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posted by cmn32480 on Tuesday September 13 2016, @11:38PM   Printer-friendly
from the too-damn-expensive dept.

Auto manufacturers today are scratching their heads, trying to figure out why the millennial generation has little-to-no interest in owning a car. What car makers are failing to see is that this generation's interests and priorities have been redefined in the last two decades, pushing cars to the side while must-have personal technology products take up the fast lane.

It's no secret the percentage of new vehicles sold to 18- to 34-year-olds has significantly dropped over the past few years. Many argue this is the result of a weak economy, that the idea of making a large car investment and getting into more debt on top of college loans is too daunting for them. But that's not the "driving" factor, especially considering that owning a smartphone or other mobile device, with its monthly fees of network access, data plan, insurance, and app services, is almost comparable to the monthly payments required when leasing a Honda Civic.
...
With recent studies showing a huge decline in auto sales among the millennial marketplace, it's no wonder auto manufacturers are in a mild state of panic, realizing they're missing out on a generation that wields $200 billion in purchasing power. Numbers don't lie, and over the last few years statistics have shown a significant drop in young people who own cars, as well as those with driver's licenses—and that decline continues among the youngest millennials, meaning this is not a trend that's going away anytime soon. From 2007 to 2011, the number of cars purchased by people aged 18 to 34, fell almost 30%, and according to a study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, only 44% of teens obtain a driver's license within the first year of becoming eligible and just half, 54% are licensed before turning 18. This is a major break with the past, considering how most teens of the two previous generations would race to the DMV for their license or permit on the day of their 16th birthday.


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by ShadowSystems on Wednesday September 14 2016, @12:54AM

    by ShadowSystems (6185) <ShadowSystemsNO@SPAMGmail.com> on Wednesday September 14 2016, @12:54AM (#401544)

    My son turned 25 & is attending college to become a teacher. He did a month's worth of in depth research with AAA, the NTSB, & various insurance companies to determine a realistic amount he would need each month to pay for the car itself, the gas to run it, the insurance to cover it, the maintenence to keep it running (just general stuff, not including any major repairs), & all the other expenses involved in owning a car. It turned out that while having a car may be nice, it can't hold a candle to the $40 monthly unlimited Student Bus Pass & the excersize he gets by walking where the bus doesn't go.
    It comes as no surprise others of his generation are skipping getting a car, you would need a high paying job to cover rent, groceries, health care, cell phone, student loans, school supplies, PLUS all the money needed for the car.
    And he's not sure he wants to get one after he becomes a teacher either. As a teacher he isn't in it for the money, and by NOT owning a car that means he can stretch his meager earnings even further. This is especially pertenent when he may have to go out of pocket to buy classroom supplies for the kids. The money a car would gobble up would go a LONG way towards easing the burden of buying stuff the districts should be able to buy instead.
    It boils down to if owning a car is worth the cost of owning a car, & the answer is pretty much No.
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by opinionated_science on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:02AM

    by opinionated_science (4031) on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:02AM (#401547)

    insurance is a ripoff. They will raise the rates ,every year unless you change.

    My dad told me about this, so I have been aware.

    I will say that most of the points raised so far are probably right - the ability to hail transport from a phone, has eluded the taxi cabs of just ten years ago!

    Add in the ability to get groceries etc...then you finally realise the freedom of a car, becomes the need to work, and get away. Once those have been contracted out...well who needs a car? I am really hoping my next car is autonomous!!

    • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Wednesday September 14 2016, @11:31PM

      by urza9814 (3954) on Wednesday September 14 2016, @11:31PM (#402063) Journal

      insurance is a ripoff. They will raise the rates ,every year unless you change.

      Interesting...they decrease my rates every year automatically. I'm paying $50/month less now than I was when I switched to this provider (MetLife, due to an employer discount) back in 2012.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:18AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @01:18AM (#401559)

    I am in my mid 40s. My first car I got when I was 23. It was a graduation gift. It lasted a whole 6 months before it blew a lifter rod through the sidewall of the engine. My second car lasted until someone smashed the backend out. The next one lasted 15 years. My current one I hope to get another 15 from.

    I watched many of my fellow 'genxrs' blow shitloads of money into cars they can not afford. Then trash them. I saw many 5000 dollar stereos in 500 dollar cars.

    Another thing that people ignore is 'cash for clunkers'. Those were the cars millennials would have been buying and then laddering their way into better cars. Those cars do not exist. Our gov basically ruined an entire fleet of cars. When everyone was going gaga over the program I was telling them GM and Ford just shot themselves in the foot getting that program going. In basic economic terms it means more scarcity driving up the value of the remaining cars.

    I remember growing up you bought a shit box for your first few cars. That is what all you could afford. It is was what all of my friends bought. Some would save up a bit and get a not so shitty car but obviously old. Sure the AC was a bit wonky and smelled terrible. Oh and dont roll down the back window it does not come back up. Ignore the hole in the trunk.

    Now if you can get used to it. Walking, bike, and the bus are not terrible. The cost ratio is much better. But the freedom of movement is lower. I did it for many years. Where I currently live does not afford that sort of freedom. So I own a car. It was 20-30 mins to any point in town where I grew up. As it was well laid out and had a decent public transportation and paths. Where I currently live it is 2-3 hours to any point in town (which should be less). But there is shit for public transportation and very few paths that go anywhere needed.

    Also I currently own one car for my wife and I. Now instead of two shitty cars we have one very nice car that we share.

    New cars are a terrible investment. The rare ones worth a pretty penny are never the one you own. Used cars typically come with a random raft of issues that are crazy expensive to fix unless you can do it yourself or 'know a guy'. Sometimes to fix a computer module can be more than the car is worth and you have to tear apart half the dash to get at it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @03:34PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 14 2016, @03:34PM (#401837)

      This poster and the GP have it right, there are several factors at play:
      1 - There is a shortage of cheap used cars that don't suck. Cars are more expensive now. I got my first car in 2002 and had many $5K cars to choose from. In 2012, there were virtually none. The cheapest I could get away with was $8K, which significantly outpaced inflation and the market.
      2 - Manufacturers have mostly killed the "basic model". My current car (which is cheap) has windows that roll up manually, which is shocking to passengers. "Under $15K" for a _new_ car is considered "cheap" nowadays (http://www.autotrader.com/best-cars/the-7-cheapest-new-cars-in-the-united-states-224878).
      3 - Cars are expensive. Do a rough estimate. $100/month for maintenance/repair, $100/month for insurance, $50/month in gas/tolls (13 miles one-way commute), and $8K up front (the equivalent of $30/month) means $280/month to "own a crappy car".

  • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Wednesday September 14 2016, @08:45AM

    by linkdude64 (5482) on Wednesday September 14 2016, @08:45AM (#401700)

    "excersize"
    I am somebody who also struggles to spell this, of all words, for some reason.

    It is spelled "exercise."