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| Fred Kraft, President of the American Institute of Marine Studies (AIMS) believes that the art of classic car restoration can draw the interest of the "Fast and Furious" generation. Old car restoration is a dying art and those that speak the language of "old cars" share a common philosophy towards life. Kraft is confident that the "Old Car Guy" language can be taught to "at risk" street racers who are facing tough decisions in life such as what to do with their leisure time. "Young drivers today are surrounded by media messages that depict street racing as cool and even a bit glamorous. AIMS wants to get a head-start on educating new drivers about the dangers of street racing by teaching some of the "tried and true" ways of taking care of cars." The new AIMS Relic Car Education Program introduces students to the technologies of classic car restoration in their museum (located within AIMS' Ft. Lauderdale fund raising facility). | ||||
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AIMS employees work to restore classic cars that have been donated. They teach them the skills needed to care for vintage cars while instilling a reverence for automobiles lost in this generation. Fred Kraft came up with the idea in order to generate interest in a time honored
American tradition that gives hands-on training through car detailing. The unique program kicked off this summer. Students meet once a month to help restore the cars. One youth coordinator keeps the students
informed and invites a different group to participate monthly. They all earn volunteer hours (a high school graduation requirement) as they scrub,
soap and shine the impressive fleet of cars. Additionally, they observe workshop techniques, such as handling materials safely, and identifying sequences used in routine maintenance and service. When Fred Kraft was asked "Who is an old car guy?" He replied, "Anybody can be an old car guy." "They can be old guys (and girls) that really like cars or young guys that like old cars. We come from all walks of life and some of us dance to a different drummer. Perhaps it's the old cars that will bring us together with the Too Fast and Too Furious culture." |
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