I believe state laws are the reason. When I was young, we could apply for a permit at age 15, and then a driver's license at 16. Our friends or parents taught us how to drive. We bought old, used cars for a few hundred dollars.
Nowadays, many states have raised the minimim driving age. In my state, it's age 16 for a permit, and if you want a driver's license at 16, you must pay for a licensed driving instructor to teach you. Add to that the high cost of automobiles and insurance. And the fact that many young men today don't work on their own cars (like they used to), so they don't know how to buy a junker and fix it up. JMHO (as a parent of teens)
You’re correct. It seems like all the hot rodders are old pharts like me in our 50s and 60s. When you go to the drag strip you don’t see many youngsters anymore.
Auto tech is one job that won’t go to China, and would be a fine career for folks that don’t want an academic focused college program.