Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm a gen-X'er myself, but most of the millenials I know still love their cars. Probably 3/4 of the younger "millenial" guys I know drive lifted pickups, usually with expensive wheels and sound systems. So yes, they love their smartphones, but they also love their cars/trucks.
I do know of a few that have no interest in driving or owning a car, but they are also lazy and don't want to find a job.
I have yet to meet one of these Millenials that don't want a car. They might use Uber, but they're not giving up their car for it.
Call me crazy, but if we to hit rewind and go back to what, 1995, would anyone here believe that everyone alive would have a smartphone today? Predicting the future can be really hard. I too find it hard to believe that autos would be driven out of the market place in twenty years; but disruptive technologies have happened before.
Speaking of smartphones, I suspect a great deal of us would be happy if no one ever bought another car again; and that the bulk of humanity took the bus instead. There may well be a blessing in disguise, the rumors of millenials no longer wanting to drive, countries trying to deter auto ownership, etc. The roads might just get better...
Nobody likes buses except homelss people and people with DUIs.
Even people living in shacks in 3rd world countries want a car. If you haven't noticed, auto sales are at an all time high. Nodody's twisting anybody's arm to get Tahoes and F-150's.
Countries aren't trying to deter car ownership, they're simply wanting people to drive electric cars.
My problem with all these "gas free in 20 year" mandates is Western democracies will have at least 5 election cycles by then. Easy for a government to claim a future government can be the ones stuck with the actual implementation. At the first sign of economic strain, expect that mandate to get dropped quick.
Not sure where you live but I see these non-car millennials all the time. Chicago, NYC, Seattle, LA, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Paris, Tokyo, Rome, etc. Many in the US can't afford to buy and own a car because of huge piles of college debt. They also are paying high rents because they want to live in the city where they can just as easily take the train, bus, or ride their bike. Given the choice, they'd rather buy cool tech than a car.
Suburbs or rural areas? Then it's the traditional car buying pattern. That being said, the rural population is crashing as more of the young people choose to move to the city rather than stay on the farm or in small towns. It's happening all over the world.
Woud surprise me at all if we are at peak car, and rapidly nearing peak fuel burner.
I'm not sure what your point is because you can have it drop you off anywhere and pick you up anywhere. It does not have to be at the front doorstep.
Then, I will spell it out.
I want to visit one of my lovers. Do I want a record of how often I visit him, where he lives, does he want such a record to exist. Do I want to be dropped off a few blocks from his house and walk that in a strange neighborhood? Do I want to answer any questions to anyone I might meet along the way?
Or would I rather drive there direct, just another car in the mass, not worrying about anything special I might be carrying for that visit?
I want to go to, say, The Silver Dollar in San Antonio. Do I want a record that I visited the gay bar area of that city that people I don't know may view and form conclusions that might be used against me?
I want a copy of Dance magazine. Now, with the demise of Hastings, the one place I can be pretty sure that has a copy (and probably only one copy) is an XXX bookstore in Austin. Do I want a record that I went there?
The basic point of it is that when we have our own cars, where we go is really no one else's business but having a network of automated cars that are centrally own makes it anyone's business.
I'm not sure what your point is because you can have it drop you off anywhere and pick you up anywhere. It does not have to be at the front doorstep.
I own a small popup camper. I want to go camping. Do I summon a car to come pick me and my camper up?
I'm camping in the middle of nowhere. Does the car stay with me, or does it go away, and what if I'm in an area that is remote enough for me to not have a way to call it back?
I'm not against self-driving cars, but I'm not interested in them and don't want to be limited by them. I find the idea to be very limiting, quite honestly.
I want to visit my sister 140 miles away on the Atlantic coast. No bus, train or airplane goes there. She has no charging station. I am not interested in giving up my car now or until something better for my needs comes along.
When I go out in the car, I combine multiple destinations on one trip. I might visit a home supply, make purchases, put those items in the car and proceed to the drug store, put what I buy in the car and stop at the Library, then go to the super market. If I used an autonomous self drive car how would that work?
I live in a 74 unit condo apartment with assigned parking spaces and zero charging stations. Running an extension out the front door is not an option. There are 94 buildings in this complex. Adding charging stations for all those units is no way realistic.
Not sure where you live but I see these non-car millennials all the time. Chicago, NYC, Seattle, LA, Toronto, Vancouver, London, Paris, Tokyo, Rome, etc. Many in the US can't afford to buy and own a car because of huge piles of college debt. They also are paying high rents because they want to live in the city where they can just as easily take the train, bus, or ride their bike. Given the choice, they'd rather buy cool tech than a car.
Suburbs or rural areas? Then it's the traditional car buying pattern. That being said, the rural population is crashing as more of the young people choose to move to the city rather than stay on the farm or in small towns. It's happening all over the world.
Woud surprise me at all if we are at peak car, and rapidly nearing peak fuel burner.
NYC and San Francisco aren't typical cities by any means. NYC is probably the only US city you can live without a car and an autonomous car won't have any advantage over a subway. All the US cities you listed put together only add up to less than 3% of the US population. In reality the majority are living in cities like Atlanta, Orlando, and Charlotte. Giving up car ownership in those places is going to be a challenge.
Another thing to keep in mind is younger people don't mind the city as school districts and back yards aren't a big concern. However as thy get older, have kids, etc, they move to the suburbs.
NYC and San Francisco aren't typical cities by any means. NYC is probably the only US city you can live without a car and an autonomous car won't have any advantage over a subway. All the US cities you listed put together only add up to less than 3% of the US population. In reality the majority are living in cities like Atlanta, Orlando, and Charlotte. Giving up car ownership in those places is going to be a challenge.
Another thing to keep in mind is younger people don't mind the city as school districts and back yards aren't a big concern. However as thy get older, have kids, etc, they move to the suburbs.
Exactly, and while isolated rural areas are stagnant, suburbs and "exurbs" are steadily growing, further and further away from the city core.
#3 is never going to happen. Just like people aren't actually riding their segways to work wearing Google Glass. Sure it's theoretically possible, but at some point you have to seperate science fiction from reality.
People enjoy car ownership otherwise public transportation would be far more popular than it is.
If the government buys into all of this, then the average citizen won't have much of a choice. All that has to happen is for government to tax the heck of regular cars that "people don't want to give up". Gas and registration taxes. London already taxes diesel cars 24 pounds a day that want to enter the city.
It will just be too expensive to own a personal car or an ICE vehicle one day.
If you haven't noticed, many of the freedoms we once had are going away or quickly eroding. The freedom to drive a POV will also go away one day.
Last edited by USNRET04; 07-27-2017 at 06:20 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
