Let the youth do it
04/02/2025
The end of March seems like the ideal time to start the new season - not with an expensive club outing, for which you might even have had to pay a lot of money to register in advance, but with a relaxed, non-binding get-together without formalities, such as those offered by the Ace Café in Rothenburg (LU) at regular intervals and with a wide variety of themes.
The first car-to-car shoot by young photographer Marius Egli (16) - the idea came about spontaneously
In Rothenburg, the early risers are usually on the mat by 10 a.m., many of them are often gone by midday and so the space is free again - for those who need a little longer to get going - like me on that Sunday. I don't see any reason for unnecessary stress and there was still plenty of activity in front of owner Dany Kunz's restaurant shortly before twelve.
The Sunday before last didn't promise to be particularly good weather-wise at first. Well, it was raining on March 23 and it would have been an ideal day to spend lying in bed until half time. But there were good reasons not to. Because this time, the "Ace" was hosting a special visitor: the relaxed group of young women around Julia Gut from "Race like Her". It's not a club, not a large organized group, but rather the colleagues and followers of an enthusiastic driver of an MGB GT, whose declared goal is to get more women out of the role of co-driver and encourage them to take the wheel themselves.
Driving yourself is the order of the day! Visitors to the Ace Café on Sunday, March 23
She announced the meeting on her social media channels - with success. Some of her followers even came from the Munich and Stuttgart regions on March 23 - respect!
However, it is also thanks to the commitment and support of Ace owner Dany Kunz that his classic car season opener at the Ace attracted a much younger audience, significantly younger than you would expect from similar events. Obviously a lot of things fit here: there is enough space, the location is practical and the staff and the whole atmosphere is relaxed and informal.
A colorful mix from Ponton-Mercedes to Miata in the Ace Café. And yes, the third series Ford Fiesta (1989 to 1997) may even be older than the driver of it
But the reasons why young people dominate here are even more varied. First and foremost, it probably suits the younger generation that they don't need to register for a drive-in meeting like this and therefore don't have to commit to anything. You go or you don't, depending on your mood at the time. This is exasperating for those who want to organize an event within a traditional club setting and take the trouble to book dates, restaurants and the like well in advance. However, I think we simply have to adapt to this. There is so much on offer today and there are so many alternatives - and everything is courting the young. We should probably just let them do it. Create the space for them, offer them a place and simply keep the doors open. And then don't expect them to function in exactly the same way as us, the older to old semesters.
But back to Ace: of course, on March 23, I met lots of people at Ace again - old acquaintances and new, young faces. In the end, we - the colleague and I - set off with three cars in tow, all of which were built between 1963 and 1975. However, the two drivers and the female driver are much younger, much younger than their Mercedes Stroke Eight, the Buick or the Studebaker. But we spontaneously took some car-to-car shots with them. Incidentally, the photographer whose idea it was and who we were happy to support is just 16 years old.
The conclusion of my start to the season is: you just have to let them do it, the youngsters - and support and encourage them instead of trying to offer them ready-made solutions.
All pictures: © Marius Egli
