

Turns out he was planning to ride his bicycle.
Scott is bright; may even have a doctorate, and is
probably in his mid-thirties. Good shape
and all that, but his decision to not replace his car highlighted what I have
been hearing in the media. His, and the Millennial
generation have fallen out of love with automobiles.



Aside from the fact that GM, et al will have to sell
their vehicles abroad, why should I care that the love affair with cars is
gone? The answer for me is that cars
were part of the heritage of my generation and I feel the loss is another
indication of not building a heritage.
I believe there are at least three causes:
1. Driving
isn’t as much fun as it used to be.
Whether it is Road Rage, seemingly endless traffic, automatic shifting,
or fuel efficient cars, it just isn’t something one does for the enjoyment of
it. No more Sunday Drives. Few convertible moments. No more Cruising on
Saturday nights.
2. There
is little bonding with cars as we grow up.
In California I jokingly observe that the first time a child is allowed
out of the back seat is to take his or her Driver’s Test. We stick our children in car seats so safe
and rigid that the first social contact they have in a car is when they start texting. Cars become a necessity to getting from point
A to point B, rather than something to do in its own right that’s fun. I bet most of you can remember sitting on a parent's lap and steering the car.
3. Cars
have become expensive. I cannot imagine
a kid saving up to buy his first car, even if there were jobs for them to make
money at. They almost have to be
gifted. The features that would appeal
to a new car owner; e.g. a decent sound system, GPS, USB terminals, are all heavily
priced, as are the cars themselves. Even
the gas required to run the cars has become fodder for late-night comedians. And don’t get me started on insurance. There is a reason why leasing has not
disappeared from the marketplace. For
many, it is the only way they can afford to buy.
However, I asked my 14
year-old grandson if he were going to get a Driver’s License when he was sixteen
(presuming the law allows) and he replied in the affirmative, probably not
realizing how costly is the process of even learning to drive. His reason?
Not that much different from my generation: so he could get his own car
and drive to school and activities to free his parents from doing the job they
have done all his life. If and when he gets a license, I will make the same bet with him as I did with his sister: Fifty dollars against $300 that she would have a reportabe accident in her first year of driving. When I gratefuly paid off a year later, I asked if she thought of the bet whn she was driving. "Almost every time," she said. Money well invested!
In my next post I will
share with you my recent experiences with mice, rats, and a related fiasco. Let
me know if you agree that cars are falling out of fashion.
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