Why you should not buy your kid a new car

I’m 25, been driving for almost a decade and have yet to have a brand new car. Why? Because it doesn’t make sense for me:

1. financially
2. It’s literally one of the worst investments of your life.

While I love cars, buying a new one doesn’t really appeal to me. It didn’t appeal to my parents either, they didn’t want to hand me something and at 16 that pissed me off. Instead I got to drive one of the cars in their garage, that car? A 1984 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, 350, lowered 2 inches with a cowl hood.

My background

If I lived on Long Island in 1985 I would have been hot shit. Instead I lived in the suburbs of Cincinnati. But that car, while I didn’t want it at first turned out to be one of my favorite cars ever. I drove that thing for 4 years, sure it wasn’t cool in 2006 but I had the most unique car in the school parking lot and everyone wanted to see it. It didn’t have airbags, traction control and sometimes air conditioning. But it was great, I learned to drive in the snow in that car. A rear wheel drive car in the snow is the most fun you can have. And I never go into an accident.

How about my friends?

While all my friends got hand downed Accords and Civics I had something unique. While I didn’t realize it at the time I totally appreciate it today. Now I sit here a weekend removed from listening to my 16 year old cousin talk about getting a 2016 Camry for his first car. That’s cool, it’s super safe, will run for a century and have no problems. But there is nothing fun about that car. It blends in with society, it has no sport to it, no sense of fun. It’s the car that has sex missionary for it’s whole life and thinks it’s cool. It’s not.

Buy them something they can have fun in

Buy your kid something exciting. No don’t buy them an SRT Challenger or an STI for their first car, most 16 year olds aren’t responsible enough for that. But buy them something they can have fun in. Buy them a WRX, a Charger, a Magnum, Mustang, Mazda Speed3 or a Miata. Buy them something they can customize, have some fun in. Don’t buy them a piece of shit, that’s dumb on your part and theirs but buy them something within the last 5-7 years. Chances are they’re going to beat the shit out of them, dent it and you’ll pass it down to your next kid. But let them have some fun.

How about if you have a daughter?

Thankfully I never had to drive and accord, Camry or Malibu. Don’t do that to your kids, don’t kill car culture. If you have a daughter, sure buy them whatever, literally have no clue what you buy a girl. A Scion Tc? Woo. Don’t buy her a BMW, Mercedes or you’ll be building a nightmare for yourself. Buy your kid something they’ll like, they’ll meet other people with the same car, they’ll have some fun.

Hit up Craigslist and find something.

The post Don’t Buy Your Kid A Brand New Car For Their First Car appeared first on Apex Off.

Sunday after Michigan’s monotonous race Steve hopped on the old Twitter machine and answered some questions for fans. One question asked by this Zach character regarded the Gen 7 car. The next generation of Cup car that NASCAR has talked about, that was supposed to debut in 2021. The next car with technology built into it, whatever that means for a Cup car.

Steve answered Zach with 2022 as the earliest! That means at minimum we have three more years of racing with the Gen 6 body.

Honestly, this is terrible news. Instead of debuting the new car sooner NASCAR wants to make teams spend enough money a Nigerian Prince would be jealous on converting their current Gen 6 cars into plate cars for 2022. Cutting air duct holes, doing the R&D, replacing oil pans and splitters doesn’t come from NASCAR, that comes from the teams. And then in three years, you have to have a completely new car. Sick.

The next question that came up was “will there be a splitter.”

Everyone should hate the splitter on the car. All it does is seal these cars to the track and make them so much easier to drive. Look at Harvick. His car was so planted to the race track he held the wheel steadier than anyone I’ve ever seen in the middle of the corner. That doesn’t create for good racing.

So what did Steve say?

HE SAID NO!

Which means that there will definitely be one. But if he’s telling the truth that is a win for fans and Dale Jr. everywhere.

Instead of having teams modify the noses of cars for 2021 by cutting holes in them and what why not just take the splitter off cars? Put the valence back on, shorten the side skirts and make these guys figure out how to go fast again. It seems like a better use of money than a package that fans have bemoaned and drivers have openly mocked.

Need to get Bren Dewar’s thoughts on this too.

The post NASCAR Will Debut New Gen 7 Without Splitte in 2022 appeared first on Apex Off.