A number of stories floating around have indicated automakers are deeply concerned about the future of their business. Not from competition from other car makers or globalization or even the economy, but because fewer of today's kids are longing for the freedom of the open road.
Say it ain't so.
I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, just about the only thing I wanted to do was drive, whether it was the family motorhome to my dad's racing events or a four-wheeler in a muddy ditch. Recently I bought a '57 Ford Thunderbird to fulfill a life-long dream. Driving? Can't live without it.
News stories cite everything from apathy, to laziness, to over-coddling parents that keeps kids in front of the computer "digital socializing" instead of getting out of the basement to do it the old analog way. This makes a certain amount of sense. When there was no texting or video chatting, the only way you were going to see any of your friends was to actually leave the house and go find them. For rural kids, this meant driving and learning to do so at an early age.
Whatever the reasons, hot-ticket brands in mobile electronics are taking over where hot-ticket cars used to be on every boy's wish list. I can't imagine putting an Apple MacBook Pro ahead of a Lamborghini Aventador on my wish list, but more kids tend to think this way.
Is driving less really a bad thing? Not at all, but kids are learning to drive later in life, sometimes begrudgingly, because they feel so in touch with the outside world that they don't have to go out and look for it. The longer they can get away without driving, the less likely they are to ever do it. And owning a car isn't necessary for travelling, especially with upstarts like Zipcar where any member of the car-sharing program can rent a set of wheels, by the hour, for the odd time when they really do have to get somewhere.
That leaves automakers with an interesting problem that might be tough to solve and they can ill afford to lose young buyers, who then turn into mature buyers, who generally spend more and more on vehicles . for the rest of their lives.
So, how will the automakers win back the kids? I'm not sure if appealing on the basis of price point is the best way because the cost of the car is not the only factor and because when I see a price, no matter how much of a deal it is, I see money I have to spend and not money saved. And aside from gas and tires, the killer is the cost of insurance. If you're a 17-year-old (or a 30-year-old) still living at home and you can drive mom and dad's car every now and then, why bother with all the hassle and cost of owning your own ride? Cell phones, computers and video games don't pay for themselves and that's a priority for many.
So how can automakers come ahead? Possibly by appealing to kids in the same way that hooked us when we were young. By selling "the dream" and not just a car. By touting individualism, freedom and independence as basic human rights that need to be exercised and enjoyed in this country (basically, getting out of the house). By selling cool rides. Maybe by including cell-phone bills with car payments so kids don't have to choose one or the other. Or by figuring out how to make insurance affordable.
It might take incredibly radical thinking - that's how Zipcar got a foothold, after all - to turn the tide. I think if automakers have any chance of doing that, they're going to have to do more than simply push tin.
