Posted on 11/04/2025 2:32:18 PM PST by nickcarraway
We don’t blame them: Pull into any parking lot and it’s a sea of grayscale SUVs with the same sweeping LED eyebrows and bloated body lines.
By any measure, modern cars are starting to look a little too much alike. A Honda CR-V looks like a Hyundai Tucson. A BMW X5 looks like an Alfa Romeo SUV. Maybe that’s why the next wave of car enthusiasts, Gen Z, is quietly falling for the classics instead.
According to Hagerty’s 2024 “Future of Driving” survey, 60% of Gen Z respondents said they’re interested in owning a classic car.
That’s nearly double the rate of Baby Boomers Hagerty, based in Traverse City, Michigan, commissioned the study through OnePoll, surveying over 2,000 Americans about their relationship with cars and driving.
The data hints at a cultural shift: young drivers are drawn to older cars because they feel more alive.
77% percent of Gen Zers said they love or like driving, and many already own “enthusiast” cars
They’re not just scrolling car content on YouTube or Instagram. They’re showing up at real-world car shows, wrenching, and learning to drive stick.
And honestly, who can blame them? My husband and I drive a 21-year-old BMW 325i, a compact, performance-minded manual that still feels connected in ways modern cars don’t.
Sure, we’ve recently replaced a fuel level sender and an AC compressor…two parts I’ve seen fail just as often on newer Hondas and F-150s. But otherwise, it’s been remarkably easy to live with.
It’s also sharper, better balanced, and infinitely more expressive than most of today’s small cars.
Hagerty’s data backs up this craving for personality The most popular classics Gen Z is insuring are 1990 to 1998 Mazda Miatas.
It’s the lightweight roadster that practically defined “pure” driving.
Millennials lean toward old-school Chevy GMT400 pickups (It’s me, Hi!) another era of honest, straightforward engineering. But hey, I’d hop into a 90s Miata or Honda Civic Del Sol any day.
This isn’t just nostalgia in reverse. It’s a quiet rebellion
Gen Z drivers are seeing through the sameness of new-car design and finding inspiration in vehicles that had character, color, and mechanical soul.
Half the survey’s respondents said driving makes them feel free. It’s a reminder that cars once symbolized individuality, not just commute duty.
In fact, 43% said classic cars are part of American heritage worth preserving. Despite some trends in some areas, maybe young people aren’t actually giving up on driving. Some are reclaiming it, one analog machine at a time.
I ditched my Ducati and bought a Honda S2000 when I realized that the Duk was going to leave me in a treetop with both boots off. It was a great car.
Lots of young men lose their lives to adrenaline addiction.
The Henry J was built by Kaiser. My grandfather had a Kaiser-Frazier dealership.
You're going to miss out on authentic old school oil leaks.
What exactly IS its function?
You can charge it on the grid, or off the grid with your own electrical generation. Very tough, variable clearance, as I recall, turns heads. If you do not need to travel more than a couple of hundred miles in a day, a good vehicle.
It has not been out for very long, so hard to say what the maintenance costs are.
People have claimed the saving in fuel and maintenance pays for the vehicle.
I cannot prove that, one way or the other.
It may do so in some circumstances.
Almost right. 4 bbl, 4 speed, dual exhaust.
I would love to have a classic car—a 1971 Dodge Colt.
Just so you know - with our budget we were looking at 15 year old convertible sports cars. Maybe by definition they’d been beat to crap but Miatas are well-designed but over time they may be abused - hope yours does well - change your oil!
;-)
A 1995 version of our Z3 (1.9L 4 Cyl) was in Goldeneye - James Bond movie with Pierce Brosnan - when I saw it online I told my wife - “Get in the car.” ;-)
My Millennial son and daughter are amazed that I can identify just about any 1950s and 1960s model car, and the year, just by glancing at it. I can even tell what year a VW Bug is by certain small details. I drive a 20 year vehicle and my wife's car is 24 years old, both still going strong.
You can always walk.
You can always walk.
I cannot walk a couple of hundred miles a day.
Well, nobody can. Hence mechanized transportation.
Ever watch the NASS channel on Youtube, that has the enhanced and colorized film footage from the early twentieth century? Tricycles were as popular as bicycles, where paved roads were available.
I thought it was a Jake that electric “muscle cars” are puting speakers on the car to make them sound like V8s.
But sho’nuff....They are out there.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a41846718/borla-ev-v8-sound-kit/
2025 4WD Toytota SR5 pickup
2015 4Wd 4 Runner.
2002 4wd Exploder.
2004 4wd Mazda pickup very driveshaft broken.
1989 4Wd Expedition; no fuel pump
(bitch to change).
All put together they don’t equal the price of a
New Ford 4WD full size pickup, with tow package
and a fancy interior.
You know he can't be tested, he can't be read or found
Urban grey takes breath away, he wants to push his pedal to the ground
And the night's what's right, puts him at the wheel
Well, I eat danger, any stranger is all right
Feel hot to go like Jimmy O, dodging flying objects at the show
And the lights make me fight
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
This town's a concrete factory and Dad and Mum look just like me
I'm on the plant assembly line. Too late now. Too far behind
You said you want to hang around, no-one really cares where you go
Take your time. Things never change
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
In Detroit 442, maybe, baby, I could ride with you
One more to market, one more piggie, and they all, they all look just like me, yeah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO94MYyc7SE&list=RDNO94MYyc7SE&start_radio=1
The youngest is always showing me the vehicle she wants this week. Its been quite few things from old flatbed pickups to sports cars. Right now shes dreaming of a 65 truckstang.
I own a 2000 Chevy Silverado with 300k on the clock.
My 23 year old son loves driving my 2014 Jetta 5 speed!
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