Im another one of those 17 year old punks in high school. My dad got a GN when I was 16 and I was hooked ever since. At my HS there are 2 gn's, mine and my best friends. As for fastest car at school, my only competition is a 5.0, should be interesting, dont think he has much though, and an ls1 SS but with some tuning I should be able to kill him. Also the other GN once he redoes his motor. I also am one of the car guys at school that knows his stuff, there are about 3 or 4 of us there that really know cars (even though some of you old guys are like service manuals). Having some ricer knowledge (which I do, don't ask how) is nice for settling arguments. There are very few kids who do know what a TR is, but those who do know they are badass!
About people not wanting us "kids" to have TR's, its not like we don't take care of them or treat them like a beater first car. I do all the work on my own car and do most of it on my father's with him and I love my car very much.
In my opinion, the age of the owner doesn't matter, its how they care for it, if they appreciate the car for what it is, and their attitude basically. I also apply that to if mommy and daddy buy them their car. So what? My parents helped me pay for mine and I'm thankful they did. As long as they are not bragging about that fact or are rude snotty people it should not matter. We have to start somewhere and why not start with the best.
This is what I love about TR's. It's a small close knit community and it will probably always be that way. There are really no rude people on this board who will put someone down for asking a simple question that everyone knows the answer too. I don't think TR's will become a huge fad like rustangs (like they say "everyone and their brother owns one" and my brother does own one) but they are becoming more popular with the younger generation it seems, mainly it seems more people just know that they're not a car to mess with on the street.
Sorry for the long post and going a little off-topic, but I needed to let that out.
-Jeff