FordBuyer Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Looks like inernet is going to hurt more than just brick and mortar retail. Click here: Fewer American teens getting their driver's licenses, U-M study finds | Auto news | Detroit Free Press | freep.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) Some pretty tough economic times in the past six years, with a lot of casualties and collateral damage in the auto industry. So trying to trend the last ten years against the 1980s and 1990s and then infer what the next ten years will be like is really drawing a long bow but i guess articles like this help pay the bills for journalists.. Edited July 22, 2012 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I know some Gen Y'ers who are really into cars (Volkswagens, Mazdas, Subarus), and some who, as the article implies, focus their lives largely in other directions and take non-traditional approaches to mobility, such as bikes, transit, "zip cars" and other shared transportation. Their ego is invested elsewhere other than the automobile as an emblem of success (and one such person I am thinking of is the young owner of a very successful business that has gone multi-national, so it's not that he has no ambition - just that not much of it revolves around the automobile. I thought this part of the observation was spot-on too: Many teenagers or adults in their 20s are unable to buy a new car even at a starting price of less than $15,000. With a mountain of college debt to pay off, many who are in their 20s still live at home, drive used cars, and struggle to find a job. "I think you are going to see similar attitudes on home ownership," Anwyl said. "In many cases, it's not an American dream. In fact, in many cases, it's an American burden." "How's that eliminatin' the middle class thing workin' out for ya'?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xr7g428 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Education has value in and of itself. probably greater value than a shiny new car or a condo. People make choices about how they spend money. If an individual chooses to borrow money to obtain an education, they deserve both the benefits and the burdens that go with the choice. Far too many students chose to borrow money and live off the proceeds because it is easier than getting a real job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazerdude20 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Honestly I find articles like this to be a bunch of BS. My generation has come into adulthood during one of the steepest economic declines in our nations history. We have seen our own/friends parents lose their homes or get their cars repo'd. And for what? because they wanted to have the nicest house and the nicest cars? For many of my peers its not worth the "investment" to buy a new car or even own one. I need a car for work and because i live in the suburbs... but if I lived in the city, near transit i would just use transit and rent a zip car when i need it. My wife and i pay about a $1,000 a month on car payments, insurance, and gas... Mostly just to drive to work. That $1,000 would go a long way towards student loans or the mortgage... Welcome to the young world 2012 - 22 year old college student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 I think the key fact to remember is that less and less teenagers are taking Driver's Education and many (over 30%) don't even have a license at 19+. It's no longer a right to passage. Lots of reasons for it as article stated. Another is that in many or most school districts, driver's ed is no longer offered let alone part of high school curriculum as in 50's and 60's. For most, it's taking DE in private sector, and it's expensive, time consuming, and student has to be transported there and back for up to five weeks if state demands segment 2 also. In some states, not much more than 50% take DE at 16 anymore, when just a couple decades ago over 90% took it. Even in 1994, over 70% of Michigan school districts offered DE. In 2012, NONE do. In fact, you pay to play sports now also. So in future years there will be less of population participating in the auto market. I would suppose many of these young people will eventually get a license for a variety of reasons, but still many will only buy used, or rent when they need a car, and far less than before will buy new. I also doubt if home ownership will ever be as high as it once was. When you have to retrain for new career every 7 years or so, home ownership really is a burden. Most of the big internet firms like google locate in large, urban areas with good tranportation. Google opened up a very large division in Ann Arbor, and they have an excellent bus system and bike lanes and racks everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Their ego is invested elsewhere other than the automobile as an emblem of success You mean like one of these? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 I think the latest Toyota Venza commercial says it all with young female at home on her laptop saying older people like her parents are becoming more antisocial as they have fun with their older friends doing things like biking and playing tennis, and she sits home counting her 800 "virtual friends" on Facebook and saying that this kind of friendship is more "meaningful." Yeah, right. However, I know a lot of younger people that feel that way. Facebook friends matter more than "real" friends that you actually see and do things with in person. Certainly there are places for both as on here, but a smart phone and computer can't completely erase what matters most....physical contact between friends and loved ones. More a facilitator than a replacement that some young people can't seem to recognize. There is a real need in this nation for courses that teach the difference so that especially young and some older people can learn how to get this under control. I've alwys felt the need for example for cell/smart phone etiquette course that is mandatory in school. Rules written down for society in general. Something more than movie theater message on screen that tells you to turn your smart phone off and don't text and which many don't obey anyway and distract you. Rules come about because people won't police themselves and show a little self-discipline. Self-discipline is a virtue, not a character flaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 (edited) You mean like one of these? LOL! Yes, like one of those. :P I hasten to point out though, that in my case the T-Bird was more along the lines of what Evolutionary Psychologist Geoffrey Miller would term a "mating display" rather than an "emblem of success" per se - though the line between the two is blurry to be sure. God that car cost me money. Arguably, the trophy wife would've been cheaper. Oh, and mine was red. Edited July 22, 2012 by retro-man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Honestly I find articles like this to be a bunch of BS. My generation has come into adulthood during one of the steepest economic declines in our nations history. We have seen our own/friends parents lose their homes or get their cars repo'd. And for what? because they wanted to have the nicest house and the nicest cars? For many of my peers its not worth the "investment" to buy a new car or even own one. I need a car for work and because i live in the suburbs... but if I lived in the city, near transit i would just use transit and rent a zip car when i need it. My wife and i pay about a $1,000 a month on car payments, insurance, and gas... Mostly just to drive to work. That $1,000 would go a long way towards student loans or the mortgage... Welcome to the young world 2012 - 22 year old college student. As a baby boomer, I feel a sense of shared guilt, and I don't mind saying so. Never has a generation (and the one immediately preceding) screwed up things so badly - at least not in this country. We can and will argue about why and whose policies, but the fact remains that the greatest prosperity the world has ever seen has been bled white in the space of a generation and a half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneekr Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 In response to this trend, will automakers cut back on youth oriented marketing such as the increasingly pervasive "social media" nonsense? Or will they do the opposite? U of M researchers found that the downward trend of youth seeking driver licenses was also present in Canada, U.K., Germany, Sweden, Norway, Japan, and South Korea. But not in Switzerland, Latvia, Finland, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, or Israel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 In response to this trend, will automakers cut back on youth oriented marketing such as the increasingly pervasive "social media" nonsense? Or will they do the opposite? U of M researchers found that the downward trend of youth seeking driver licenses was also present in Canada, U.K., Germany, Sweden, Norway, Japan, and South Korea. But not in Switzerland, Latvia, Finland, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, or Israel. Good question. Most people buying new vehicles today are 50 and older and more 70+ year old people are buying new than ever. Looks to me like the new generations if they buy new it will be later in life as they age and accumulate assets and wealth. I know I went through stages where a car didn't mean as much to me as before, but later it did again. Freedom of mobility still has a strong pull and at some stage of life these new generations will want more than a smart phone and pubilc transportation and/or bike lanes. People change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retro-man Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Statistically, peak earning age is 47. But, we had our cars - beaters though they were - and ran off to get our licenses the day we turned 16. That may be the case for fewer people nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 This does bring up some interesting points that my GF and I where talking about...we are both in our mid to late 30s and Gen X might be the last generation where Automobile transportation was "affordable". We remember only paying $10 bucks to fill our tanks and paying less then 5K for a used car. Minimum wage was $4.25 an hour vs 7.25 today, but gas wasn't nearly 4 bucks a gallon either, With that being said, and people who have kids that are driving age, how do they go out and earn a living, if they don't have a car and don't have good public transportation options? As for social media, despite what you think, many people who are in their 30-40s, who are at prime car buying ages with wages, use it. Its not a "young person" thing only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Youngins are more into the Internet and looking at MEME's making fun of everything. So used to not driving to get around, just staying home and net surfing. 'Helicopter' parents enable them by giving them rides, too. But also, there are many who move to urban areas to take public trans, which is "Where is a cab when you need one?", since buses are 'not cool'. Again with expecting someone to 'gimme a ride'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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