“When I turned 15, my dad bought a Nash Metropolitan in “semi-running” state for $300. He gave me a set of Craftsman sockets and a few other wrenches and told me “when you rebuild it to my satisfaction, you can drive it”. So I did.”
Like the rest of us you couldn’t wait to drive a car when you were 16. Have you talked to teenagers lately - especially those from affluent homes? It’s bizarre. Many of them have little or no interest in getting their driver’s license. They have smart phones. Why would they need to go anywhere? Want to see a movie? We had to find a way to get to the theater. Now they just illegally download a bootleg copy off the internet. It’s pathetic. My friends complain about how difficult it is to get their kids to take their license test. My parents couldn’t stop me from taking mine! Cars meant freedom. Now all they want and need is a cell phone and Wifi.
I'm almost 70, so I'm kinda past the age of talking to teens. And all the nieces and nephews are the ones doing the talking. But yes, the loss of mechanical aptitude is unfortunate....although I suspect country folk still have (and need) the knack.
It’s a different planet now!! I joined the Navy just before my high school graduation to get an easier life and I’m not kidding. Boot camp was easier than the farm and after boot camp it was like a continouos vacation. Now teenagers seem to know about as much about hard work as I do about brain surgery.