The future of classics is with youngsters

Like or not, the car – and by extension, historic vehicles – is under threat.
Fewer youngsters aspire to drive than ever before, at least by the statistics of a 2021 Guardian report, which found just 2.97 million 16-25 year-olds had a licence, compared to the highs of 3.32 million in March 2020, and 3.42 million in 2012.

The article also cites 2019 Department of Transport survey mentioning that 41 per cent of youngsters were put off by the cost of learning to drive, buying said car (at 31 per cent) and finding insurance cover (30 per cent); historic COVID-19 backlogs must also take some credit for the decline in young licence holders.

With the cost of living crisis biting deep in 2023, acquiring a classic appears a lesser priority for younger generations, pre-occupied with environmental concerns and an automotive landscape that will see the last new internal combustion engine cars sold in the UK in seven years’ time.

That said, the historic vehicle sector – a £7.2 billion industry by pre-pandemic standards, according to the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) has taken numerous steps to interest younger enthusiasts beyond family members already involved with classic cars. Parental guidance, environmental reasons, and affordability, will all be dealt with later in this feature.

Let’s look at the current schemes in place to engage with youngsters: these include Starter Motor, a maintenance charity programme based at Bicester Heritage. The likes of the Association of Heritage Engineers and the Heritage Skills Academy train students not only to repair cars but other legacy industries, too; there are also specific clubs for owners of cars under 35, like the Young Retro Motor Club, not to mention specific sections of the TR Register (Young Members, for 18-29 year olds) and the Morris Minor Owners’ Club Young Members.

Editor of Practical Classics, Danny Hopkins, summed up the current situation as one of hope.
He said: ‘I have met lots of young people into cars and old cars but it has to be said that there’s often a family connection either in the form of a business or as a hobby, so they will be following in grandad’s footsteps, or dad’s footsteps, or mum’s footsteps.

That often involves tinkering, messing around, modifying cars in workshops […] they’ll have come up through the ranks by learning from their parent’s knee.’

Danny also felt that the costs involved through repairing and fixing old cars still had much to offer hard-up young drivers, even those who might not have wanted a classic, but wanted to save money.

Danny added: ‘The secret is finding that replacement for that old imperative, which was “if we didn’t fix our cars, we didn’t have a car”. It was a route to freedom, but you only got that freedom if you fixed it up […] you could have motoring for cheap. With modern cars you can’t do that, it’s just impossible. If you said that you could still have a car for cheap, that you could work on yourself, but it had to be older, that’s one route.

He went on to emphasise the green credentials of the historic vehicle hobby, another concern of environmentally minded youngsters. ‘The other route is that classic car ownership is a green pursuit, and it is. It’s a form of recycling or upcycling that’s more useful and practical than having an older car that [otherwise] would have gone to the scrapyard. A car that’s been repaired and repurposed is a damn sight greener than any electric car.’

Touching, feeling and sampling classics on offer is also something Danny continues to support.
‘As owners, we have a responsibility to get youngsters behind the wheel, more than anything, to show them what fun it can be. I put my daughter through a young drivers’ course where she got to drive an Austin Seven […] unlike any other learner car she’d tried, she felt what was going on and what was under the bonnet […] she felt connected to the road, and that was intoxicating.’

Founder of the Association of Heritage Engineers, Dominic Taylor-Lane, said that constantly shifting definitions of what a ‘classic’ was would help bring young people into the classic fold.

According to the FBHVC, a historic vehicle is defined as ‘formally recognised by the UK Government when they attain an age of 40 years. The global qualification for a Historic Vehicle is 30 years as defined by the Fédération International des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA).’

‘Whether young people are involved in classic cars depends on where you lay the line of “classic”’, Dominic said. ‘[Young people] look at a classic car and go “a classic car is [from] before I was born”, and obviously, that goal post moves. They are into old cars but not necessarily “classic” cars [by the accepted definition of a historic vehicle].’

Dominic agreed that cost and environmental factors were major factors in getting on the road: ‘You’re unlikely [as a youngster] to afford a second car and the insurance for a second car before you’re 25. It’s a huge chunk of cash,’ he said.

At this point, it’s best to mention that classic insurance functions on a sliding scale of age; Lancaster Insurance Services can help with any enquiry, but it’s widely accepted that cover gets cheaper from age 25; owning a modern vehicle as a ‘daily’ also brings quotes down, as it’s not your only means of transport.

That’s not to say that ambitious youngsters don’t run classics as their only vehicles – Becca Treston, founder of YouTube’s Passenger Seat Podcast, emphasised the need for supportive communities (either via traditional car club or social media) to help with advice.

‘If they’re looking for a daily, they’re going to be attracted to a car with good part availability, easy fixes, and a good community who can advise on issues quickly as they crop up. Traditional car clubs are good, but a well-managed, supportive and welcoming Facebook Group is often more valuable to young owners now,’ she said.

Furthermore, Lancaster Insurance Services’ Bright Young Sparks initiative – to reward upcoming stars in the classic car industry with work experience in the sector – will announce the winner at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show 2023. It aims to shed light on their exploits, achievements and aspirations.

Head of Car Club Liaison, Steph Holloway, explained: ‘At Lancaster Insurance Services, we think ensuring the future of classics should be the talking point of every enthusiast in the country.

Talk of youngsters not being interested seems unfounded with so many fresh faces at car shows across the UK and young members divisions of main clubs popping up. It’s the responsibility of every classic enthusiast to share skills and knowledge, help inspire enthusiasm in future custodians; the future of our hobby depends on it!’

Dominic agreed that making preservation of classics attractive to audiences young and older was the a key piece of the puzzle – and it may well take place through modification. ‘Resto-modding, for want of a better word, has always existed within each generation of car enthusiast’, he said.

‘Safety items like better lights, seats and tyres not only encourage repair and replacement skills, but also appeal to parents, as the finished car will stop better and handle closer to a modern car.
[Furthermore…] we can’t just expect kids to like [old cars] just because we did [and continue to], they’re going to want to know how it’s relevant and how it fits into their lives.

Kids also feel guilty about liking stuff that they’re told is bad for the planet; again you have to make it relevant and explain how it’s part of the UK’s heritage and how fixing and preserving [an old car] is sustainable. If we can develop sustainable synthetic (e) fuels, and I believe we can, it isn’t the end of internal combustion engines, and something that’s already built is more sustainable than something which isn’t.’

If it’s feeling like everyone’s responsibility to keep the hobby afloat, you’re not alone. That’s what we all need to do – and figures from the last FBHVC Historic Vehicle Survey (a five-year snapshot of the sector) suggest that increasing numbers of young trainees in the repair and restoration industry might well see us right.

Number crunching during research for the survey stated: ‘ Whilst overall age has increased [from 42 years to 45 years], the growth in younger workers (those aged under 25) has grown by 70% in just 5 years (17 per cent of the workforce vs 10 per cent in 2016). This is even bigger news and evidence of the value being delivered through apprenticeship and training schemes.’

Make no mistake: the classic car hobby will prevail. In Dominic Taylor-Lane’s words, the strategy is simple. ‘The broader the appeal, the more protected [the sector] will be’.
Preserved classics have their place; modified classics have their place; the mood is hopeful.