(quoted from post at 08:25:41 02/15/18)
(quoted from post at 18:02:21 02/14/18) Unless there are older family members already collecting tractors, I don't think the nostalgia-collect something bug kicks in much below the age of thirty five or forty. Guys in their twenties might be interested in old tractors, but they are busy: dating, parting, finishing their education, playing sports, trying new things, buying vehicles and a few affordable toys, getting established in their job/career, getting married, furnishing a home and starting a family. The thirties are mostly focused on raising a family, work, house, watching sports, and family vacations. It's only approaching the age of forty that most guys are well established enough to have the extra time and extra money to invest in some expensive hobbies that they can enjoy with their teenage children.
IMHO, unless a person grew up driving one, the pre-1960's tractors with no 3 point hitch, low pressure hydraulics, weak power steering, weak brakes, limited gear selection, old cracked may-pop tires and the comfort of a wooden board on a single leg milking stool, those tractors are just not useful or attractive to most people anymore. I still like them but there is no reason most people would.
This is about what I see too. I have a lot of varied interests. I'm an aviation buff, so I own an old plane. Vintage car buff, so I have a couple old cars. I' in my 60s, have 2 sharp and money stable kids. Neither of them show any interest right now in collecting anything. That bug doesn't hit until late 40s maybe.
The other thing that seems to be a factor - and this is going to sound a bit nuts, but vintage tractors are just about ownership, and not about [u:46ebdcff3a]doing anything[/u:46ebdcff3a]with them. At Oshkosh and other events, we fly our planes in, and out, and we use them for transportation, as well as show and shine. At car shows, we mostly drive in, drive out, and at the cars and coffee meets most of them are regular use(many are not as well)
However, For the tractor folk, no one actually puts a blade in the ground, and does anything with the tractor. So - it's more about the ownership, restoration, and viewing, not so much the utility. I have only been to a couple of tractor events, and I've never ever seen an old tractor being used as a tractor. I have seen tractor pulls, which is a completely different side with most tractors having no relationship to farm utility anymore. Lets face it - going fast in vintage cars, and planes is fun. Mowing a field, or furrowing, or haying, or seeding isn't really that much fun.