The Carless Generation | The Truth About Cars
By Jim Sutherland
October 24, 2009
(courtesy:creativeclass.com)
There is always going to be a generation gap. The term ?generation gap? was coined in the 60s when it became evident that Baby Boomers had developed a whole new set of rules for themselves that put a significant chasm between them and their parents in terms of interests and values. Generation gaps will always define new generations and every generation will march to the beat of their own drum. For me, the gap got Grand Canyon wide when I read the LA Times piece by Martin Zimmerman that cited a J D Power study which indicated that Generation Y has less interest in cars. As a lifelong car guy who built an entire social world around cars I would have to ask; ?Generation why??
J D Power monitored Internet traffic conversations on Autoblog, Twitter and Facebook for several months earlier this year and came to the conclusion that teens and early 20-something ?careerists? had less interest in our four-wheeled friends than previous generations. I understand the social websites but why would anybody get on a car website to talk about something in which they apparently have no interest?
The malady has even gotten a new name based upon the drop in car ownership in Japan. Social scientists in desperate need of a new buzzword fix call it ?demotorization?. So young ?careerists? have decided to ?demotorize?. I have ?demotorized? in the past under a different plan. My plan was to drive the hell out of a badly neglected car until a piston tried to bust its way out of its cylinder jail. Most of that decision to ?demotorize? was in the hands of my car. Gen Y has changed the definition to include a conscious and apparently rational decision not to own a car.
I should be happy that a new generation has decided not to become the newest members of the gridlock gang, but mostly I am puzzled by the news. The study indicated that Gen Y was a comfortable member of a new cyber society that ?perceive less of a need to physically congregate, and less of a need for a mode of transportation?. Personally the need to physically congregate was one of the driving forces behind my first car.
What has changed the game for Gen Y? I realize that the Internet has a very generous supply of porn and that would definitely have kept me hunkered down in my parents? basement for a sizeable chunk of my high school years. But eventually I would have ventured into a real flesh and blood world filled with real women and real possibilities. None of that would have happened in my parents? house stranded without any wheels.
There were always a couple of great reasons to own a car from day one for any guy ever since the first horseless carriage- to see the world and meet women in no particular order. The spirit of adventure has always been the major reason for a set of car keys until marriage, parenthood and soccer suck the fun out of cars and replace fun with practicality. Then that beautiful symbiotic threesome relationship between cars, freedom and youth gets vaporized by parental responsibility and minivan ownership.
A car is the first real taste of independence in a kid?s life. Take away a car and the emotional umbilical cord survives longer than it should and the danger of a forty seven year old basement dweller living with his aging parents becomes a real possibility. This is the ugly reality of a generation with no plan to cross an important threshold which includes interaction with the real world.
Don?t get me wrong, the Internet highway is a great place to spend some time. So is a real highway, especially if it gets some kid behind a real steering wheel on a real road to physically congregate with eligible young females in the real world. That should not be the road less traveled when you?re 19 years old with a raging case of hormones and no amount of free porn will change that reality even if you can type real fast with one hand.
Sure a kid can google earth and visit nearly every square inch of the planet through his Apple or I-pod but that is hardly a multi-dimensional experience filled with any tactile sensation beyond the touch of a keypad.
I still believe Dinah Shore when she suggested that we see the USA in our Chevrolet even if a lot of people choose other car brands in 2009. The important thing is that cars are part of a real world experience and the call of the road is also still the call of the wild, complete with flat tires and other road side adventures.
Most of us need a car for very practical reasons in our lives. When we were younger we needed a car for less practical reasons but for a no less important reason: We needed to take a ride into life?s experiences and a steering wheel got us there quicker than a keyboard. We still need that kind of lesson.
[Read more Jim Sutherland at mystarcollector.com]
the 55 comments are well worth reading
Replies
13
SoWal Expert
Just because you don't have a car doesn't mean you can't go places or are isolated - planes, trains, taxis, buses, ferries, carpools, subways, car services, trolleys, bikes, and shoe leather are all valid options.
I own a car because I need one to get around in this area - if I lived somewhere with good public transit I might feel the hassle of parking, security, and maintenance wasn't worth it.
I don't think you can totally blame social networking groups though - cars cost money, driver's ed classes cost money (and were eliminated in many schools), car insurance is expensive for our age group, you can't rent a car if you are under 25, and pre-Recession most of the good jobs recruiting us from college were in cities where the cost to park a car was in the tens of thousands.
Plus, most modern car designs suck - maybe if we were cruising around in some of the great cars from the 50's and 60's we'd see cars as more than a mode of transportation.
I own a car because I need one to get around in this area - if I lived somewhere with good public transit I might feel the hassle of parking, security, and maintenance wasn't worth it.
I don't think you can totally blame social networking groups though - cars cost money, driver's ed classes cost money (and were eliminated in many schools), car insurance is expensive for our age group, you can't rent a car if you are under 25, and pre-Recession most of the good jobs recruiting us from college were in cities where the cost to park a car was in the tens of thousands.
Plus, most modern car designs suck - maybe if we were cruising around in some of the great cars from the 50's and 60's we'd see cars as more than a mode of transportation.
Edited
Beach Lover
The author and his fans couldn't be more wrong. Since we live off HWY 98 in sprawl like most Americans a car is a neccessity. But I think we will see a flight back into urban areas over time as generation Y or whatever they're calling us these days realizes how isolated one can become from other people in a box of steel going from suburb to work 2 hours a day in traffic. It's nice being able to walk to the neighborhood cafe, the bookstore, the pub, etc. It reinforces a sense of community.
Just look at how aggressive and angry people (especially on 98) drive. There is no way they would act that way if they were simply walking down the street, because there would probably be reprecussions- there is social pressure to be polite. It is easy to become disconnected from the humanity of others sitting in your SUV listening to talk radio.
In most of our communities walking somewhere is out of the question so we spend a ton of time on our *ss in a car. When you can walk to work or school or the bookstore, you're getting exercise that a lot of people in areas like this will miss out on. Most of the guys lamenting the good old days are really just complaining that the marketing slogans of the past that had so much impact on them no longer hold water for the young whipper snappers.
And yet, it's not that no one is interested in cars, it's just hard to sell them with promises of freedom and independence when people see the reality of being stuck in traffic in a 2 hour commute. Suddenly that car is a prison. Suddenly freedom from a car sounds pretty good to a lot of people, me included.
Just look at how aggressive and angry people (especially on 98) drive. There is no way they would act that way if they were simply walking down the street, because there would probably be reprecussions- there is social pressure to be polite. It is easy to become disconnected from the humanity of others sitting in your SUV listening to talk radio.
In most of our communities walking somewhere is out of the question so we spend a ton of time on our *ss in a car. When you can walk to work or school or the bookstore, you're getting exercise that a lot of people in areas like this will miss out on. Most of the guys lamenting the good old days are really just complaining that the marketing slogans of the past that had so much impact on them no longer hold water for the young whipper snappers.
And yet, it's not that no one is interested in cars, it's just hard to sell them with promises of freedom and independence when people see the reality of being stuck in traffic in a 2 hour commute. Suddenly that car is a prison. Suddenly freedom from a car sounds pretty good to a lot of people, me included.
Beach Fanatic
YouTube - Kona Bikes: Discovering Amsterdam By Bike
There are some young, carless yet very connected folks in this little clip, and I noticed when visiting this marvelous city that there were NO fat or out of shape people there!
There are some young, carless yet very connected folks in this little clip, and I noticed when visiting this marvelous city that there were NO fat or out of shape people there!
SoWal Insider
The author and his fans couldn't be more wrong. Since we live off HWY 98 in sprawl like most Americans a car is a neccessity. But I think we will see a flight back into urban areas over time as generation Y or whatever they're calling us these days realizes how isolated one can become from other people in a box of steel going from suburb to work 2 hours a day in traffic. It's nice being able to walk to the neighborhood cafe, the bookstore, the pub, etc. It reinforces a sense of community.
Buy a jeep and take the top off?
The most isolated type of living I've ever felt was during my time in San Francisco, sans a car, with only public transportation and my feet to rely on. I did get a lot of exercise, but I rarely got out of the little urban bubble I lived in.
SoWal Insider
YouTube - Kona Bikes: Discovering Amsterdam By Bike
There are some young, carless yet very connected folks in this little clip, and I noticed when visiting this marvelous city that there were NO fat or out of shape people there!
Amsterdam is so unique and so beautiful. I wonder if a smaller community like 30a/seaside could try and copy this somehow? Seems like you'de have to put up with a lot of theft though.
Banned
True freedom is my 4x4 with my bike and yolo board in the back, there are no limits.
SoWal Expert
An old friend is dating a guy that sold his car, and started this blog. My mom and her trike is his latest installment- his girlfriend snapped a picture of mom at church, and gave the story idea to Kirk. I am really enjoying reading about his daily life without a car.
Pedalaround
Day 39 of My Car-Free Experiment ? It Starts With Considering Your Short Trips
Pedalaround
Day 39 of My Car-Free Experiment ? It Starts With Considering Your Short Trips
SoWal Expert
I think the way you view a car has alot to what you are used to. I grew up with a variety of transportation options being normal. A large part of it was driven by the hassles of parking and traffic, a lack of car due to age or circumstance, and the convenience of other methods.
We walked, took the bus, or rode our bikes to school & sports, my mother took the bus to work, my history teacher rode his bike to school, my friends and I took the bus to the mall or downtown for fun, and during the summer we would take a boat to parties, to go out for breakfast or dinner, drop something off, or visit relatives. It's normal for people to take the bus for the first leg of their plane trip rather than deal w/ a tempermental connecting flight and its subsequent issues.
We still use cars most of the time, but it is really nice to have the other options. You don't have to worry about directions or a DUI on a bus or train, you can take a nap instead of driving, and it is certainly a much safer way to get around than having a bunch of teenagers in a car together or drivers more focused on their phones, kids, dogs, or food than the road.
30-A shopper -
Some cities do the "rent-a-bike" program. They sidestep the theft issue by requiring a special card to unlock the bikes.
It's like paying a toll or checking out a library book - there are set locations for the bikes (sort of like bus stops) and you use the card to unlock the bike, ride it around, and then the hours are deducted from your card when you return it and it locks back up.
Don't return the bike, you just bought yourself a bike.
We walked, took the bus, or rode our bikes to school & sports, my mother took the bus to work, my history teacher rode his bike to school, my friends and I took the bus to the mall or downtown for fun, and during the summer we would take a boat to parties, to go out for breakfast or dinner, drop something off, or visit relatives. It's normal for people to take the bus for the first leg of their plane trip rather than deal w/ a tempermental connecting flight and its subsequent issues.
We still use cars most of the time, but it is really nice to have the other options. You don't have to worry about directions or a DUI on a bus or train, you can take a nap instead of driving, and it is certainly a much safer way to get around than having a bunch of teenagers in a car together or drivers more focused on their phones, kids, dogs, or food than the road.
30-A shopper -
Some cities do the "rent-a-bike" program. They sidestep the theft issue by requiring a special card to unlock the bikes.
It's like paying a toll or checking out a library book - there are set locations for the bikes (sort of like bus stops) and you use the card to unlock the bike, ride it around, and then the hours are deducted from your card when you return it and it locks back up.
Don't return the bike, you just bought yourself a bike.
Beach Fanatic
Buy a jeep and take the top off?
The most isolated type of living I've ever felt was during my time in San Francisco, sans a car, with only public transportation and my feet to rely on. I did get a lot of exercise, but I rarely got out of the little urban bubble I lived in.
I know what you mean. When I was a student in DC, any time we went somewhere we had to carefully plot everything based on where the buses did or didn't run and what time the Metro shut down for the night. You end up going to places because they're easy to get to on a route instead of where you really wanted to go.
Beach Fanatic
The author and his fans couldn't be more wrong. Since we live off HWY 98 in sprawl like most Americans a car is a neccessity. But I think we will see a flight back into urban areas over time as generation Y or whatever they're calling us these days realizes how isolated one can become from other people in a box of steel going from suburb to work 2 hours a day in traffic. It's nice being able to walk to the neighborhood cafe, the bookstore, the pub, etc. It reinforces a sense of community.
Just look at how aggressive and angry people (especially on 98) drive. There is no way they would act that way if they were simply walking down the street, because there would probably be reprecussions- there is social pressure to be polite. It is easy to become disconnected from the humanity of others sitting in your SUV listening to talk radio.
In most of our communities walking somewhere is out of the question so we spend a ton of time on our *ss in a car. When you can walk to work or school or the bookstore, you're getting exercise that a lot of people in areas like this will miss out on. Most of the guys lamenting the good old days are really just complaining that the marketing slogans of the past that had so much impact on them no longer hold water for the young whipper snappers.
And yet, it's not that no one is interested in cars, it's just hard to sell them with promises of freedom and independence when people see the reality of being stuck in traffic in a 2 hour commute. Suddenly that car is a prison. Suddenly freedom from a car sounds pretty good to a lot of people, me included.
Is your avatar from Fear And Loathing In LV? I know I've seen it somewhere.....
Beach Lover
Yes.
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device
SoWal InsiderAuthor
Yes.Hunter and Ernest
Posted via Mobile Device
Beach Fanatic
this is bat country
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