Future of Kart Collecting?

[Darvin Jahnke]

When I look at photos of vintage kart gatherings it seems like a majority of the participants are grey beards like myself. Are younger people not interested? What will become of these karts when our generation is gone? Will they be like the brass era cars that were popular with my dads generation and now are stored away in barns and sheds? Just food for thought.

[Dean Seavers]

My guess is probably. As a rule, people want what they had, wanted, or remembered as kids. I'm 40, so I missed the 60's in terms of karting- but I had a McCulloch R1 when I was 11 or 12 and it was the first thing I ever "restored" (notice the quotes!) and in the 1970s, all the school library books on karting were from the 1960's, so I managed to cultivate a frame of reference with the era. Plus, in the 70's things were looser and I knew other kids who bought old karts and would bomb around the neighborhood or schoolyard on them without too much in the way of repercussion. Now if you're a kid, you can't even think about doing that because you'll get run off- so your average kid isn't really exposed to old karts. If they have karts, they either have those off-road Dingo thingies, or they are racing in the latest Birel.

My 10 year old has his own vintage kart, so perhaps he'll take to it as an adult, but who knows. But when you figure that karting is a bit of an abstraction for most kids I think the numbers of people who are interested will dwindle. I think there will always be some though.

But I think it just points to the fact that you only go around once and it's important to enjoy what you've got when you've got it. Change is the only constant and nothing is guaranteed to last forever. Each generation has their own interests and childhood (or teenage or young adult) memories to connect with, so they will be too busy with their own nostalgia to be consumed with ours. That's okay.

But the obvious answer to keep things going with future generations is to get more young people involved today. How can you want something that you've never connected with? If you don't have a kid or grandkid, maybe a niece or nephew is around that can be involved on some level. Find a cheap enough Dart Kart and clean it up enough to make it presentable, put a Mc49 on it and give them something to drive.

Just my .02

[Rob Voska]

I think it will end up with some collectores. But they will be right next to the hit miss engines, Model T's, Maytag washing machine motors, Minibikes, Horse Carrage, Bamboo Fishing pole, and a whole host of others.....how many can you name?

[david a luciani]

hi guys,

i'd have to dis-agree with the fading out thing.
unlike model t's and maytags vintage karts are cool.
they're just like street rods and you see ancient hot rods all the time now.
as the events become more common i think younger people will be drawn in.
of course endless rules and cliques could prevent that but i already have a couple of youngsters, my 14 yr old daughter and my nephew (18) that love them. Alex has bought a 61 thunder blitz for himself.
at the Rear event i saw a few young faces too.
It is possible that only weathy people will be involved if prices continue in the way they are but i suspect old kartswill last way past me.
my 2 cents dave

[Dean Seavers]

Dave-

While I agree that vintage karts are cool, keep in mind that there are folks that think Model Ts and Maytags are cool, and there are those that think go karts are completely dorky toy cars.

Good for you for getting some younger kids involved, perhaps it will stick and they will be the next generation.

But in the end, all we can do is enjoy what we enjoy because we don't have a lot of say in how the long term future unfolds.

Dean

[jmendoza]

Dave and Dan have some good points to ponder, and the question is also a good one.

I too have kids, twin sons. They both drive a HumBug I had made from original parts Faye supplied to us. They love driving, and will be Kart fans.

The way I see it, kids today are not so caught up in the collectability and originality aspects the way some of us are, but they love driving the things, this is what the BIG attraction for them is, plus, it's something daddy does, and everyone knows a Dad is his kid's hero.

My take on this is the future is what we make of it, and how much we involve fututre generations in it, that will determine who picks up the torch and carries it on, and the extent to which it is supported. My kids have absolutely no interest in helping me amass a collection of Karts, but they love it when we take it out driving, and someday down the road, the nostalgia thing will kick in , but that will be much later, so my influence now is what is critical.


So if you have kids, and involve them in the fun aspects, such that they take an interest and want to be involved and participate, later on they will automatically gravitate to it, especially if you keep the kart around for them when they reach an age where they can take care of it.

Forcing them into it however will assure they want nothing to do with it. It has to be fun, and not too complicated, keep it simple. I have them help me mix the gas, help me check tire pressure, help me wipe the kart off, all so we can go ride it...There has to be a reason and a goal,that they can easily achieve with a little effort, to keep them hooked on it. I use the kart as a reward, and teaching tool, and a way to spend time with my boys. Would love to take them to a play day at Bakersfield, but there is no way I'm going to have them and myself suffer the humiliation of being told to go home by the Vintage Kart Police over a trivial technicality which they would not even comprehend. One taste of that would kill all the enthusiasm I have worked hard to cultivate in them, and I am sure they would say no to going to the track again after a rejective experience like that.

We need to also be concious of how we are perceived by the younger generation, as the decisions about what this post was initially asking will be answered by them.

[mcbob]

Kart collecting hmmm well it feel it's gonna be like chainsaw collecting there's some that are worth there weight but a lot of others will not be so in a few years and like a lot of cars which ones are the ones to keep.
I collect chainsaws yes i know some of us are silly but thats life but of all the ones i have there's only a few worth keeping the rest just collect dust before it gets to the floor.
As far as future Kart enthusits are concerned mybe we have already pushed past them with the way prices are going up so enjoy it while you can fellas.

Don't forget that todays winners will one day be collectables.

Mc Bob.

[Russ Smith]

It can be quite subjective in what some consider way cool...others view as wasting money on silly toys. Case in point: for many years I was involved with 1963-1967 mid-year Corvettes..................THE holy grail cool car from my high school days. In 1991 I purchased a 1966 427 convertible from a guy who had a collection of over 20 mid-year Sting Rays. His son had absolutely no interest and even when his dad gave him a car from the collection , the kid immediately sold it and bought some over-priced hot rod rice burner . Go figure?

[ted johnson]

Aside from being good ambassadors for the sport and spreading the "word" among our compadres, what can we do? If we tell our friends and associates how much fun and fellowship we have, and encourage them to spend a Sunday afternoon at an event, and show them photos of the smiling people, we've done what we can. There ARE some young folks coming out, and they ARE interested. There will be a decline in participation and interest as we age and retire from karting, but there will always be those who carry on! Let's carry on as we are going and have as much fun as we can, explaining the silly toys to those who will listen! TJ

[John Swartout]

Ted,

Well said my friend! With great people like you, Charlie, and many others promoting this great sport and/or hobby,it is bound to carry on.

John