Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

[Edmund C.]

Folks: Back in the day (1960s) within the inner works of the C2 Chevy skunk works, the target audience for the Corvette were young men between the ages of 18 - 27. Flash forward to today, those of us (middle aged fellows) lucky enough to have a 1960s vintage Vette; does it make sense for us to let the boys drive our Vettes on special nights (e.g., proms, big dates, graduations, etc.). I say yes. I let my boys drive my 1966. I think it also makes some sense for us to buy these same sons and grandsons decent C4s to keep the Corvette hobby healthy. You can pick up a good one for $10K. What do you think? Any thoughts appreciated. Best, Ned

[Joe L.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

Folks: Back in the day (1960s) within the inner works of the C2 Chevy skunk works, the target audience for the Corvette were young men between the ages of 18 - 27. Flash forward to today, those of us (middle aged fellows) lucky enough to have a 1960s vintage Vette; does it make sense for us to let the boys drive our Vettes on special nights (e.g., proms, big dates, graduations, etc.). I say yes. I let my boys drive my 1966. I think it also makes some sense for us to buy these same sons and grandsons decent C4s to keep the Corvette hobby healthy. You can pick up a good one for $10K. What do you think? Any thoughts appreciated. Best, Ned

Edmund-------


My opinion: NO

Remember: "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"

[Daniel S.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

I'm of the youngest participants of the forum and member of the NCRS at 29 years old and my younger brother David, who is 26, is also a frequent participant here and an NCRS member. Here is my take. YES. Be like my father did. Teach your children (let's not exclude the girls) how to drive stick. Bring them to a secluded, open, safe, straight drive and have them open up the car. Purposely allow them to feel comfortable driving a stick on a hill and on a highway with bias ply tires. This will allow them time to understand the car. Just like my father did with my brother and I as we were campaigning our '66 L72 for the Duntov award. He even allowed us to drive the truck and enclosed trailer. This formed an unparalleled comfort with driving the cars and unyieldingly shaped our passion. Ended up my first car I drove to high school was a '70 Camaro with 18k original miles (was a total cream puff with original paint) and my brother's first car ended up being a '72 Nova factory SS350 with a build sheet and 4 speed. In the interim, my dad allowed us to use his 66 L79 survivor convert he bought from the original owner and his stunning 36k original mile 1 repaint born with drivetrain '69 Z28. Now my brother and I have a Grenning/Papsun certified '70 LT1 Convert and a build sheet/MacNeish documented '69 Z28. We are the future of the hobby. Period. My point being is that if we're nervous of an accident and that is the only reason why we're not showing the next generation what a classic car will be, we're depriving the millennials of the right to learn. Then we have no business saying the future of the hobby is dead. Hand over the keys dad - but not before a healthy education of what the car is and how the car handles.

Dan

[Don H.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

My son drove our '64 Coupe to high school Homecomings and Proms. My daughter drove an AAR Cuda to high school (bought for my son to drive but I didn't get it done in time). I bought my '60 Corvette when I was 19. Everyone has to decide on an individual basis. Good luck, Don H.

[Jim D.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

"Kids" today have very little interest in cars and look at them as nothing more than something that gets you from point A to B. Our generation (as Edmund nicely put as middle aged) lived and breathed cars. Getting your drivers licence was the right of passage to manhood and we looked forward to that day for years. The vast majority of "millennials" have no desire to even get a license. My wife interviews many people in their 20's to hire for her business and very few even have a drivers license. She had to fire one employee that couldn't make it to work because she didn't have bus fare to get to work yet the prior week she had several hundred $$$$ to buy the latest I-Phone.

[Ed S.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

I would think that most, if not all sons or daughters would appreciate and have a good understanding of what the car meant to their dad and would not do anything that would be considered "stupid". Actually, I suspect that most would consider it an honor and privilege and would exercise exceptional caution. That said, what would worry me more is what can happen to the car that is beyond the control of the trusted young driver - like dings in the side from a crowded parking lot - but if you believe it is only a machine, and that stuff doesn't bother you.... well, then there is no reason why the entire family shouldn't enjoy the car. My daughter is an adult and does not live very near us, can't wait to teach her how to drive my '64 4 speed L76. Would I let her drive it to work (and park it in North Parking at the Pentagon), probably not - doesn't mean that I don't love her.

[Edmund C.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

Dan "the Man"; well said Brother. At the end of the day, we're all just care takers. I went to a funeral up in Boston today. It made me think a bit about how I'd like to be remembered. At the end of the day, I'd like to be the fellow that was cool and generous and let the boys/girls have a bit of fun. I still fondly remember my Uncle Harold (a classy old Dr. with a Navy blue 6.9 Mercedes 450 SEL) who would show up a few times a year with Aunt Audrey. Upon arrival, he'd toss me the keys and tell me to take her for a ride. I'd then go terrorize Central Ave in Milton, MA for a couple of hours racing 1970 442s and 1968 Roadrunners. It was a super fast German monster. I say, teach the next generation the ropes. My two cents. Have a great weekend fellows. Best, Ned

[Michael J.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

I could not afford a hugely expensive car like a C2 until I was well into my 40s. In the mid-late '60s very few 18-27 year olds had the cash for them, if GM was targeting that demographic, they were smoking some dope.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

I asked Hagerty, and they won't cover a driver under 26 unless you're chaperoning them. I wanted to let my son drive the 70 Cutlass convertible, but by the time they went through all the restrictions it wasn't worth it. He drove my Dad's 2002 convertible - which is worth a lot more - and the insurance company didn't care.

He and my 17yo daughter have driven the Cutlass with me there, and my son has driven manual transmissions in my Dad's 92 Corvette. If you could get a rider on the policy it would be a lot easier. However, it's the prom and other "special events" when more accidents occur, according to Hagerty. Thus, they're even less likely to allow them to drive.

None of them have yet driven the 2008 as the manual transmission is more difficult to use, and it has a LOT more power than any of the earlier cars.

[Keith B.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

Growing up while I was helping dad restore his first 67 I always dreamed of driving it. Fast forward to high school and driving age we were still putting it together. He managed to get it done before my senior year in HS. was I allowed to drive it. The answer is no. I was a honner student and a good kid. And when I realized I wasn't getting any thing handed to me I found my own classic car to restore. While in the middle of restoring my car he taught me to drive a four speed in anther 67 he had bought. To this day I have only driven the first 67 once on the street and that was around the block. Now at 31 looking back I am greatful of this. It taught me a lot of things. Now I have my own classic car I can enjoy anytime I want and if I want to drive a 67 I can go to dad and ask. Chance are he will say yes but I never ask. They are his cars. I treat them special when I get a chance to drive them becouse it is special. I see kids today my age and younger who think every things got to be handed to them on a silver platter and if it's not your the bad guy.

[Frank D.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

I'm a Florida "Safe Driver" (a DMV designation) no tickets or wrecks in 30+ years.

In June I had a serious accident in an older car with an uninsured driver of a 2003 Escalade who was at fault by his own statement to the police and labeled as driving aggressively by several witnesses. He got a ticket and I got a hospital stay. The Escalade was owned by a Mr. Mendez with a current registration and lapsed insurance. Need I say more ?

He is now suing my insurance company for medical injuries; THAT'S how ridiculous things are today and sadly -- the "new normal". I'm lucky I'm here to even type responses; if I had been traveling 10 miles an hour more I wouldn't be.

I wouldn't let my child leave the neighborhood in anything less than something that gives her a survivable 'edge' in today's traffic, and, that means air bags all around, crush zones, steel side reinforcement, ABS brakes, collapsible steering columns, shoulder belts...etc.

Her safety is of tantamount importance to me; infinitely more so than me fostering her love of antique cars.

Others can do as they like....

[Stuart F.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

Yes, Florida has probably the worst drivers in the country. That's why I only go out with my 63 on Sunday mornings (early). Many of the bad drivers here are from out of state. They act as though there in a third world country that has no traffic laws or enforcement of existing laws. Red don't mean STOP to them. When I speak of out of state drivers, I must include those from off shore too. A lot of those that move here, specially by way of the northeast, don't even bother to re-register their cars for years (NY and NJ).

My 2 sons used to help me work on the 63 back in the 70's. One decided it was better to go in the house and help his mother, while the other stayed with me to learn every 4 letter word possible. He owns 3 Vettes and a beautiful De Lorean today, while his brother drives a Mercedes and a family Honda Pilot (SUV). Everyone is different in their own way and I respect that.

Stu Fox

[Mark H.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

I could not afford a hugely expensive car like a C2 until I was well into my 40s. In the mid-late '60s very few 18-27 year olds had the cash for them, if GM was targeting that demographic, they were smoking some dope.

Have to disagree. The 30 and under crowd was their target for the Corvette in the '60s. Some guy in his 40s with two high school aged kids was not even remotely interested in a Corvette. The first Corvette I ever sat in was a new '66 coupe a friend of my older brother had bought. He was 23 at the time. He'd put about $1500 down and was financing the rest. He said his payments would be a little over $100 a month which would be a stretch but the thing that was killing him was the insurance. The only way a 23 year old kid buys a new Corvette now is if he wins the lottery.

[Frank D.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

Ha! my wreck was on a Sunday morning - the day of the Orlando 'Pulse' shooting actually, on a secondary 35 mph road in semi-rural Florida - go figure...

Apparently, some folks ran with a more affluent crowd 'back in the day'. My buddies were ecstatic if they could afford a used Camaro or Chevelle. I had ONE friend whose Dad bought him a '66 Corvette small block. That was about it. Insurance costs for an under-25, unmarried male with a high performance car sank most kids' hopes for a Corvette.

Some of the richer kids from other high schools had Corvettes but that's about it. I never even rode in a Corvette until my Dad traded a C2 in on his car lot in 1975.

[Mark E.]

Re: Teenagers and Corvettes: Does it make sense?

Disclaimers: First, I'm not a parent, so I don't know what I'm talking about. Second, I don't like anyone driving my cars. This concept elicits the same emotional response, albeit less intense, than the idea of anyone dating my wife.

does it make sense for us to let the boys drive our Vettes on special nights (e.g., proms, big dates, graduations, etc.). I say yes. I let my boys drive my 1966.

I like the idea of sharing a joy with a child. But is it a good idea to give a teenage boy the keys to a vintage sports car during an event when they'll likely be distracted and have the testosterone flowing?

I think it also makes some sense for us to buy these same sons and grandsons decent C4s to keep the Corvette hobby healthy.

The better parents I've witnessed don't often buy their kids big ticket items (except maybe an education). I believe it helps build responsibility and character if the kid contributes in part or in whole to the the cost of a car. They'll probably take better care of it too.