How Can Automakers Rekindle The Fire And Get Teens To Drive?

Cars are expensive as shit. It costs so much more to own a car now than it used to, and that cost keeps going up. Not even because of just fuel, but because maintenance charges are going up up up. That and cars themselves aren't getting any cheaper, of course. And then of course add to that the fact that having a mobile phone with a data plan is expensive as well, and you just don't find many teens with that level of funding.

More teens would be interested in cars if they were more confident they could get a job. The typical "1st job for teens" are gone - US economy pushed older, college-educated people to get these street/entry-level positions. Teens must compete for the easiest of jobs, so they come unprepared or unmotivated.

Not having a strong interest in working means not really having a need for a car. When the need for personal transportation arises, the shear shock & overwhelming lack of knowledge in car pricing plays itself out. Teens & young adults find out at the dealership that what they can afford is undesirable, unfun, uncool, etc.

My town has lifeguard positions open all year long at $13.00 an hour and they train and provide lunch. No applicants.

Many of the teens in the area do not work and mom and dad support them so there is not an economic need to do so.

Why buy a car when mom and dad provide transport and income.

Price. Sorry but even the teens that do work cannot afford a car. Minimum wage these days is much lower in real dollars than it has been in the past. Not to mention fuel costs on top of the initial cost for a car. Not to mention the fact that in a few years they will need every penny they can get for college which is rapidly rising in price and becoming unaffordable.

I just don't get it. Kids are very different these days. Don't know if it's the helicopter parenting or what but it's almost like they are afraid to get away from mom and dad. I couldn't wait to turn 16 and explore my new found freedom. Dates, backroads, "camping trips", beach... Just don't get it. It's like a generation of welfare recipients. Just let someone else do it for you while you text on your pricey smartphone.

Convince Congress to increase the nation's minimum wage.

and lower gas prices back to something around the Clinton era.

This is so messed up, this isn't about cars but some kind of mental block. My first weekend with my first car I drove about 400 miles exploring mountains in another state. Over the next three years I covered over 40 states. All I had was my precious $400 pull-out CD player and everything I owned stuffed in the back. Great adventures, great freedom I had from that car.

I took my driver's test on my 16th birthday, in a blizzard. The State Trooper thought I was nuts, but I fooled him and passed. The kids today socialize on social media, not in groups at various place like the drive in. Mom & Dad continue to provide food, shelter and free laundry until they turn 26. Why leave home? However, kids who live out here, in the Northern Plains, can get a license at 14, and believe me they do. The high school parking lots are packed. Cars are still a part of their lives, by necessity, as we have no public transportation. There is no passenger train service in the entire state of South Dakota. None! So, all is not lost, except maybe in California....and the East coast. Come see the Sturgis (SD) Mustang Rally on Labor Day weekend, and you will see the kids and cars.