Martin Benade wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 9:17 am
It’s not the government driving this. When was the last time you heard a high school student say they wanted to become a machinist or a car restorer? Mostly nobody wants to do those jobs any more. Working with your hands has become obsolete.
The biggest driver of the sentiment that "nobody wants to do this anymore" is that about 40 years ago the average Joe did not have the tools or knowhow to fix the cars that were being sold at the time so the days of the guy fixing his daily transportation in his garage dwindled fast. That means that fewer and fewer of their sons spent Saturdays in the garage with dad. We are lucky here in the Detroit area that this tradition did not die as fast as it did elsewhere since a lot of those guys were engineers for the auto companies and did know how to work on them. This means that I don't have as hard of a time finding technicians as maybe most areas of the country.
Therefore, it's not that nobody "wants" to work on cars it's that they were never introduced to working on cars in the first place. That's splitting hairs I know but there is a difference.
Martin Benade wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 9:17 am
It’s not the government driving this. When was the last time you heard a high school student say they wanted to become a machinist or a car restorer? Mostly nobody wants to do those jobs any more. Working with your hands has become obsolete.
The biggest driver of the sentiment that "nobody wants to do this anymore" is that about 40 years ago the average Joe did not have the tools or knowhow to fix the cars that were being sold at the time so the days of the guy fixing his daily transportation in his garage dwindled fast. That means that fewer and fewer of their sons spent Saturdays in the garage with dad. We are lucky here in the Detroit area that this tradition did not die as fast as it did elsewhere since a lot of those guys were engineers for the auto companies and did know how to work on them. This means that I don't have as hard of a time finding technicians as maybe most areas of the country.
Therefore, it's not that nobody "wants" to work on cars it's that they were never introduced to working on cars in the first place. That's splitting hairs I know but there is a difference.
You have to start them young, get em hooked! My son Max and nephew Calder worked their first swap meet this year at Carlisle and Max is coming to Stoddard with me. Ava is going to working this summer in the shop.
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Martin:
As a former high school principal, I would beg to differ with you regarding young folks abandoning skilled labor crafts. I've been around some of them, and they are a minority, but they still exist.
There are lots of kids who, by age 16, know that they are going to work with their hands, and some of them like wrenching on cars. It is up to us as car clubs and organizations like the RPM Foundation to promote the restoration arts and recruit these kids.
I belong to five car clubs, and we all share the dread of losing so many services and watching our car hobby go through a contraction. The internet has helped me find alternate service providers, but darned if I don't go down to my local mechanic and he helps me find service providers to turn my flywheel or whatever. It also helps to have an active hotrod club nearby, as they always know who to go to. We are also lucky that our 356s are cousins with VW bugs; the Beetle community is strong and a good resource.
So, IMHO, the end is not quite near, at least in sane states like North Carolina.... Jus' sayin'
Ron, I know you are correct but the numbers of interested kids is smaller than ever.
I’ve been asked by the rabbis at two orthodox schools if I could teach some auto mechanics classes, as even in that community some kids want to work with their hands, and I’ve been explained that not every 14 year old wants to just study the Torah.
Ronald Sieber wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 1:45 pm
Adam:
Your family business has growth potential. You are an inspiration to us all!
So what if they horse around and fall offs those lifts....
Don't worry, while it looks wild and crazy I helped them set it up and just had them stand there while I took the picture, so it isn't as risky as it looks. They thought it was fun, we try and keep it fun, when we aren't playing Porsche Pinball that is.
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Back in the 1980s, I was an auto shop teacher and at that time, and I doubt if it’s changed much, there were young men who want to do nothing more than work on cars. One day the Vice Principal came into my shop and told me I was not doing a good job with recording attendance. He said, You mark Bobby here every day and his other teachers mark him absent 90% of the time. Well, he was in auto shop every day, but not his other classes.
A lot of these types of kids need some guidance and someone to nurture their passion in cars.
Of course, there aren’t near as many auto shops in high schools as there was 40 years ago, but they’re still out there with lost kids who need a guru to start them on the path to a rewarding career.
Greg Bryan wrote: ↑Tue May 30, 2023 8:00 pm
Back in the 1980s, I was an auto shop teacher and at that time, and I doubt if it’s changed much, there were young men who want to do nothing more than work on cars. One day the Vice Principal came into my shop and told me I was not doing a good job with recording attendance. He said, You mark Bobby here every day and his other teachers mark him absent 90% of the time. Well, he was in auto shop every day, but not his other classes.
A lot of these types of kids need some guidance and someone to nurture their passion in cars.
Of course, there aren’t near as many auto shops in high schools as there was 40 years ago, but they’re still out there with lost kids who need a guru to start them on the path to a rewarding career.
