These survived C4C...the mpg is too good...
Posted on 03/27/2012 7:47:55 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
Kids these days. They don't get married. They don't buy homes. And, much to the dismay of the world's auto makers, they apparently don't feel a deep and abiding urge to own a car.
This week, the New York Times pulled back the curtain on General Motors' recent, slightly bewildered efforts to connect with the Millennials -- that giant generational cohort born in the 1980s and 1990s whose growing consumer power is reshaping the way corporate America markets its wares. Unfortunately for car companies, today's teens and twenty-somethings don't seem all that interested in buying a set of wheels. They're not even particularly keen on driving.
The Times notes that less than half of potential drivers age 19 or younger had a license in 2008, down from nearly two-thirds in 1998. The fraction of 20-to-24-year-olds with a license has also dropped. And according to CNW research, adults between the ages of 21 and 34 buy just 27 percent of all new vehicles sold in America, a far cry from the peak of 38 percent in 1985.
At a major conference last year, Toyota USA President Jim Lentz offered up a fairly doleful summary of the industry's challenge.
"We have to face the growing reality that today young people don't seem to be as interested in cars as previous generations," Lentz said. "Many young people care more about buying the latest smart phone or gaming console than getting their driver's license." The billion-dollar question for automakers is whether this shift is truly permanent, the result of a baked-in attitude shift among Millennials that will last well into adulthood, or the product of an economy that's been particularly brutal on the young.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
If you look more closely, I think you’ll find your Japanese branded car you (think) is made in America, is assembled in America from Japanese manufactured parts.
So pretty much, it’s not made here.
One step up from just buying it off the boat.
But only just.
and I forgot to mention minimum wage!
minimum wage is so high now days no one wants to hire a teen. Without low paying part time jobs, there’s no reason for a teen to have a license or a car.
Let’s see...
Feminism (anti-man), the price of new cars (unions), the economy (only for minorities), the courts (anti-men), and government (anti-people) all conspire against young folks. You still expect the young men to marry, get a job, buy a house, and actually enjoy their lives?
Maybe they aren’t buying because too many of today’s cars suck. Design something that doesn’t look like a blob of dough and maybe they’ll want to buy.
Two words: STUDENT LOANS
Everything is too expensive. They share apartments to share the cost. They live close to work and either ride a bike or walk.
american cars are assembled from japanese parts too. So what’s the damn difference?!
Can’t buy a new car when saddled with massive student loan debt. Drive a beater or one of the parents’ spares.
And that’s just what I drove for 15 years or so
Though I preferred the campers. They were great on the beach, they were great in the desert, they were great in the mountains.
They sucked on the hiway LoL
They were all still running when I sold them
I bought a very nice ford focus last sept for 8k, with 73k miles. I am very surprised how much I like the car, I just wanted better gas mileage but it has turned out to be a car that is fun to drive.
Today’s econ cars, with power windows, locks, etc, are equivalant to the lux cars of the 70’s. Yes, if you want new then 18k is about the minimum for a decent car.
I can live with it.
In our household, Mom drives the 15 year old Explorer and Dad drives the 8 year old Expedition.
Not only do the kids not buy new cars, the Moms and Dads don’t either.
I have never seen an 80s Tbird with both a stickshift and a V8. I’ve seen the stickshift, but not with a V8.
Considering that the cost of a new car today
is the cost of a house when I went to high school
I don’t blame them. I have never owned a new car
in my life and the three I own now range in age
from 20 to 70 years old.
The two oldest, I can work on MYSELF!
They have been brainwashed to detest the American Dream.
Family, children, home ownership, hot cars, Dodger dogs.
That, and the fact that all the jobs that could lead to the above have been taken by illegal aliens.
Vinnie’s is far from stock (as is mine — wink)
I can dig it.
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