On one of the first days of fall and when it was just beginning to feel brisk outside, teenager Max Green arrived home. He sluggishly walked up to the garage and slowly punched in his garage key code, expecting the door to open and for him to see the minivan and his mom’s car. 

While the door was opening, Green caught a glimpse of his dad’s Trans-Am. He sprinted through the door and into the kitchen. On the kitchen table sat a small handwritten note from his dad saying that he could take the car out for the night and to just be careful.

Of course, that night Green called all of his friends for a ride in his dad’s Trans-Am convertible equipped with a Corvette engine. Green was living a teenager’s dream.

Green has always had a love for cars since a young age. His dad would often take him to auto shows when he was little.

“When he was a kid, I used to take him to the Chicago Auto Show every year,” Larry Green, Max Green’s dad said.

The Chicago Auto Show is usually hosted every February. So it was an annual trip for the Greens to go to Chicago and experience the automobiles there.

Although both of them shared a love for cars then, the son had shown an interest in classic cars and buying one as well. Green took to the internet to search for the classic car he wanted to purchase.

“I was specifically interested in buying a car from the 1950s because that era of the car saw some of the most spectacular and ridiculous design elements,” Green said.

Cars in the ‘50s are famous for their massive headlights, large tailfins, and rocket-mimicking design. The ionic ’50s-looking car was the first thing on Green’s mind when searching for cars, but he also wanted an automatic transmission. Because older cars do not have power steering or power brakes, a stick shift was not the best choice for Green.

After a lot of searching on classics.autotrader.com and other websites, Green finally found his future automobile, a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan from South Dakota. He shipped the car to Illinois where it is now getting maintenance done at a car mechanic.

The classic car buying process can be timely and often something that you do not do alone. Green and his dad often send each other things back and forth that they find online having to do with cars based on their shared interest.

“I had no idea that he purchased a car. He drove it to my house one day without me knowing and surprised me,” Green’s dad said.

Fortunately, it was a good surprise, and Green’s dad was happy to see him finally get the classic car of his dreams. Now, he is able to drive it with his antique extended license during the summer wherever he wants.

“I’m going to store the car at the Winnebago County Fairgrounds from October to April when I wouldn’t want to be driving it in the winter, and it would be restricted anyway,” Green said.

Green is looking forward to going to more car shows now that he has his new ‘53 Kaiser. And, who knows, he might even see teacher, Amanda Henk, at one of the shows.

“If you go to the local shows, there’s this core group of people that show up to all of them,” said Henk, co-owner of a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.

Maybe Green will become a part of this local group, only time will tell. For now, Henk and Green are a part of the small but growing group of younger classic car owners.

Hopefully, in coming years, this network will expand and more of the younger generation will own classic cars. It is definitely an investment, but to many car enthusiasts, the money is definitely worth it.