‘There is a popular belief that young people don’t like cars anymore,” said McKeel Hagerty, chief executive of his family-owned collector car insurance and valuation-tracking company.
“We see a different story,” he continued. “While attitudes and preferences do change with each generation, we see a very large and growing population of young people who are interested and want to get involved with automotive activities. Because of this, we are excited to partner with the Arizona Concours’ NextGen Autofest to foster the magic connection between people and cars.“
Staged over three days at two locations, the NextGen Autofest will involve nearly 200 students in a variety of activities, from educational seminars to learning to drive stick-shift cars to helping at the concours d’elegance.
The festival is scheduled January 13-15, 2017, and will include the following:
Day 1: Friday, January 13 –
Hagerty Test Garage, where more than 120 Phoenix and Scottsdale-area fifth graders will learn as they visit various science, technology, engineering, art and math stations:
- Auction in Action, where Worldwide Auctioneers will explain the basics of the collector car marketplace with a mock action featuring Brooklin model cars.
- Cars and Math, where The Great Race will provide a platform for learning time-speed-distance rallying and the quick-thinking skills needed for navigation.
- Alternative Energy, hosted by the Le May, America’s Car Museum, using early and contemporary electric vehicles for a discussion of “Energy through the Ages.”
- Automotive History, with collector Alan Travis presenting an overview of early motoring featuring a 1907 Renault, 1909 Delage, 1913 Bugatti and 1915 Scripps Vitesse.
- Racing, with students competing in slot-car competition.
Classic car owners teach teens to manipulate manual gearbox at Hagerty Driving Experience
Day 2: Saturday, January 14 –
Cars, Kids & Collectors is open to the public at the Scottsdale Auto Museum, 6440 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale, Arizona, featuring:
- Cars, Kids and Collectors, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with coffee, classics and camaraderie as local collector car owners and museums display their vehicles.
- Hagerty Driving Experience, pre-registration required for this event, which runs from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and has young drivers aged 15-25 learning how to drive manually shifted collector cars.
RPM Foundation Flash Seminars, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., covering such as, ”Yes, Restoration Is a Career Path — Jobs & Shops” and “Blueprint for Success: It’s Never Too Early to Plan Your Career in Restoration.” - Early access auction preview, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. you can get a sneak-peek at the cars that will be available for bidding later in the week at the Worldwide Auctioneers’ collector car sale.
Day 3: Sunday, January 15 —
During the Arizona Concours d’Elegance (admission ticket required) at the Arizona Biltmore resort, including a Hagerty Youth Judging program, Education Alley and RPM Foundation guided tours of the show field.
For more information, visit the concours website.
www.arizonaconcours.com
