Lets see if we can do this by deduction. (Peter G., our logic master, we mite need your help ).
Young men want young women. Older men want young women. Young women read People Magazine, watch daytime soaps and other similar TV series.
So the idea is to get AACA publicity or exposure in those areas. Show some vintage cars in action with clebrities. Drop the horse drawn carriage with a tiller logo and use a Cord or Dueneburg or Caddy V16, something that is elegant looking instead of something that looks like Wagon Train days.
Maybe sponsor more tours. The vintage cars need to be perceived as action oriented instead of art work.

One thing we just started is for all student members in our club. When they have a carb for their vehicle that needs restoration, we give them a 10% break on price at our carb restoration shop. We're trying to encourage other advetisers in our newsletter that are automotive related to do the same. One of our members who is on the national board may try to see if we get the same started on the national level. As y'all know, when your a 'youn-un' you have extremely limited funds, so any break you can get helps. And if it helps a young-un keep an old car on the road & their interest IN old vehicles up, isn't that the whole point?

Lunch is included in the price, plus we usually have some really great registration prizes. A lot of it is because it's so casual, it's a lot of fun. If your car isn't perfect, under construction, whatever, it's welcome. Like I say, we regualarly have over 200 vehicles. As for why do they do that, ask one of the 225 resgistered & had fun this September. What funds are left we usually donate to the local college automotive restoration class for buying things like the new lift they just acquired.

WOW. thats extremely commendable (re: the person you know who restored the model a). i figured there had to be others like me, but it was just hard to imagine. dont you worry either, im very proud of who i am and im never afraid to sound off on my opinion even when others give me strange glances esp when i talk with someone about my belief in nothing but American cars, and my love for musclecars ("no replacement for displacement" is my centerpiece) and they say stuff like " --insert megabucks euro or japansese maker-- is so much better built and handles better blah blah those engines ur talking about get terrible gas mileage....handling is worse blah blah" and i say who cares about gas mileage, esp on a hobby car, not necessarily a daily driver. handling? turns? what are turns? i--huh? i never heard of--whaa? top speed and handling at that speed? wha? who needs that? i do like the idea of speeding along at 150 mph, but in an old car or even a musclecar whats wrong with just crusing at the speed limit? all i need is TORQUE. i can roast some tires, or take off real fast. i dont need to go 20000 mph, just get me to 60 mph fast, excitingly, and loudly.

Oh no!!! We better not let Zonda and Matt (bschemesc/rambler) get together!! If they met at a show, we wouldn't be able to see ANY of the cars for the tire smoke!!

Zonda, Great to have you with us.

If I may chime in. Being considerably younger than most people here, I might be able to offer some insight. The issue with most young car enthusiast, is they don't want to keep their vehicle original. Also, I don't know a whole lot of young people who want to go to a car show with a bunch of older people talking about the "old" days, and telling war stories. Myself, I love to engage in conversation of the past. Gives me a good history lesson.

Another issue is advertising. I know that the budget of the AACA is limited, but the right advertising is key in attracting new/young members. Also, getting the word out about the organization in general is key too. I didn't know about the club until last year while I was stumbling around the internet looking for info on my Buick. A few well placed magazine ads would make a world of difference.

Just a few ideas from a young pup trying to do what he can for you old war horses.

Alex and Zonda, May I ask your ages? I'm use to being the youngest or near to the youngest at some local AACA region/chapter shows in my area. I'm 39. If you would rather not post your age you can send a PM (click the "My Home" at the top of this page then send PM) or email me (click on my username). I know I'm not the youngest on here, but curiuos as to how much younger some of the others are here.

I will be 21 on the 4th of November.

That's great Alex. And how long now have you been a member of the AACA?

Not a member yet. Still working the kinks out of some other issues before I join. It's been on my to-do-list for quite sometime.

i am 17. b'day is july 30. Im going to have to side with 75LesabreCustom. i personally love hearing "stories about the old days" how else do we learn? (and we have to learn its stupidity not to) its MUCH better than learning through a textbook. you sometimes get much more descriptive (sometimes colorful) language and it is much more interesing than learning it through a politically-corrected-up textbook.

i escpecially love it when im standing next to a 1950 something olds or buick at a cruise-in or something and one of the older guys standing next to it chatting and stuff starts saying "you know i bought one a these back when i was this kid here next to me's age..." "...the thing just moved!..." "...had the better powerplant, my friend with a (brand x x x x) wanted to race me and i blew 'im outta the water!..."

its a firsthand experience from someone who owned one when they were new and everything was like that. many average modern cars can manage acceleration and performance specs only the most powerful cars back then could muster. so to us kids thats nothing. thats "just a normal car" speed. you gotta appreciate that back then, that was FAST. and its certainly respectable.

Thanks you two, for bringing me back to reality of how old I am. Alex, I graduated from high school the year you were born. Zonda, I had graduated from college, worked at a Chevrolet dealership for a year and moved to NC before you were born!

I'm really glad to know there are still the teenage/ early twenties people out there, interested in the antique car hobby.

Zonda, I'm with you on the learning from the stories told. I've been listening to them since about the time I was able to walk. (my dad belong to car clubs starting when I was between 0 to 3 yrs old. They told my mom when she was due with my younger sister, that was not what they meant by trying to increase membership") I still love to hear the stories and sometimes feel like I missed out on the "real fun" you could have with cars. Half the stuff the "old timers" pulled , would land you or I in jail and they'd throw the key away!!!


I had to look up where you're from. I grew up about 225 mile west of you.

Thats a lot of what I like hearing about, and I wish I was growing up in their time! Back then I've been told many highways said 'keep it prudent' as a "speed limit" (if you can call it that! ) and this was in the '40s to '50s, and cars by then were managing 100 mph or more.

A few ideas might be having more youth oriented divisions/classes in the AACA. I'm not quite sure how the entire thing works, but as I said before, most young people aren't interested in keeping their classic car classic.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

alex, a happy birthday to you.

I live in Albany NY area, closet region is 45 minutes away and only has 40-50 active members, i maybe the youngest at 42.

I live a between an hour & hour & a half drive to some of our meetings. Fortunately they alternate locations so some are a little closer for us. I was the youngest at 42 until recently (now one member at under 25) & we have about 50-60 active members. Some don't live here year round, but are active while in the area. Just gotta keep it fun, & more stay active in it.

Sadly I find that very few people younger than me(50y/o) are really interested in our older cars in the Philadelphia area!!! Most car shows do not have very many older cars that attend!!!
A friend of mine and his Dad had 14 pre 1930 cars that they had restored over the years... His dad had a stroke and the cars had to be sold...Sadly there were few takers!!! Several nice older restored cars were sold for little money to "Hotrodders" who just pulled them apart + dropped small block chevys into them... This almost made me cry!!! The best car was a 1926 Lincoln town car that was hotrodded!!!
The big car auctions have very few older cars for sale..."No real market for them!!!"
I don't know what the answer is...
I wish we all could get younger folks interested in these fine old cars!!!
I really think we need more Old Car Only shows !!! No musclecars-no hotrods!!!
There are many great old cars sitting un-used by their older owners...They have lost interest in them...Their children don't seem to care at all about the car!!!
Another friend bought a Model A for his 16 y/o son...The boy stated...I would rather have a Dodge Charger!!!! The car was put on Ebay...No takers!!! Very very sad indeed!!!

I agree it is sad not to get many younger people into the hobby. I don't beleive that restricting the age limit further on 'old cars' for shows is the way to go. A lot of the prewar cars (age I assume you mean when you refer to Old Car shows with no muscle cars) is that when a lot of younger people go out to actually BUY an older car, they can't afford a prewar car. Most I've seen out there that I like I CAN'T afford either! If we limit it to prewar cars only that would leave me out, as well as close to half the people in our club. Thats going the wrong way. I know the youngsters can't afford muscle cars either, but they can afford the odd '60's & '70's 4 doors, big cars & other 'non-muscle' (therefore 'non-desirable') or as I've heard other aaca members call them "used" cars. Heck, that's ALL that I CAN AFFORD! Let the rodders have their own shows, lord knows there's enough rodders clubs & shows to satisfy them, but don't restrict even more people (young & old) out by elimenation of even more vehicles.

I must admit that you are right about keeping younger people out !!!
Here is a short story for you about the first time I took a car to an AACA show !
I bought a 1952 MG TD in 1972 after leaving High school. It needed a total restoration,Mechanical,chassis,wiring,body,paint,interior,top,--the works. I was in college at the time and I did not have much money...But I worked on it every chance I had. I did EVERYTHING myself...Mechanical,body+paint,interior,the works. I Could not afford chrome plating!!! In 1977 it was finished (sans plating).I was ready for my first show...I was so proud!!!
The AACA New Hope PA. Show was that summer.I was not an AACA member but I took my car to the show anyway!!! I just wanted to be a part of the show!!! When I arrived at the entrance tent I stopped to pay my entrance fee and sign up. An old cranky guy looked at me and my car and said that I could not show it there!!! "It was foreign,Not old enough,I was not a CLUB member nor an AACA member,and the restoration is amateur and not up to our standards!!!" I was CRUSHED!!! Another Older
Man pulled him aside and after five min. or so it was decided to let mew in...BUT...My car could not be judged!!! I drove my car onto the show field...but I was not at all happy!!! In fact I was insulted !!!
My second attempt was an AACA car show in Ocean City N.J. Another Old Grump at the Entrance tent did not want to let me in to this show . "it's foreign,+++NOT AN ANTIQUE!!!" Since the town sponsored the show I was permitted to attend...BUT...would not be allowed to have my car judged!!!" I enjoyed the show anyway + joined in the boardwalk parade with the other cars... A 1955 T-bird won the "Sports car ' division where my car was shown along with several Corvettes.. The T-bird did not have outside door handles(not back from platers yet!!!) nor did it have inside door pannels or rugs!!! He won none the less!!!
When the local newspaper came out later in the week My car + two other older cars was pictured on the front page!!!
I really got a kick out of this after not being permitted to have my car judged!!!
I never forgot this + never took this car to another AACA show again!!!
Later that summer I had a chance meeting with BILL Miller (Of Carlisle Show Fame) in Ocean City NJ. He was driving his Black 1959 Corvette ! I stopped him to talk about his car as I had just bought a 1960 vette!!! He tod me that he and his brother Chip were starting an all corvette show!!! When asked why he was doing this he responded...Because the AACA club guys won't let us show our vettes at their shows!!! SO...We are going to start our OWN show!!! The rest is History!!!
Today the Carlisle events are some of the largest-well attended events in the country!!!
Sadly now I am seeing the musclecars dominating the AACA shows in my area...and the Hotrodders are fast breathing down the AACA's neck. Several Hotrods attnded a large Antique car show in my area this summer. Very few old Antique +Classics attend these events anymore!!! Pebble Beach now has a Hotrod division!!! (Bruce Meyer's idea!!!).
I really like the old old cars...The TRUE Antiques...Brass cars, Horseless Carriages, and the Great Classics!!! You just don't see these cars at many shows anymore!!! What happened to all the older cars??? I have several ideas about this...Here they are!!!
The guys who own them are getting up in age!!!
Many can't drive them anymore...
They have lost many of their old car friends..
They feel out of place among the newer musclecars+++Hotrods+++younger people!!!
They feel left out!!! Like I once did !!!
As any collector knows you buy an old car to try to recapture your youth...
The car you always wanted...but could not afford as a youth in High School...
The car your Dad once had...
Or the "Rich Kid" down the block...
Or your grandfather...
Now that you have the money...Why not finally get that "Dream Car!!!"
Few of todays younger generation always dreamed of a brass Model "T" or Model "A"...
The older men are selling their old cars now...not buying as a rule!!!
Time marches on I guess...
Now don't get me wrong...I like musclecars and some Hotrods...(as long as they don't ruin a restored Antique doing it!!!)
But I really LOVE the OLDIES!!!
I feel the Hotrodders + Muscle car guys are taking over all the old shows +auctions!!!
Just look at the Barrett-Jackson Auction!!!
The great Classics once brought top $$$
NOT today!!! There are few true Classics+Antiques there anymore!!!
I would just like to see more of the cars that I and my 87y/o Dad like...The Oldies!!!
This is why I woud like to see more AACA shows...with OLDER CARS!!!
Let the 60s-70s-80s cars attend...
NOT the Hotrods!!! They will soon take over...It just in the sheer numbers!!!
They are now in the majoriety!!!
Let them have their own Hotrod shows...!!!
We need more AACA "Antique,Brass,Classic",events for US!!

Brad, I really appreciate your response and views about our hobby. I was really sorry to hear about your "abuse" at the AACA show registration tent you attended. Unfortunately, there are many car show "workers" that have a bad attitude and should never be handling public relations at registration tents. This is something any AACA Region should be well aware of. Our Region just had our annual show last month, and the chief judge didn't like a Chevelle that was entered because it had the battery in the trunk, and so many other modified "options". Someone else in charge told him to let his car be judged and anyone else in that wants to be in our show. The car owners just have to realize they are judged per the rules of the class they are entered into. We already had a modified class, but he didn't like the compertition in that class as his car wasn't anything special.

One other thing about the Pebble Beach "Hot Rod" class. These cars were in fact historical hot rods, not put together last year just for the show. They all had a background of history with them. The AACA thought about having a class like this (class 37, at the time)a few years ago, but very little support could be mustered up. It wasn't the right time, I guess.

Perserving history in very important, in my mind, whether it's old car, homes, or typewriters. So, I'm proud to see you agree with me on some of those issues. Keep looking for the right AACA region, and you'll find the old car friends you are looking for.

Wayne Burgess

Hey Brad-
I hate to hear you had some experience with the same crumudgeon crowd that I have. One fella judging our car complained about our chrome bumpers & grill on our '61 Newport & told us just how 'cheap' it would be to get them rechomed. I invited him to buy the car & do it himself if it were so cheap (I still have the car). I had priced it, & the cost is more than I bought the car for with the upholstrey already done & an older paint job on it & in good running order. The next time I put it on a show field in Charlotte in it's class, I was asked why we put that piece of c#*p on the field, taking up space that someone going for a first junior could have had. Not a problem-we haven't entered that car in ANY competetive class since, & now that we have DPC, that's the ONLY class we put it in. Mind you, this car does usually take third place at other smaller open shows, so its not THAT bad. It doesn't matter to me that we win something, just being there supporting the club, having a presentable, running car & fellowship with other like-minded folks is good enough.
Point being: Don't discourage people from entering. Even if the car is not perfect, that's what DPC is for. And for the folks who have rods - there are other clubs for that, and far fewer clubs for the non-modified vehcile. If we don't encourage folks, young & old, to keep their vehicle original & bring it out (even if it isn't an award winning car), and NOT complain that it isn't good enough, then we only encourage them to either take the easy way out & modify it or scrap it.
If you'd like to see a few more shows with just prewar era stuff, make the suggestion to the folks in Hershey. Who knows - maybe they'll come up with something.

i think this all ties in to lact of public awareness of the AACA, the announcers at Barett Jackson dont even know that the AACA is.

HAHA American Automobile Club of America or whatever it was.

seriously though thats SAD, and unacceptable.