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I don't think it's a masculinity thing. It's an economics thing. **** is expensive for young people. The unemployment rate of people 18-24 is something like 50%. Fuel is expensive and not going down.
If 1/2 to all of your income is going towards driving a car, that's the first thing I'd look at eliminating, if possible.
I'm a gen-Yer, turning 21 in two months. I don't own a car yet, but I plan on buying one as soon as I'm able to. Previous jobs haven't given me enough cheddar, but next summer I'll probably land an internship that will pay decently enough (and chances are I'll need a car if the job isn't in DC).
That said, I do appreciate public transportation. Traffic in DC is a nightmare, there's no other way to put it. I love, love, love, LOVE driving. But I hate sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I would go insane if I had to do that every day. The Metro isn't much more comfortable (crowded, breaks down) and the buses can be unreliable, but if I could take one bus or one Metro line to work I'd gladly do so. It saves on gas, is better for the environment, and keeps me sane.
Then of course on weekends I'll bust out the car for relaxing, stress-relieving drives a good friend of mine is also really into cars. He drives a humble Saturn right now but it does get the job done, and lord knows we've had our fair share of fun summer drives on various local highways and back roads blasting underground rap and heavy metal. Some of the best memories of my past summers revolve around that little ol' champagne-colored box.
But yes, I have noticed more people in my generation don't really care about cars the way people of the past do. There are still a lot of car enthusiasts, but the general attitude seems to focus on two things: getting you from point A to point B and having cool features. People my age seem more impressed by connectivity, Ford Sync, DVD players, etc than a 450hp engine. My roommate drives a Camry and that's about all the car she'd ever want. Another roommate ditched his car after moving to Boston and doesn't really care for having one now. Me? I want to be able to own at least a Mustang GT some day. Preferably an M3
I took public transportation into DC for 5 years - VRE/Metro for 4 years then Omniride direct to my building for a year. Yeah, it's nice, but I don't like having to rely on it either. Metro sucks a big one, VRE often breaks down. Omni was pretty reliable though. I now work in McLean, and I'll agree traffic sucks on I95 and 495 at times. I don't care about having 450hp under the hood unless I'm going to be towing a boat. I do care about having a smooth, quiet ride and a decent stereo. An open, airy car is nice too, I'll never, ever buy a car w/o a moonroof again. When I bought my Jeep, I purposely didn't get the Hemi. There's no need. The V6 has plenty of power and will tow anything I'm realistically going to put behind it and gets decent mileage for a 4600lb vehicle.
If I want speed, I'll ride my motorcycle into work, which I do 6-8 months out of the year. Plus I get to use HOV and cut my commute in half! Even then, unless I want to kill myself or hit someone else, I'm not making much more than 75 or 80 with the flow of traffic on HOV. I'll let the other fools blast down the road at 100mph and get the ticket. You can have a 450hp car all you want, unless you're out on the track, you're never going to use that many horses on the road. My Jeep has 295 and that's plenty.
Y'all also realize that no one stays 20-something forever. Add a few years, a marriage, a kid or two and that 450 sq. ft. loft in the arts district becomes less attractive. As does a carless lifestyle when you have to schlep a couple cranky, feverish kids to the Dr. on public transportation.
True, true. Even a V6 'stang would satisfy my need for speed without compromising much. But if I ever live relatively close to a track, I'll definitely buy a truly sporty car. Heck, there's one like 1.5 hours away in West Virginia that I hear is worth the trip if you've got a good car. And that's a good idea with the motorcycle, that must be fun. And soon you'll get to use the express toll lanes over on your side of the Beltway for free.
My kids and their friends have really not caught the sense of paying huge sums of money to own a car when most of their socializing is done through social networking.Seems these days car ownership is so 1950.
Of course they might think differently if they didnt live in a big city with buses and subways within a blocks walk..
I think we have a lot of "reluctant drivers" amongst young people. Would rather not, but possess no other choice, based on the infrastructure of this country.
Ithink erhaps other thngs have just take the cars place as so called cool. Basacailly most young people i know seem to just think of it has transportation. But I guess in a day when cool transportation can cost so much more and their are alterantives they want ;it just the chnagi times.There will laways be the car lovers as object but its mass appeal to youth is a dying thing.
I think there is a general trend towards a more car-free lifestyle among some people. I also think the car culture in general is fairly strong. It could be 20 years to see how all this pans out. In the 70's, cars were boring, ugly, and gas was pricey... there was even a bicycle boom, but everything rebounded for the autos. Things are different today in that cars are probably the best they've ever been, but questions remain as to how long we'll stick to the lifestyle.
When you look at the prices of cars, even used ones, factor in gas that costs 3times+ more than it did I was a teenager, it's easy to see why people don't seem to be as obsessed with autos as they once were. I was looking through the latest issue of Motor Trend, the new-car-guide one, and the prices are ungodly for even the most mundane vehicles.
The automotive industry is undergoing some of the biggest changes since it's infancy with trying to find a replacement for the internal combustion engine and gasoline as we know it. There's a lot of uncertainty out there. I work in the auto industry, but I don't know that I would if I were younger and just getting into it. There are just a lot more appealing things out there to get interested in. Maybe some kids today think along the same lines.... or maybe they're all broke and can't afford even the cheapest crapper on c-list.
For what it's worth: My wife and I, suburban dwellers, have 2 paid-for cars. We often consider downsizing to 1 because the expense is so great, and a 2nd car often seems redundant. When the price of oil goes up, it's not just gasoline that increases in cost. It's virtually everything that goes on or in the car. Well, everything non-auto related also goes up because of increased transport costs.
Considering the percentage of a person's paycheck that goes into their car (especially if they have a car payment), it just gets to where one must think, "what's the point?" I'd rather have the money for other things.
Last edited by northbound74; 07-26-2012 at 05:42 PM..
Y'all also realize that no one stays 20-something forever. Add a few years, a marriage, a kid or two and that 450 sq. ft. loft in the arts district becomes less attractive. As does a carless lifestyle when you have to schlep a couple cranky, feverish kids to the Dr. on public transportation.
It is true that if you plan on having families, etc. then you probably move into car-territory. However, more and more young (and even not-so-young) people are delaying getting married and having kids (if at all) and are choosing to live in urban, dense cores. I know many Manhattanites who wouldn't consider leaving the borough (aside from Yankee games) because going into Brooklyn or New Jersey is venturing "into the sticks". To them, a car would be completely unnecessary.
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a good friend of mine is also really into cars. He drives a humble Saturn right now but it does get the job done, and lord knows we've had our fair share of fun summer drives on various local highways and back roads blasting underground rap and heavy metal. Some of the best memories of my past summers revolve around that little ol' champagne-colored box.
