KX L
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- KX
- Joined
- May 1, 2019
- Threads
- 16
- Messages
- 419
- Reaction score
- 488
- Location
- Lake St Louis MO
- Vehicle(s)
- 2017 CVO Street Glide; 2022 JT Mojave with 6MT
- Occupation
- Retired
- Thread starter
- #1
No facts just observations since I was in high school. A couple of kids were given cars [mostly new ones!] when they turned 16. Not one guy acted responsibly or showed any gratitude. Just spoiled pricks who thought their shit didn't stink because they had a car and the rest of us didn't---or we had to buy our own beater. There definitely some Eddie Haskells amongst them. Most of the girls were exactly the same--though I can remember two from high school that didn't act that way.
In college it was the same, those with the new and fancy cars were almost always pricks and the girls were just as bad---but much more subtle about it.
Spent parts of 2018 - 2020 with my girlfriend in Coronado CA---you wouldn't believe what those high schoolers are driving. BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus RC 300s, Jag F types. Hell I'm jealous of them.
My old man was a plastic surgeon and obviously could afford to buy us kids a car when we turned 16. He was a total car guy so he definitely understood how important driving was to a young guy or girl. Until he went soft all his cars had manual transmissions and big engines if they were offered to include his Jaguar XKE, '68 Pontiac GTO, '73 Pontiac Grand Am. Then he went soft and had fancy cars with automatic transmissions, a '75 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible and a '78 Caddy Eldorado Biarritz. In the early 80's he added a Series IV Excaliber to his two Caddys.
But he taught us the value of things and of ourselves. No free lunches and absolutely no free cars.
He started us as 5 year olds with our own bank account through simple index cards. Birthday money, allowance if we earned it, money from jobs that weren't part of our daily chores. If we wanted to keep the money and not give it to him he didn't care--but he paid 5% interest every month and we quickly learned that was free money! If we wanted to empty our account to buy a toy he would explain we could do whatever we wanted but it was always smart to keep some money in savings. When the next new thing came and we invariably had an empty bank account he just say go play with the thing you bought last month---which had zero interest as it wasn't new.
No one in my family was allowed to buy a car until they were 17. The girls didn't want to but my brother and I certainly did. As a gear head I was able to buy a car as soon as I turned 17 in the spring of '77.
I'd saved up half the money I needed and he lent me the other half at 1% ABOVE the going car loan rate, "Because no on except me is stupid enough to loan you money." At least he said it with a smile. I had a monthly payment and if i missed one the car got parked [thank God that didn't happen].
Anyway, long explanation on why I'm interested in why people give cars to kids.
I'm convinced that the reason we have so many idiots voting for the politicians who promise them free shit [which they're too stupid to realize never is] is due to not being taught the value of things. Add in the dumbing down to mediocrity and the they are "special" and deserve a trophy whether they win or not---it's no wonder that for most their quality of life is going to be much less than their parents.
In college it was the same, those with the new and fancy cars were almost always pricks and the girls were just as bad---but much more subtle about it.
Spent parts of 2018 - 2020 with my girlfriend in Coronado CA---you wouldn't believe what those high schoolers are driving. BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus RC 300s, Jag F types. Hell I'm jealous of them.
My old man was a plastic surgeon and obviously could afford to buy us kids a car when we turned 16. He was a total car guy so he definitely understood how important driving was to a young guy or girl. Until he went soft all his cars had manual transmissions and big engines if they were offered to include his Jaguar XKE, '68 Pontiac GTO, '73 Pontiac Grand Am. Then he went soft and had fancy cars with automatic transmissions, a '75 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible and a '78 Caddy Eldorado Biarritz. In the early 80's he added a Series IV Excaliber to his two Caddys.
But he taught us the value of things and of ourselves. No free lunches and absolutely no free cars.
He started us as 5 year olds with our own bank account through simple index cards. Birthday money, allowance if we earned it, money from jobs that weren't part of our daily chores. If we wanted to keep the money and not give it to him he didn't care--but he paid 5% interest every month and we quickly learned that was free money! If we wanted to empty our account to buy a toy he would explain we could do whatever we wanted but it was always smart to keep some money in savings. When the next new thing came and we invariably had an empty bank account he just say go play with the thing you bought last month---which had zero interest as it wasn't new.
No one in my family was allowed to buy a car until they were 17. The girls didn't want to but my brother and I certainly did. As a gear head I was able to buy a car as soon as I turned 17 in the spring of '77.
I'd saved up half the money I needed and he lent me the other half at 1% ABOVE the going car loan rate, "Because no on except me is stupid enough to loan you money." At least he said it with a smile. I had a monthly payment and if i missed one the car got parked [thank God that didn't happen].
Anyway, long explanation on why I'm interested in why people give cars to kids.
I'm convinced that the reason we have so many idiots voting for the politicians who promise them free shit [which they're too stupid to realize never is] is due to not being taught the value of things. Add in the dumbing down to mediocrity and the they are "special" and deserve a trophy whether they win or not---it's no wonder that for most their quality of life is going to be much less than their parents.
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