Are Car Makers Banking On A Generation That Isn't Interested In Cars?

Personally, i dont believe this. I am a part of this generation and I want to own vehicles. I don't like to think of a car that im in as a lease or anything like that. I want to know that when its all said and done, its my car that i paid for with my hard earned money. Thats the experience I want.

You might be more of an exception to the rule. A lot of this generation take more time choosing their tech toys than thinking about buying a dream car or a house.

Could it be that this generation is more interested in moving from trend to trend than tying themselves down to a dream?

Toughy, I never said buying a car was an investment. But many are far more into intangibles rather that tactile purchases.

At least the car can get you from point "A" to point "B" better than the memory of cliff diving in Argentina.

It appears the 60's are happening all over again.

I wish every city was like New York City, where that was mass transportation, and people wouldn't need all these darn cars

Nah. My son, 16, is talking all about cars when he 16. everyday he asks i can drive him to the VW dealer, or Honda dealer

thts me, kinda. im 16 and i want my dad to take me to certains dealers.

I am another exception to this 'rule'. I'm almost 24 and I'm on my 6th purchased vehicle, with my own hard earned money, not mommy and daddy's.

Part of growing up is learning to be independant. Most young adults and people in general need autos to be independant. With auto companies becoming creative with leases and allowing people to own cars they otherwise could not afford by purchasing it. With that in mind I believe young adults would rather lease something nice than own a beater.

Unless of course you are one of Run's kids =)

I understand it and actually work with a lot of people in this age range and most want a vehicle but maybe not a big huge expensive machine. Some want one to carry gear(band equipment, outdoor equip, etc) and they drool more over a new laptop or movie download you may have.

Cars are fun, but experience builds character.

Toughy- You are right on there. I have seen a LS460 sitting at an apartment complex near my house for the last 6 months or so.

Probably pays double monthly for his car than his rent.

Although it sounds like a bad thing, I have considered upgrading my car before moving out of my apartment. I'm not interested in real estate right now, I'm really happy renting and I love my apartment (ocean view). I would be happy with the scenario of continuing to rent and also lease a car, however, some people may look down on that. Leasing really isnt a bad thing, cars depreciate anyhow, and I dont think I will own a car long enough to have no payment anyhow.

LOL, you got that right!

I think you guys are both wrong.....The new generation is interested in music like never before....

One work.... IPOD
MP3?

Wrong. People are still interested in music. People have lost interest in actually PAYING FOR music.

LOL! AGREED!

Ignore pop culture, it sucks by default. There is plenty of good independent music today. Of course you like music from decades ago, that's what you grew up with.

I really don't know....People are not all that interested in cars like during those glorious Caddy days...Mustang days, Corvette days.....I think since it wasn't much techonology back then people has nothing else to do for excitment. Now we have cell phones, computers, Internet, and Nintendo WII

I agree with you sailor.

I'm of this generation and I agree. I would rather have a nice home, nice clothes, new technology and travel before I bought an expensive new car.
I love cars, sure, and I always want to own one,and I enjoy owning mine, but there are lots of things I want to spend my money on.

Agreed. And I think some people are buying cars as a need to get around, rather than in the opld days, it was just for show off....

Rupert,

The article said "material things" that includes your nice clothes, and a nice house. Not experiences

i don't get this whole experience point, isn't buying a car an experience? it was for me. the sailors has got it, young people are into individuality. making something unique, everything from their sneakers, myspace page, to their cars.

i mean your son might just be hippie and thats cool.

id argue that material things are more related to experience than than not. working for that something and buying that something...is an experience

if ford wants young people to like its cars all they have to do make rwd/4wd rival for the wrx/evo/gti, and make it affordable and dont call it a Taurus and they will be on the right track.

and since when are cars not new technology, did i miss something?

I'm also one of this generation. Most of my friends want to buy an expensive car. But I think the problem is somewhere else. These same people want to go and live on their own having a nice house, children... It is just impossible to buy a car that you want. You first have to make your family. Life is getting more and more expensive.

good points.

choice of cars vs. other material goods/necessities (like a house) are matters of personal priorities.

as a car guy, like most i have lusted for many a car that COSTS anywhere from 1.5x to 5-10x of what i actually end up with. but i have rarely been DISsatisfied with what i drive.

i just get MORE satisfaction spending my money on OTHER nice things, (of which there is NO shortage of choices!)

cars are just SO GOOD these days (even inexpensive ones) that THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS tends to kick in early!

I truly believe this, as proven by my little sister (born 1977).

For her 30th birthday, I told her to pick a vehicle, and I would buy it for her.

I proposed several very nice cars, but ultimately she chose a 2007 Toyota Camry, because it wouldn't draw too much attention, and was roomy and reliable.

I'm still a bit stunned, but my bank account is happier for her choice.

Kids Today are certainly a different breed.

if u really wanted the best for her, with your vast knowledge of cars being an autospies reader, you sgould have guided her into one of the german counterparts...

The BEST of anything is easily defined as that which satisfies the individual's desires/requirements...

All else is moot!

Note: It was her choice and she's very happy with it, and as someone to whom her happiness means everything, I'm very content.

Like I posted before, "Kids Today are certainly a different breed".

did she at least choose a loaded SE or XLE? or was she mainly being considerate of your generosity and bank account, and just got a basic model?

in either case, she's a smart woman! with a v6 model, she essentially got a de-contented Lexus ES which "doesn't attract (undue?) attention" while still enjoying all its virtues.

This is my generation, and to be honest with you. This story is mostly true. The good old days of buying Ford, Chevy & Mopar muscle, for next to nothing and then going hot rodding are GONE. Yes, some people like to buy there cars, but lets be serious. The sensation you got from the cars of yesteryear is not the same as it is now. Who's really gonna get all worked up about buying there new Camery or Accord. Yes, at first you have the "look at my new car feeling" but it doesn't last long. Just think back the what you'll Baby Boomers were buying and driving, and look at what we've got. Yeah, we have our Evo's and Sti's but most people of my generation can't afford a $30,000+ car(and insurance for it) just so they can have fun and be cool. Yeah, I have friends that can and do, but most of us can't. So, all we really have to look forward to in the "buying a new car experience" is, "what's the mpg?" Most of us look forward to our smaller, yet affordable win. Like Ipods, Xbox's, and so on. Yeah, it sucks, but those are that were dealt, we're just playing them the best we can.

Hell I am 24, bring on the Bentley Continental GT!!! I can actually afford one but it would be a stretch!

You're talking about a fraction of a generation NOT a generation. A better way to look at this is to ask your old high school and college mates what they're driving today. Then you'll see the difference, between what most people drive, and a group called motors fans. I love racing and driving, but it's not for most people to buy a Civic(or whatever) and supe it up, or drop tons on an new sports car. And if you think it is then you're dumb. That's why you don't see Evo's & Sti's advertised on TV, cause they wouldn't get there return on the money spent for advertising.

Come to anywhere in Miami, Florida where I live and you'll see exactly the same thing. Nobody looks twice at you if your car is worth less than $50 Grand, and 3 series are a more common sight than birds, and I'm not even exaggerating. Every young person's dream car is anything but a honda or a toyota.

Nowadays, I think its all about being "kool".

This article is soooooooo far from the truth. Look all around you and you will notice it. We live in the age of materialism and consumerism. Where iPhones are objects from the gods and Luxury imports are the absolute must haves. Louis Vuitton, Prada, Patek Phillipe, Rolex just to mention a few, are brands richer and more sought after than ever.

Billionare family member Paris Hilton is what a large number of girls want to be like. Its almost like the millenium generation lives in an alternate reality.

Where's the data ro support the claim ? Thus far only one example is cited followed by an inference drawn by one Ford analyst which sounds more like selective observation than fact.

To state that "the children of Baby Boomers do not aspire to vehicle ownership like we did" would be a conclusion drawn on an invalid argument.

I'm in this generation and I wanna buy a car someday. All my cars so far have been leased. I won't buy a car until leasing becomes obsolete. If you think about it, nowadays there is always some new technology being added to cars. If I buy a car now, in 2-3 years there is gonna be some awesome option that I would die to get my hands on. In other words, cars have become like iPods, every year there is a new version that everyone would rather have. If I would have to choose a car to purchase, it is going to be a car that I know I will not get tired of easily. I can only come up with a handful of them that I can afford. I would probably get a 135, just because it is good at being a car, not a computerized gadget that would later get a version 2.0, then 2.1, etc.

SUV's are the problem. The teens want them, but they don't really know why because this is the first time that celebrities AND their parents are driving the same vehicle.

Back in the day, really any day pre-SUV, celebrities would drive everything from Jaguars to Corvettes to Ferraris to Mustangs...and the parents would drive Oldsmobiles and station wagons.

There were also tons of musicians wrecking their exotics at high speeds with drugs and women in the passenger seat...it just added to the allure of danger in sportscars.

I aspired to everything when I was a kid...CRX, RX7, Porsche, whatever. Some affordable, some just pictures on a dorm room poster. It's sad to see kids that aspire to Dad's old Escalade...the only thing they can do with it is add bigger wheels. And is it fast or fun to drive? That's not even something they understand these days.

I took my cousin's 16-year old kid out for a ride in the Boxster S last summer; it was the first time he's even been IN a sportscar. He asked me "how do you resist speeding" and I responded "you don't" and hit the gas. He was pretty amazed by the ride and I HOPE I may have "educated" at least one person about the great world of cars that his parents don't want him to know about.

I guess all the young dolts want to ride bicycle's to save the planet.

Hell, just move to China and do as they do!

i guess OLD DOLTS like you would prefer they blow all their money on cars, and NEVER think of buying real estate?

absolute rubbish, only nerds like the 21 year geek of this article can not be interested in cars, if you are normal and if you are a guy, not some halfling, then you are bound to love cars, please i am not trying to be insulting, but i have to protest to such stupid claims. Cars are the reason why we still want to live.

i love cars but refuse to buy a new one. if cars were so special why do they depreciate by at least 20% aout of the dealership? lots of reality here.

and i can easily afford any car under $120K!

I think this article is full of it for several reasons. Perhaps it is true of this 21 year-old hippie who probably goes to CU Boulder- I do not believe it is true for the rest of the populace. I will say that, while I am of the subject age group, I am (as if I have to tell all of you) a bit eccentric. Most of my friends are in their thirties and forties as I find the banal self-serving persiflage that trickles out of a large number of younger people’s mouths to be quite annoying. They don’t even register that they are an open book in terms of their psychology. They also have a tendency to be liars. I experience this often because the friend who incroduces me has perhaps said a bit too much- making the other person defensive.

I truly believe that parents nowadays are really fundamentally screwing up their children. What has happened is that parents are increasingly absent from their children’s lives. Often to compensate parents buy their children material items- some of which are quite large. Cars for example- you see lots of young people driving BMWs and Mercedes. I believe that you will see increased instances of this. It also has to do with the vanity of the parents.

The younger generation has been lied to by their parents. They grew up in a world where everyone receives a trophy, and standing ovations are given to inferior performances. This is just plain delusional vanity on the part of the parents. This world is a dangerous fantasy. These children have been told a complete lie about the way the world works. They have been lead to believe that the world is their friend. Children must learn that reality and nature do not yield to their illusions. The problem is that when these children are exposed to the world and things do not align with those illusions, instead of changing their views on the world- they become victims. It is no wonder that young kids have turned into a bunch of borderline sociopaths who got o school and shoot their classmates. All of these school shootings show that these people believe that the problem is with things exterior to themselves- were it to be interior they would probably just commit suicide to begin with.

I do not mean that the lie is what one calls the American Dream – “work hard and you can do anything you want” That of course carries the caveat within reason and the law. There really is something to that statement- it really does work. But parents now are telling their children “you can do anything you want”. These are two very different statements. Studies have been done on children where after taking a test they were praised for being intelligent- something which they have no control over. On the next test this group scored on average 30% lower than on the original test. Another group was praised for their hard work after the first test – this group did 20% better on the next test.

Not only do I believe that we will see an increase in the demand for luxury goods, but also that there will be

...decreased interest in the path to achieve these material goods. Then disappointment sets in on a large scale creating a larger group of victims.

I really didn't mean for it to be that long. Hell I didn't even get to the negtive consequences for poor behavior part- i.e. spank your children when they misbehave. That putting them in the corner cap does not work.

If you are of that generation - how old are you? I assumed you were reasonably old judging by how you write and what car you drive...

And I agree with you - although I hope I'm not like those teens you describe - although my parents buy me stuff like a car, or clothes, and I do nothing. I don't even have a job. Even the stuff I buy myself is with inherited money.

Crap. I'm a self-centered person who is too lazy to earn money so will resort to playing the lottery. I'm intelligent, sure, but I'm constantly reminded of that, so do no work and thus don't do well in tests or exams, but assume I'll do better the next time - which I never do.

I'm exactly like those people you talk about, cdoke, I'm a cushioned, spoilt child, who does not deserve the things I have have been given in life, and is wasting the opportunities my parents have worked hard to give me - so I'm getting off autospies right now to revise for my classics exam tomorrow, which I haven't revised enough for, nor for any of my other exams this week.
Thank you. You've helped.

Rupert,

I'm 24. My Jaguar was a Christmas present from my parents.

You may not be motivated, but there are worse things. You are also younger as I recall -16 or so right? You're obviously intelligent, and I think that age will provide you with a clearer picture of your passions. I never had a job while in school- primary or college. Hell, I still don't have a job yet and my parents are still providing me with my pay-check. But I will get one- I would say it is about time.

Anyway, the point is, I do not believe for a single second that you are like those that I describe. In fact, I entertained the idea of writing exactly that in my original message.

The fundamental problem as I see it, is when one is being spoiled but the affluence behind it is an illusion. I will give you an example; I knew someone in college who managed to convince his parents to take out a second mortgage on their house in order to buy him a BMW. Of course when I heard this I almost had a stroke.

As far as my sentence structure or language goes- I really don't know what causes it. I do know that I had a Russian friend who said that my intonation was quite different as well. He compared it to that of a 5th Avenue wife and also said it was similar to that of Rosalind Russel in "Auntie Mame"- why only women I will never know.

Honestly, I really don't think my speech is all that different from normal.

Ah for the hell of it, A demonstration of Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4njOIWDs60&feature=related

I swear that while the intonation may be similar, I am not that flamboyant.

I do pronounce the "h" in "what?".

24...you are a lot younger than I thought. I'm 17 right now, 18 in 3 months...

And that accent/intonation! - classic upper class American. I love it, it's very English in it's stresses and length of vowels, but more flamboyant.
I speak "posh" (comparatively) for my circle of friends, but nothing like that - I just add R's to my A's and drag it out for a while. And 'what' with an H - amazing. But I think I speak normal too - I don't understand it when people say I'm posh - I'm not! I just very middle class! I don't know the character of Rosalind Russel, or the film - but I do say 'top drawer', 'jolly good' and 'super' a lot.

But thank you for believing that I am not like those which you have described - but your description of those people did give me a jolt - I do not want to turn out like that - I am not and do not want to be one of those brats on Super Sweet 16 - the most nauseating show on television IMO. Perhaps age will becalm my fears.
And the Jaguar (please say you can say it properly - Jag-you-er) was a Christmas present? How much are plane tickets to wherever you live? :P

*speak normally*

I'm careful with my grammar around you - we are the Autospies grammar police.

I do say it "Jag-you-er". No offense was meant by my mistake about your age. I had just thought you had said you were 15 at some point. I probably would have taken umbrage at your age for such an insinuation. Truly, nothing in your behavior leads me to believe that you are younger than your age- quite the contrary.

I think when I joined Autospies I was 15 or 16, so don't worry, I'm not offended :)