My wife and I went to a small "classic car" show last weekend and I remarked afterwards how old the crowd was that was in attendance. For the most part, the only "young people" there were young children stewarded by their parents who placated them with ice cream, Italian ices, hot dogs and pretzels. Those in charge of them were of grandparents' vintage too, twenty to forty-somethings were few and far between, that doesn't bode well, in my opinion, for the future of classic cars not to mention what's going to happen to this 1965 Oldsmobile "Dynamic 88" I found on Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of $7,500.
Let's define "kids" today as anyone under forty and they are, in general, not into cars to say nothing of oldies like this 88. Granted, kids that are into old cars or cars en masse are as ribald as any generation before them, but there's just not that many of them. The ones that may find the old stuff like this "cool", spend but a second or two behind the wheel and are put off by them too. My 26-year-old son, who's semi- "into cars", has a hard time understanding how pleased I am about how improved the driving dynamics of my 1977 Corvette improved since I rebuilt the front and rear suspensions. He thinks it still handles like a junky old truck. Truth hurts but I see his point. I tell him to not hate it for what's it not but to appreciate it for what it is. That can be a long and tough putt for someone who drives a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro.
In fairness, "car shows" have always skewed an older crowd. The first serious show I ever attended was in the mid-'80's and most everyone there was a good ten, fifteen, gosh, twenty-five years older than I was at the time. Sadly, that twenty-to-fifty-year old car-loving bubble hasn't grown in the subsequent years and these days it's shrinking. And although these days what defines a "classic car" by Haggerty Insurance is quite broad, a "classic" only has to be twenty-five years old or older and an "antique" forty-years old, it doesn't mean the appeal of old cars has grown any either. It's a shrinking interest and the cottage industries that have sprung up around classic and antique cars is only seeing a boom in revenue because they're charging exorbitantly. Their customer base is certainly not growing either.
There are many reasons for the younger generation's ambivalence. First, cars today are so good that even though the older stuff may appear to be inherently more interesting looking, and that's subjective, from the seat of your pants perspective, they're not even close. No one buys a 1977 Corvette these days because it so outperforms their 2009 Toyota RAV4.
Secondly, regarding styling, what with government regulations tapping down on the free-for-all that was car design years ago, there really hasn't been anything truly compelling pushed out by any manufacturer over the last fifty years or so. Sure, there are some semblances of the automotive elan that got, for instance, myself interested in them, but by and large, automobiles are no more than mere transportation conveyances these days.
What's more, since the advent of electronics and computer controlled everything, older "modern" cars are quite difficult to not only repair, but find parts for. My wife and I know that her 1995 Lexus SC400 is doomed should anything major happen to it; whether that's an accident or mechanical failure.
So, with the lack of earth moving designs, complexity and cost of less old "classics" and kids today more so connected these days to friends via their phones and social media, don't hold your breath holding out for a new "golden age" of automotive design in the near future. Sure, there are one-off's like Ford's Bronco, note that's the "Bronco" and not the Bronco "Sport", but the days of the original Ford Mustang changing the automotive paradigm are gone forever.
What's, then, to become of this 88? Well, I think the closer you or I can get it closer to five grand the better. It's going to need a paint job, and a real good one soup--to nuts may run you ten-grand and the interior needs to be done too. Figure a cool three-g's for that. Mechanically, well, that's easy these days. Just throw a crate engine in there or, gulp, LS-swap it. No one's going to care if it's "numbers matching" anyway.
And kids be like, "number's matching"? You mean as phone numbers?
From the Facebook ad:
1965 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 with a 425 big block 75000 original miles runs good shifts good automatic transmission. Needs some brake work and the rear bumper straightened or replaced . No more pictures and a bunch of silly questions please if you're interested come check it out I'll take you for a ride. No negotiating on here come show your interested and bring cash to negotiate. Thanks 4 door parts car included have clear titles for both cars
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