Millenial Car Guys...ahem...Car Persons

[Gary101386]

34 here, so I'm "technically" a millennial. Related: I hate my generation.

I hear that! I am 30 and I hate the fact that I am considered a Millennial. I have a profession, not a "McJob", where I work with my hands, pay my bills, and everything I have I have worked to earn. No handouts / entitlements here.

I've always been a do-it yourself and figured most things out myself. I have changed Motors, Transmissions, Rear ends, built engines, and everything in-between.

This thread has been a little refreshing to see all the other people that fall into the "millennial" group that are not a lowlife leech on society.

Look in the background of my SigPic below... That's an 89 Ranger with almost 300k miles. If I were like 90% of the Millennial's I wouldn't know how to keep something like that running for as long as it has...

 

[choate]

There are even "car people" now that just take pictures of cars.

The group I mentioned has several of these. To each their own but I find that odd too.

 

[VenomousDSG]

Story time, and relevant to this thread.

I went to a local frame shop the other day to get my Carroll Shelby signed cobra picture framed. Got to chatting with him about cars and such, and he explained to me he received a degree in automotive engineering from UCLA in California years ago and met Carroll Shelby. So we got to chatting more about car stuff and the picture. I mentioned i had a Cobra myself parked out front, and he got excited. So we went out to take a look at it and bullshit some more. He asked if he could start it up, so i said sure. Threw him the keys and told him to go ahead. After about the third or forth try, he yelled out the window that he couldn't start the car. Turns out he didn't know you have to push the clutch in to start manual vehicles, and has never driven a manual vehicle in his life.

This guy was in his early 30s, with an automotive engineering degree, and had no idea how to work a manual vehicle..... I think that sums up my millennial generation pretty good.

 

[Zemedici]

Story time, and relevant to this thread.

I went to a local frame shop the other day to get my Carroll Shelby signed cobra picture framed. Got to chatting with him about cars and such, and he explained to me he received a degree in automotive engineering from UCLA in California years ago and met Carroll Shelby. So we got to chatting more about car stuff and the picture. I mentioned i had a Cobra myself parked out front, and he got excited. So we went out to take a look at it and bullshit some more. He asked if he could start it up, so i said sure. Threw him the keys and told him to go ahead. After about the third or forth try, he yelled out the window that he couldn't start the car. Turns out he didn't know you have to push the clutch in to start manual vehicles, and has never driven a manual vehicle in his life.

This guy was in his early 30s, with an automotive engineering degree, and had no idea how to work a manual vehicle..... I think that sums up my millennial generation pretty good I think.

holy shit....see i've never met these type of people you all have. I do routinely get 'hey your cars making a funny noise' from other road-goers, referring to the loud whipple I assume. I go 'thanks' and roll up my window.

 

[Torch10th]

I guess I'm odd man out here. I rebuilt my 1969 Firbeird with a 150 piece craftsman tool kit. I don't like taking my cars to get worked on, but that's mostly because of a value proposition in that I can save hundreds if not thousands on certain types of work by attempting it myself.

With that said, I would never think to tell somebody that liked cars that they "weren't a car guy" simply because they paid a professional to handle a build, or because they just like to take pictures or videos of cars.

That precludes a huge segment of motoring enthusiasts. Basically anybody that isn't in to racing and modifying cars. Jeremy Clarkson is a prime example. He doesn't like and does not "get" car modification culture. He himself readily admits he's basically an ape when it comes to working on the cars. I don't think anybody in this thread would claim that he's not a car guy, but based on some of the definitions being laid out here, he wouldn't be.

If you like cars, you like cars, regardless of what you do with them, how old you are or what "generation" you come from.

 

[MarcSpaz]

Story time, and relevant to this thread.

I went to a local frame shop the other day to get my Carroll Shelby signed cobra picture framed. Got to chatting with him about cars and such, and he explained to me he received a degree in automotive engineering from UCLA in California years ago and met Carroll Shelby. So we got to chatting more about car stuff and the picture. I mentioned i had a Cobra myself parked out front, and he got excited. So we went out to take a look at it and bullshit some more. He asked if he could start it up, so i said sure. Threw him the keys and told him to go ahead. After about the third or forth try, he yelled out the window that he couldn't start the car. Turns out he didn't know you have to push the clutch in to start manual vehicles, and has never driven a manual vehicle in his life.

This guy was in his early 30s, with an automotive engineering degree, and had no idea how to work a manual vehicle..... I think that sums up my millennial generation pretty good I think.

That's why the guy is framing pictures for a living instead of engineering the next great automotive line-up for a manufacturer. Can pass a test, no real education or practical experience.

 

[DropSVT]

I think the people your refering to are the ones that are just buying the cars to look cool and impress women. I know plenty of people that think theyre sick af because they drive a "convertible coupe mustang v6" and then theres some who have the money and a little bit of knowledge to know whats fast but have no clue who jack is when their tire goes flat. I wouldnt force my daughters to choose a guy who knows something about cars but to choose someone who cares about them and atleast knows how to call AAA if anything happens.. My two pennies

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[Recon]

23 here. The more and more I watch the news the more I realize I have very little in common with my generation. One Reason why my parents (in their 60s) say I was born in the wrong generation. I have more in common with their generation interests wise.
My parents raised my brother and I to work hard for what you have and always strive forward to better ourselves as a worker and a person. If I want something I work to get the money to pay for it; being given something doesn't feel right to me. Makes me feel like I haven't earned it.
So many of my high school graduation classmates seem to want to find something to complain about. I don't understand. Sure, they're hardships that's life, but it's what you do in those hardships that counts.
As far a car wise I was the car guy, not "person," in my class. I don't care about political correctness. I was surprised that some didn't even know what an alternator was or even looked like. And this is even the other "car guys." I offer to show them some stuff on cars (I'm a second gen auto tech), and they look at me like I'm crazy. By no means am I an expert, but what I know I'm willing to share and help them any way I can.


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[Corbic]

Relevant:

 

[MarcSpaz]

I can't speak for anyone else... OP included. However, for me personally, I think some may be misunderstanding the point. If I am wrong, hopefully the OP will clarify his point.

My take-away and opinion is, as a whole demographic... the male youth of today seem a bit too whiny about not having a skill set and having to pay others for their services, and then act like they are a car guy. No... that guy is a whiny little bitch.

Did he earn money and buy a cool toy? Sure. Should I give him shit for not knowing how to change his own oil? Probable not. A lot of people don't. Should I give him shit because he's a VLOG poser pretending to be something he is not? Most definitely.

I'm no lumberjack. I'm not going to go buy a Vaughan & Bushnell Tree Sounding Axe and VLOG how awesome it is and I am, but I'm disappointed that it didn't hold an edge after chopping down 5 trees and I had to pay someone $25 to sharpen it form me because I don't own a grinder and wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.

We all have our own set of skills, but the Man's Man is a dying bread. In the Boy Scouts in 1910, you earned a patch for building a sturdy shelter from scratch, suitable to live in. Today, in 2016, the hardest badges to get are 1.) don't be a fat-ass 2.) Congrats... you can recycle! 3.) Wow, you can balance a checkbook.

 

[Zemedici]

Relevant:

pretty much true, it seems the guys that TRULY care if you built it or bought it, are the ones that built it....no one else does tbh.

Hate to bust bubbles...

 

[Zemedici]

I can't speak for anyone else... OP included. However, for me personally, I think some may be misunderstanding the point. If I am wrong, hopefully the OP will clarify his point.

My take-away and opinion is, as a whole demographic... the male youth of today seem a bit too whiny about not having a skill set and having to pay others for their services, and then act like they are a car guy. No... that guy is a whiny little bitch.

Did he earn money and buy a cool toy? Sure. Should I give him shit for not knowing how to change his own oil? Probable not. A lot of people don't. Should I give him shit because he's a VLOG poser pretending to be something he is not? Most definitely.

I'm no lumberjack. I'm not going to go buy a Vaughan & Bushnell Tree Sounding Axe and VLOG how awesome it is and I am, but I'm disappointed that it didn't hold an edge after chopping down 5 trees and I had to pay someone $25 to sharpen it form me because I don't own a grinder and wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.

We all have our own set of skills, but the Man's Man is a dying bread. In the Boy Scouts in 1910, you earned a patch for building a sturdy shelter from scratch, suitable to live in. Today, in 2016, the hardest badges to get are 1.) don't be a fat-ass 2.) Congrats... you can recycle! 3.) Wow, you can balance a checkbook.

Excellent post. hahahaha spot on.

The point me and a few other millennials are making, is that we dont mind whatsoever about having to pay someone to perform services we cannot. Its part of life. I dont see how someone could possibly bitch about that - if you dont like the price do it yourself.

And on the last paragraph, I think today society has changed. Realistically when would I need to build a waterproof shelter out of sticks? This is 2016, not the 1400s in the Amazon Rainforest. Hotels work just fine

 

[Never_Enough]

7 quarts oil @ $9 quart
1 Mopar Filter @ $11
Dealer Labor $100hr @ 1/4hr $25

$99 + $2 environmental + $2 shop clean up + $6.93 tax = $109.93

Why do people get shocked at performance car oil changes? It's like the easiest to justify cost.

Even a change for my Z06 is not that much. $9 per qt? Is this unicorn blood?!

 

[Never_Enough]

When it comes to cars, you can blame yourself(parents) for the millennials being screwed up because the parents owned imports for the millennials entire childhood. This is because "they last longer" and "are safer" or some BS (carrying back to the 70s/80s) that has continued to carry on even to today.

Then these young people had their hand me down Civics and when they left the movie theater from seeing Fast n Furious they realized they had a race car. So now you have everyone thinking imports are cool.

Now with so many millennials living in big cities, they don't like cars because they are a) expensive to own in big cities AKA PARKING and b) they know nothing about cars as stated.

When you present your oil change argument, almost everyone, including older folks will say something along the lines of oil changes at a shop are cheaper after you buy your own oil and spend your time changing it. Which I argue you still have to use your time to drive to the oil change shop. Plus you can buy better filter and oil and know it is being done correctly yourself.

So they don't have to take responsibility for themselves & not using common sense seeing it's just a movie not real life? I had a field day when F&F was out with my LT1 Camaro & those kids.

 

[351stang]

I think there is a philosophical difference in build vs buy. I've taken the route of doing the research, buying the tools, and doing the work. Even if I screw it up once, I still come out even dollar wise. The difference is I retain the knowledge and experience. After two decades of doing this imagine what I have learned and how my skills have amplified. I also get a profound satisfaction that "I did that."

Your mileage may vary, but I believe most millenials take the second route with the few exceptions in this thread.

This isn't just a life skill. It is also how to succeed at a career, which some millenials struggle with.

 

[Corbic]

Even a change for my Z06 is not that much. $9 per qt? Is this unicorn blood?!

Or just standard marked up Mobile 1 synthetic....

Experiences will very based on dealer.

 

[Grabber]

Royal Purple, Amsoil, Redline, etc. Take your pic, they are $9.00 or less in most cases. Filters are between $10-$15 dollars.

Can't really compare castrol or greg's motor oil to a full synthetic oil above.

Plus, most modern cars take 8 quarts of oil as well. My durango takes 8 and so did my 5.0. I always ordered 9 in case I needed to top off the oil in between changes.

You get what you pay for.

 

[351stang]

I can't speak for anyone else... OP included. However, for me personally, I think some may be misunderstanding the point. If I am wrong, hopefully the OP will clarify his point.

My take-away and opinion is, as a whole demographic... the male youth of today seem a bit too whiny about not having a skill set and having to pay others for their services, and then act like they are a car guy. No... that guy is a whiny little

We all have our own set of skills, but the Man's Man is a dying bread. In the Boy Scouts in 1910, you earned a patch for building a sturdy shelter from scratch, suitable to live in. Today, in 2016, the hardest badges to get are 1.) don't be a fat-ass 2.) Congrats... you can recycle! 3.) Wow, you can balance a checkbook.

To clarify:

This thread morphed into a more serious and interesting topic, but my original post was due to the enormous douche bags on YouTube with basically no contradictory examples of real car guys in the demographic.

There are advantages to being a man's man. I hope more of the generation figures it out.

There are also advantages to doing stuff instead of wasting time video logging about stuff that other people did for you.

I'm sure the Scat Pack kids attitude and knowledge influenced his treatment at the dealership.

 

[carrrnuttt]

I watched that whole video and I feel like I just wasted 25 minutes of my life that I will never get back.

It was basically a lecture to older people to stop being judgemental and condescending to young people, by making a presentation that was judgemental and condescending to older people. Good job!

If you actually got what was being said, he was actually being "judgemental and condescending" to EVERYONE, considering WE ALL grow old (if we survive that far).

As in, the "old people" that are being condescending now, were condescended and looked down on when THEY were young, and so will the young people now eventually look down on the next generation.

The complaints "old people" have now about "Millennials" are no different than what the "Baby Boomers" were complaining about against "GenX'ers."

And that all these ****ing labels are just some shit people who want to sell books made up.

He's basically saying, everyone ISN'T some part of some ****ing "generational attitude" that you're free to stereotype. We're all just *people*. Imagine that.

 

[Zemedici]

in the end, many of these guys you all 'hate' because they vlog their life on Youtube, make VERY Good money doing it.....

Look at that dude TJ Hunt, he just bought a GTR.

Jussayin. Everyone hates until they realize the potential. My boss thought video games were stupid until I told him I used to get paid to play Halo, and Pewdiepie's net worth....