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Smarter than the previous generation?

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puff4

Platinum Level Sponsor
My 1949 Triumph Renown owner's handbook shows how to decarbonize the engine & grind in the valves (after the first 5,000 miles, then every 20,000 thereafter), adjusting the front wheel alignment, adjusting headlamp alignment, bleeding & adjusting the brakes, lubricating the chassis, checking the specific gravity of the battery, adjusting the clutch & brakes, checking the valve timing and adjusting the carburettor mixture.

Yeah, today's generation would NOT know how to drive or maintain my Renown!

Have a look at the 1949 Triumph Renown Owner's Handbook.
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Evidently the 1949 owner did not know how to drive and maintain the 1949 Triumph or the "how to" info would not have been in the manual. A simple chart of required maintainance would have been more than sufficient.
Bill
 

puff4

Platinum Level Sponsor
Evidently the 1949 owner did not know how to drive and maintain the 1949 Triumph or the "how to" info would not have been in the manual. A simple chart of required maintainance would have been more than sufficient.
Bill
Hmm. I'm not really sure that's true, Bill. I don't think one could just give a list of maintenance things to be done, even back then - you'd need to specifically call out the specifications, measurements, and specific steps for this particular vehicle... since every vehicle is different. As such, if you read that manual you'll see there's an expected level of mechanical expertise which is revealed by the fact that they don't go into great detail on things, expecting the owner to already have a certain general mastery of mechanical skills.
 
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puff4

Platinum Level Sponsor
What age we talking?
Well, among my students, I'd say 1 out of 50 to 70 knows how to drive a stick (and that's probably being generous). As to changing a tire, I've not asked lately, but when I was teaching Automotive Design & Engineering the students found things like understanding how a shock absorber worked as challenging.... so.... yeah... actually doing all the things necessary to change the tire I'd say would be a wee bit of a challenge. I daresay they'd probably find a YouTube and manage a way to handle it, but it's certainly not something the great majority 'know' how to do.
 

mikephillips

Donation Time
There's also the question of interest. My brothers kids, all girls, only one has expressed interest in my cars and wants to learn how to drive a stick. Two of them, 21 and 17, don't even have licenses and don't see a reason to get one since they can order online for home delivery or get a friend to take them places. So I'm self taught having grown up in the country and basically do everything except chrome plating and whatever may require a machine shop. And I like knowing how it works and what went into it. They may not be perfect 100 point show cars, but I can say I did it all in my garage.
 

studmobile

Diamond Level Sponsor
One reason to teach kids to drive a stick, is if they travel to other countries, those folks assume you can drive a stick at the rental car agency....
 

Aladin Sane

Diamond Level Sponsor
A young engineer I work with got a flat on his ford f150. He didn't know how to change it, and didn't know not to drive on it to get it to a shop who could repair it. I told him I needed to have a chat with his father, because I felt he had failed at raising a son. And this is a kid who graduated with an engineering degree, imagine the poor liberal arts grads and the things they will never know how to do.
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
"What age we talking?"

Well, among my students, I'd say 1 out of 50 to 70 knows how to drive a stick (and that's probably being generous). As to changing a tire, I've not asked lately, but when I was teaching Automotive Design & Engineering the students found things like understanding how a shock absorber worked as challenging.... so.... yeah... actually doing all the things necessary to change the tire I'd say would be a wee bit of a challenge. I daresay they'd probably find a YouTube and manage a way to handle it, but it's certainly not something the great majority 'know' how to do.
Kevin,

I don't know what age your students are....
 

puff4

Platinum Level Sponsor
Kevin,

I don't know what age your students are....
High school, mostly juniors and seniors.

That being said, I’ve been working with youth for over 20 years in the Boy Scouts and in FIRST robotics. Over that time I’ve seen a steady, and sad, decline in the mechanical talent of youth, and even more sadly, the desire to develop it.
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
I’ve seen a steady, and sad, decline in the mechanical talent of youth, and even more sadly, the desire to develop it.

That seems like a previous generation problem.... :oops:

I know its all Good fun.. And "generational" comparisons are all subjective....

When cars first came out i know the older generation would have been saying how useless the kids are now days... " hardly any of them can even ride a horse .. Let alone replace a horse shoe....." ;)
 

spmdr

Diamond Level Sponsor
Regarding the OP,

Someone told me there are members of the human

race that feel they have the Right, Duty and are Entitled

to Do and Experience anything and everything.


And other members that feel they have the Right, Duty and are Entitled

to Protect others from them selves.


Some would suggest the older generation had less of a problem

with both of those situations.

DW
 

Gordon Holsinger

Diamond Level Sponsor
My 1949 Triumph Renown owner's handbook shows how to decarbonize the engine & grind in the valves (after the first 5,000 miles, then every 20,000 thereafter), adjusting the front wheel alignment, adjusting headlamp alignment, bleeding & adjusting the brakes, lubricating the chassis, checking the specific gravity of the battery, adjusting the clutch & brakes, checking the valve timing and adjusting the carburettor mixture.

Yeah, today's generation would NOT know how to drive or maintain my Renown!

Have a look at the 1949 Triumph Renown Owner's Handbook.
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
One reason to teach kids to drive a stick, is if they travel to other countries, those folks assume you can drive a stick at the rental car agency....
The remnants of the generation that "knew" how to own a vintage Triumph or drive a stick shift, do not know how to tune a radio in today's car.

Say what you will, but our youngest son, while in his 30's, totally rebuilt the A/C in his Toyota van and replaced the ransaxle in his Focus. Of our three son's, he is the only one willing to even contemplate taking on such projects. But they all know how to drive a stick as well how to drive one without a functional clutch.

Bill
 

MikeH

Diamond Level Sponsor
When I was a teen I had a 1960 Cushman scooter. My dad got tired of fixing it for me. He tossed me the manual and said to learn how to keep it running or walk.
 

Gordon Holsinger

Diamond Level Sponsor
My 1949 Triumph Renown owner's handbook shows how to decarbonize the engine & grind in the valves (after the first 5,000 miles, then every 20,000 thereafter), adjusting the front wheel alignment, adjusting headlamp alignment, bleeding & adjusting the brakes, lubricating the chassis, checking the specific gravity of the battery, adjusting the clutch & brakes, checking the valve timing and adjusting the carburettor mixture.

Yeah, today's generation would NOT know how to drive or maintain my Renown!

Have a look at the 1949 Triumph Renown Owner's Handbook.
 

Gordon Holsinger

Diamond Level Sponsor
Both of my stepsons can change a tire and drive a stick shift. The youngest is a trained motorcycle mechanic, the oldest is a teacher I have begun teaching him the untracked of an antique vehicle, and how to maintain a series V Alpine, as I rebuild various systems!
 

puff4

Platinum Level Sponsor
I’m not saying there aren’t exceptions. My own son isn’t inept - indeed, by 5th grade he was doing really nice wood carving, sculpting and glass engraving in my workshop, and by 13 he was learning blacksmith skills from me and designing & creating his own sword. At 15 we chose a nice Miata for us to restore together, and by 16 he had a beautiful red MX5 with a stick that he still drives today at 26. He’s now finishing up his PhD at U. Colorado Boulder while helping to design the next version of “atomic clock” for NIST (which will actually be laser-light based and not atomic), about which he has 3 papers published at IEEE - on one he’s the lead author, and on the second and third he’s second author.

But our kids are in large part the exceptions - we are interested in things mechanical and electrical, and we’ve often passed on those interests. But we ourselves are not the norm, even among our own generation. It follows that our children would not be as well. However, my students came from a much more homogeneous mix, and the great majority were totally bereft of mechanical talent.

A few shots of Charlie making his sword:
https://postimg.cc/gallery/4yPJr32

And the Miata at his Sr. Prom (with his swim-team buzz cut finally growing back!):
 
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