their affordable hobby car and as they get more successful in life, they may find the funds to buy what we consider to be a more desirable car. The truth is that maybe they know something we don’t… Japanese cars and other imports value have been climbing sharply over the last couple of years. Sure it’s not what we consider to be a hot rod, but it is what young folks consider to be a hot rod. Be tolerant of the younger generations and nurture their interest so that we don’t lose them altogether.
On the topic of our scholarship… We will be announcing the recipient soon. You’ll be able to read about it in the next issue of the Car Show and Cruise Guide.
Just a little bit of news for you all… Our spring car show will have already happened by the time you read this, but please join us for our third Saturday cruises up at the Harford Vineyard and Winery. We are making plans for our fall car show and will announce its location and date in the near future.
Lastly, Ron‘s Rods is working on a date for his spring metal meet. Keep an eye on our Facebook page as well as this magazine‘s Facebook page for further updates.
I look forward to seeing you all out and about this year as it appears to be a more kinder and gentler cruising and car show season!
See you on the return road!
~Doug