CarNucopia

Cool. I didn’t know Aston Martin was that old.

All these years I’ve spent searching for barn finds and it never occurred to me to simply ask where they were.

Most likely a seagull post.

He was referring to me. Fortunately, he didn’t actually draw a line as it would have seemed strange at the time.

The next total eclipse is in August of ‘26, but it’s not in the US. A road trip to Greenland is all you need to do. 😁

As my dad would say, “how high is up”?

As an added bonus, I’m sure the older ones have found a new sense of vigor in doing their chores. 😁

I went to an eclipse tailgate hosted by the nice folks at the Model T Museum in Richmond IN. It happened to be on my way home from Charlotte. I’ve seen a partial eclipse before, but didn’t expect the huge change in light as that last 1% of the sun gets covered. I’m glad I made the extra time to see it.

I had two enjoyable days at the shows and just wanted to say thanks to those involved for all the hard work to put it all together..

V16 and 16V do not mean the same thing.

I’ll add another “go for it” to the tally. If both parties like what they get, it’s a good deal.

I owned a business that had a shop rate for the purpose of pricing out jobs. You are correct, and there are other costs to employ people like FICA, vacation time, workman's comp and so on. The rule of thumb at the time, 20 years ago, was you multiply a person's hourly wage by 1.3 to get close to your actual cost. Then you need to mark it up. I'd wager that number has grown. Another complication is, the more experienced they are, the older they are and the more their health insurance costs you.

Thanks guys, very helpful. What I’m hoping to do is when I go camping in the van, I can tow a small trailer behind me with a car in it. That way wherever I am, I can still have some car fun.

It's the Illinois Tollway version of the EZpass. https://getipass.com/ You can pick one up an an Oasis on the tollway if you're in Illinois. I'm not sure if they care you are out of state.

I'm looking to buy a class B camper van that will tow a small (3,500 lbs. GVW) trailer. Some of the options I see have a Ford 350 chassis with a 3.5 EcoBoost and 5K tow rating. Does anyone have any experience with this powertrain setup? If so, has it been reliable and does it tow well? Thanks

I have an Ipass, which is the same as an EZ pass. I’ve driven from Charlotte to Hershey with it and not had any problems.

“Can be crank started” Yeah, good luck with that. 😀

I agree with the point that we need to not only expose younger people to our cars, we need to engage them. One of the greatest joys of being at a show is letting a kid sit in your car. Where I think the problem lies is cultivating that interest once a seed is planted. Is there a next step to get them involved? A 13 year old, if curious about prewar cars, is going to look at their phone and seek out ways to see and experience more. They'll look on Instagram, YouTube or TicTok and likely not connect with any of the traditional clubs (certainly not this one). They'll also come across newer cars, presented in a format that appeals to their tastes and generation. We are competing in a marketplace of interested and ignoring the modern tools to be successful.

I agree with your point completely. But, what Boomers giveth, they can also taketh away. Because they built the foundation of the hobby, they seem very reluctant to accept change. Most of the clubs and businesses that close seem stuck in time, only focusing on Boomer-era cars. There are also very Boomer-centric opinions expressed here, all the time, that are way off and only serve to alienate the next generation. For example: Younger people don't know how to work on cars All they care about is their phone They don't have enough money They lack an appreciation of old things....and so on. As a Gen Xer with both JDM and Full Classics in my garage, I've interacted with the same people and been treated very differently based on what car I show up in. The unveiled contempt for me and my Japanese cars (also seen here on the forum) is really off putting. Many Boomers act like cars that fall outside that 55-72 window are a lesser class. Anyone who thinks that car enthusiasm is dying has simple never spent time at an event that caters the next generation. It's like someone going to an Frankie Valli show and being convinced young people don't like music since none where there. I agree with your second point, but lay the blame on the race to the bottom price, elsewhere. IMO, offshoring parts was an effort to save money at a time when new regulations, and their associated costs, where being ramped up. I have a '16 runabout in the Chicago I'll be selling for considerably less then$15K. The irony is, I replaced it with a '15 runabout that is a Canadian RHD car.

I’m curious, why is 1915 the cutoff? In the last year, I bought a ‘15 and ‘16 Model T Runabouts. The cars are almost the same, except for some trim pieces.

The only conclusion I can offer is that companies in the Live auction business should be thinking about getting into the Online business if they want to attract the next generation of collectors and cars. I also wonder at what point should a car from a particular year be eliminated from that year's total? There is a '63 Corvette at $300K on BaT right now, but a majority of the parts on the car are far newer then the model year.

A TD with an electrical fire. 😁

What’s the earliest a trailer can be parked? While I won’t be showing my car until Saturday, I’d like to arrive earlier to walk the swap meet and see the show field Friday. Thanks

One of my favorite expressions is "The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago". I worked in marketing for most of my career, including doing strategic planning. One of the biggest challenges in creating change was convincing people that the choice before them isn't "Change or Don't Change", it's "Change or Die". There's a reason we all know who Darwin was.

This is an interesting idea you propose and I agree with Steve Mack that it could be a great opportunity. Where I have a concern is I believe that the AACA is being challenged by the same issues that are putting marque-specific clubs out of business. Since the AACA is large, it has a longer runway before it faces obsolescence. Prior to absorbing other organizations, I think the Club needs to create a long term strategic plan for its survival. Adding new, potentially disparate, interests before this happens seems likely to harm an already challenged planning process.