Why Americans, particularly millennials, have fallen out of love with cars

[RCDC]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

Young people take Uber. They love cars.

They don't love the bus -- that's why there is a trend in declining transit counts.

Thanks for your shitty opinion.

[mhays]

Maybe that's because you like them Chris?

I can't imagine why I'd want one, as a single guy with plenty of money.

In the middle of a big city, a car seems like a pain in the ass.

I loved the idea of driving until I hit 16 or so. I drew cars, got a license at 15, and loved the chances I got to use it. But once I started working a real job at 16, I never had the slightest thought about having one. Stuff like travel and eventually supporting myself were important. I don't recall ever even trying the math.

[chris08876]

Oh I'm just referring to not liking cars in general.

Of course it makes sense if ones in a city with good transit. The headaches would add up.

But for driving pleasure I meant.

You kind of have to be out in low-traffic areas to enjoy it. Like even in NJ, 35-40 miles from NYC, there is so much traffic, that you can't really enjoy it as much. But IMO, a road trip can be fun. Just getting lost, exploring new areas.

[cabasse]

i like having a 'fun' car but it only gets driven on weekends now. it will probably be the only car i have for the next 10 years - i would only replace it with an EV at this point as well. born in 84, i think i'm just outside what's considered 'millenial' by most measures.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Oh I'm just referring to not liking cars in general.

Of course it makes sense if ones in a city with good transit. The headaches would add up.

But for driving pleasure I meant.

You kind of have to be out in low-traffic areas to enjoy it. Like even in NJ, 35-40 miles from NYC, there is so much traffic, that you can't really enjoy it as much. But IMO, a road trip can be fun. Just getting lost, exploring new areas.

I generally can't enjoy driving cars because I feel too guilty about all the energy it's using, all the pollution it's creating, and the toll it's taking on the infrastructure. I feel stressed and worried the whole time. Unless I'm on a highway traveling at the optimal speed for fuel efficiency and carrying more passengers and/or cargo than would be feasible using another available conveyance.

[SIGSEGV]

Yeah, I don't particularly enjoy driving, but when I do rent a car, I try to get the smallest car possible. It's easier to drive a small car. I don't get why people enjoy bigass cars that are hard to drive and park...

[chrisvfr800i]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Cars are awesome.

If there is a male millennial who doesn't like cars... he's probally not the source of fun at a party. Best to avoid those folks.

But really... who the hell doesn't like cars?

Could be that maybe they've never drive a high powered car before... but rest assured, driving can be fun.

Traffic isn't, but everyone in a while, its good to take the car out for a spin.

I think folks that can afford better cars might not share the viewpoint that cars suck.

I have a feeling this forum is home to a large number of people that match your 1st sentence....

This whole issue is a case of economics and psychology. Economics because millennials as a group seem to have had a tough time breaking in to a recently sluggish economy. Psychology because it's an easier pill to swallow if you decide you are "shunning" something you'd have difficulty affording in the 1st place. Maybe as the job market (hopefully) heats up and more millennials get into the workforce more gainfully, the concept of owning a car, and the many benefits and freedoms they provide, will become more attractive.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by BrownTown

This article sure is dumb. Many people don't enjoy the time they spend driving?

right, but 61% of boomers say they enjoy most of the time they spend driving, whereas less than half of millennials say the same.

that's the shift taking place that the article is talking about. it doesn't mean that millennials don't or won't drive cars, they're just less enthusiastic about driving and owning cars than previous generations.

their generation will be primed for the arrival of driverless ubers. the boomers will have a much more difficult time letting go of the steering wheel. "from my cold dead hands!"

[JManc]

Peter Pan syndrome. Let's put off "adulting" as long as we can and maybe we'll get a car when our parents kick us out of the house at 30. I get it...if you live in New York, Chicago, SF or DC, you really don't need a car but most people (millennials) do not live in these cities. My two millennial brothers live in Upstate NY...they've had cars since they were in high school.

[Steely Dan]

^ right, but 61% of boomers say they enjoy most of the time they spend driving, whereas less than half of millennials say the same.

that's the shift taking place that the article is talking about. it doesn't mean that millennials don't or won't drive cars, they're just less enthusiastic about driving and owning cars than previous generations.

[10023]

I like driving. I would hate commuting by car.

I haven’t yet, but the first car I buy as an adult is likely to be something fun for the weekends. I keep toying with the idea. An original Jaguar E-type would be the dream car, but prices are out of hand now.

[BrownTown]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ right, but 61% of boomers say they enjoy most of the time they spend driving, whereas less than half of millennials say the same.

that's the shift taking place that the article is talking about. it doesn't mean that millennials don't or won't drive cars, they're just less enthusiastic about driving and owning cars than previous generations.

Additional information is needed to make that assumption. Namely we need to know what percent of baby boomers enjoyed driving when they were 30. Are young people turning against cars or do people start to enjoy cars more as they get older and can afford a nice car and drive for fun instead of just work.

[Jonesy55]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

right, but 61% of boomers say they enjoy most of the time they spend driving, whereas less than half of millennials say the same.

Is that maybe because most boomers are now retired so when they drive it's mostly for leisure rather than commuting through heavy traffic at peak times to somewhere they are only going to for the money!

I enjoy driving when it's going somewhere fun on the open road, not so much if it's a chore. But then I also enjoy long distance train trips with a comfortable seat, a table and a nice view out of the window, not so much a crowded commuter train stood up with my nose squashed in somebody's armpit for an hour!

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by RCDC

Thanks for your shitty opinion.

Woah there partner! No need for that.

My post wasn't really an opinion, it was based off of facts.

Uber transports millennials [among others] in cars and transit systems around the nation are seeing declines in passengers, despite population growth, transit expansion and urban development in the central cores of our cities.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ right, but 61% of boomers say they enjoy most of the time they spend driving, whereas less than half of millennials say the same.

that's the shift taking place that the article is talking about. it doesn't mean that millennials don't or won't drive cars, they're just less enthusiastic about driving and owning cars than previous generations.

Boomers are at a different life stage of life than millenials. For them, the rat race is winding down. For millenials, it's just getting started. The article even takes that into account. My dad is recently retired, so his Prius sits in the driveway all day and he drives at his leisure. My mom still works and is as every bit unenthused about getting in the car every morning and evening as any Millennial.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by chris08876

Also Honda Odyssey drivers. In NJ/NY, I'm convinced that minivans come with dents in them as a standard option. I can't tell you how many minivans have frickin dents in them. And the drivers are something else.

If you see a mini van, just speed up, and pass them. Stay away from those folks.

The Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna are probably the most popular vehicles for Orthodox Jews. No shortage of such vans in Brooklyn, Five Towns, Englewood-Teaneck, etc.

[mrnyc]

the rise of the back to the city movement, ride sharing and city bikes may have changed the game for millenials and gen z'ers. we will see for sure as they get older.

i member when monsterous suvs and soccer moms were all the rage in the 90s and that came out of nowhere, so you never know what transportation trend will boom.

maybe gen z will love self driving fusion powered cars? or give up cars for elon musk hyperloops?

speaking of, free rides in los angeles begin dec 11th:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/22/...a-date-opening

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

our car is more or less a "child-transportation-device", and it sits idle on the parking pad in back of our building most days.

For many years I had a car in San Francisco. I drove it so little that the battery couldn't keep itself charged and kept going dead (in the condo parking garage there were no convenient plugs for a trickle charger) so that when I did want to use the car, I first had to call AAA.

Then one day I realized I could buy a small house and garage in the Arizona desert and the initial mortgage payments would be no more than I was paying monthly for a garage space in SF. So I did, left the car in AZ for when I visited there and became car-free in SF. I have never missed the car.

My closest friends in the city are also carless so when we go somewhere together its Uber/Lyft all the way and since we are all pretty heavy users of those services independently, it doesn't feel like any form of sacrifice.

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ right, but 61% of boomers say they enjoy most of the time they spend driving, whereas less than half of millennials say the same.

that's the shift taking place that the article is talking about. it doesn't mean that millennials don't or won't drive cars, they're just less enthusiastic about driving and owning cars than previous generations.

The twice yearly 900+ mile trip to and from AZ has long since cured this boomer of loving to drive. Actually, I used to like road trips and I've crossed the US a number of times in a car but no more. I did get a very basic (used) convertible Jeep in AZ which IS fun to drive, as long as I know I can be home and out of it in under 15 minutes.

Also I will say that I still prefer driving to flying in the age of body scans and cattle car seating in planes.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna are probably the most popular vehicles for Orthodox Jews. No shortage of such vans in Brooklyn, Five Towns, Englewood-Teaneck, etc.

So true.

Especially with the Toyota Sienna.

[chris08876]

One of the biggest frustrations when driving in a city are when trucks double park, wiping out a whole lane. This happens in NJ a lot too in Essex or Hudson County. And they tend to do it when your not expecting it.

Another frustration is making a left at an intersection with no green arrow present to allow for the left turn. In some busy neighborhoods in the tri-state area, its a hassle. And of course, nobody gives you a damn chance, and they insist on blocking the box. So if your in a line of 3-4 cars wanting to make that left, maybe in the span between the light turning green and red, 1 or 2 cars will go.

This is especially frustrating under elevated rail tracks, in which, the pillars from hell are present.

See those pillars below or columns... these little bastards suck.

And the roads in certain parts of Queens do not match, so you literally have to dodge them. Factor that in with double parked trucks, and people not giving you a chance, its hell.

Exhibit A of a driving headaches:


Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/34041146875