Quote:
Originally Posted by jimclark
Methinks "(how many 18-25-year-olds are excited by cars anymore?)" says it all. I and most real fans I've known over the years were into cars from a very young age, dreaming about what we would have when we could drive.
We had no games, no racing on TV, and.......eeeek!  ....no computers. We were into cars and racing followed. We looked at magazines watched older "kids" racing up and down the streets, or working on their cars under a tree...pulleys and ropes hanging from a big branch.. It doesn't happen anymore...... well, okay, some have scanners and/or replace chips.....whooppee...... and others pay somebody to do an upgrade......WOW! Soooo impressive.......nobody (nearly, anyway) picks up a wrench (let alone know what to do with one in the first place).
The love affair is nearly over and there's no (sorrowfully) turning back. 
The kit and spec cars, BoPing, and all other means of "leveling of the playing field" (wings that open in F1? What the .... is that???) has just been a
band-aid in a feeble attempt to attract newbies and keep those with a short attention span (the masses these days it seems) watching
with the "choreographed" excitement..........  .........It isn't working.
I'm old and have enjoyed the racing "ride" (spectating and participating)........face it, the end is near........  |
One can hope for the past and get nowhere, or they can adapt and survive. Coronavirus is gonna lay a whupping on many different race series around the world, and the realities of the automotive industry of the world will make that damage more painful still. But regardless, sitting still will get the world of racing cars nowhere.
Beyond that, the comment about how changing computer components is less of an impact than wrenching on something IMO is a bit foolish. You can do incredible things with electronics in cars in modern times, and those electronics make possible many aspects of the amazing performance of modern cars. Whether its technowizards like the Nissan GT-R, examples of the finest design like the Pagani Zonda, cars debuting new technologies like the Tesla Model S or Koenigsegg Regera or simply a muscle car that can make 450+ horsepower but get 30+ highway miles per gallon like the new Chevrolet Corvette, electronics have made these (amazing) cars possible. And while yes, some people have absolutely no earthly clue how to work on modern cars, some do know how to work on the modern cars of today, and I'm quite sure people then didn't have a clue how to wrench on cars back then either.