Industry News: Study: Gen Y Wants Cars... When They Can Afford Them

[William Maley]

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Despite countless studies and reports that say Gen Y (AKA millienals) aren't interested in cars, a new study released this week says this key group are interested in cars.

Deloitte LLP, a financial consulting firm published their Global Automotive Consumer Study which showed that Gen Y is very much interested in getting their own vehicle, despite not having the same love affair as their parents and grandparents.

"Well over half (61 percent) of Gen Y consumers in the Deloitte report expect to buy or lease a car within the next three years," said Craig Giffi, vice chairman of Deloitte. Giffi went onto say that "almost a quarter (23 percent) expect to purchase or lease in the next 12 months – and a mere 8 percent do not expect to ever purchase or lease a vehicle."

The big stumbling block for Gen Y with purchasing a vehicle is cost. 80 percent of the Gen Y surveyed said that cost was a big factor.

"Affordability is the mantra for Gen Y consumers who don't already own or lease a vehicle. When asked what purchasing criteria matter most to them, a majority cited cost-related items such as the vehicle's price tag, fuel efficiency and payment options," said Giffi.

So what is Gen Y looking for in a vehicle? More than half want technology that entertains them while they are driving and wish that it was easier to customize the technology after a purchase or lease. A majority also believes that they will be driving an alternative engine vehicle within the next five years and that safety tech is a top priority.

"While Gen Y may not necessarily scrutinize horsepower, acceleration times or engine size, they do have clear needs, wants and desires, especially when it comes to remaining connected to all of their lifestyle technology while on the road. This is good news for car makers, who already offer – or are bringing to market – many of the features Gen Y consumers most want in a vehicle," said Deloitte's Massa Hasegawa.

Source: Deloitte LLP

Press Release is on Page 2

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Dude, Here's My Car: Gen Y Shows Interest in Vehicle Ownership

• Deloitte Report - Young drivers want affordable technology-enabled hybrids
  

DETROIT, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gen Y consumers are showing a clear interest in vehicle ownership and have specific ideas of what they want in a car, according to Craig Giffi, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and automotive practice leader.

Citing data from a Deloitte report on global mobility, Giffi said that while young consumers view car ownership as less important for mobility than previous generations, they are, nonetheless, excited about affordable, technology-enabled vehicles – especially hybrid electric cars.

Deloitte's soon-to-be-released report is based on survey responses from more than 23,000 consumers across 19 countries, including more than 2,000 United States consumers – 677 of whom were from the Gen Y demographic (born between 1977 and 1994).

The results indicate that while America's romance with the car does not extend to Gen Y, the nearly 80 million Gen Y consumers in the United States are not giving up on car ownership.

"Well over half (61 percent) of Gen Y consumers in the Deloitte report expect to buy or lease a car within the next three years," says Giffi, who adds that "almost a quarter (23 percent) expect to purchase or lease in the next 12 months – and a mere 8 percent do not expect to ever purchase or lease a vehicle."

Further, only 29 percent of Gen Y consumers would be willing to give up their personal cars, even as non-traditional mobility options like car-sharing and car-pooling services proliferate.

Among Gen Y consumers who do not currently own or lease a vehicle, cost seems to be the main barrier – with most (80 percent) saying it is because they cannot afford it and three quarters citing high operational and maintenance costs. In addition, 67 percent said their lifestyle needs are met by walking or public transportation, while 40 percent said their lifestyle needs are met by car borrowing and car sharing.

"Affordability is the mantra for Gen Y consumers who don't already own or lease a vehicle," says Giffi. "When asked what purchasing criteria matter most to them, a majority cited cost-related items such as the vehicle's price tag, fuel efficiency and payment options."

So what does Gen Y want in a car?

Most Gen Y consumers – whether they currently own a vehicle or not – demonstrate a clear affinity for cars and trucks with alternative powertrains. More than half (59 percent) think they will be driving an alternative engine vehicle five years from now, with more than a quarter (27 percent) naming hybrid electrics as their single most preferred type of alternative engine – far ahead of plug-in hybrids (8 percent), all-battery electric vehicles (7 percent), and fuel-cell vehicles (4 percent). What is more, they would like the government to help defray the higher costs of alternative powertrains, with 58 percent saying they would support government programs that reward consumers for choosing alternative/high-efficiency engines.

"Gen Y consumers across the board also want safety technology, especially features that mitigate the risks of distracted driving," says Masa Hasegawa, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "Almost three quarters (72 percent) want technology that recognizes the presence of other vehicles on the road and 63 percent want technology that lets them know when they have exceeded the speed limit."

Plus, more than half (56 percent) want technology that entertains them while they are driving and 57 percent wish it were easier to customize a vehicle's technology after purchase or lease. And more than half would like to connect their smart phone to use all its applications from the vehicle's dashboard interface.

"While Gen Y may not necessarily scrutinize horsepower, acceleration times or engine size, they do have clear needs, wants and desires, especially when it comes to remaining connected to all of their lifestyle technology while on the road," says Hasegawa. "This is good news for car makers, who already offer – or are bringing to market – many of the features Gen Y consumers most want in a vehicle."

View full article

[G. David Felt]

So Gen Y wants a self driving car that keeps them entertained. Sounds like the spoiled brats are still spoiled. They seem to miss out on seeing the world for their beloved tech.

[Blake Noble]

Oh, I don't know, it's not like I wasn't saying pretty much the exact same goddamn thing two years ago.

[Blake Noble]

So Gen Y wants a self driving car that keeps them entertained. Sounds like the spoiled brats are still spoiled. They seem to miss out on seeing the world for their beloved tech.

 

[FAPTurbo]

Edited January 18, 2014 by FAPTurbo

[Intrepidation]

First post and we've already gone full retard. Never go full retard.

[ocnblu]

beyond the pale

[FAPTurbo]

So Gen Y wants a self driving car that keeps them entertained. Sounds like the spoiled brats are still spoiled. They seem to miss out on seeing the world for their beloved tech.

So you're against safe driving and the ability to be productive or relax outside of the office? And you believe your notion of 'driving' is somehow better? If you want to have a conventional vehicle that requires you to gaze at gridlock for two hours in each direction, while hating everyone else, then more power to you. Just don't impose that idea on those of us who'd prefer to have self-driving vehicles.

I think you're the spoiled one here. Not us. You.

Edited January 19, 2014 by FAPTurbo

[ocnblu]

Use the train then, if you don't like driving. "Self driving" cars defeat the entire purpose of purchasing an automobile as personal transportation.

[FAPTurbo]

Use the train then, if you don't like driving. "Self driving" cars defeat the entire purpose of purchasing an automobile as personal transportation.

No they don't. Self-driving vehicles enhance the very ideals and engineering goals of personal transportation: effortlessness, comfort and safety.

For a majority of people, including myself the purpose of the automobile is solely for:

personal transportation.

Self-driving cars don't fit your purpose of car ownership which is the entertainment value of driving. Why should I be relegated to a train or bus because I don't share that mindset? Maybe be more open-minded and accept the idea that there are people out there who want a vehicle that drives itself and should get one. It won't impact you in any way, so why get upset about it?

Use the train then, if you don't like driving.

Proof it isn't only millenials who are the 'spoiled' ones.

Edited January 19, 2014 by FAPTurbo

[ocnblu]

"Effortlessness" should never be a goal of automotive ownership. The automobile should engage and stimulate the driver. It should only be effortless for the passengers. If the automobile doesn't engage and stimulate the driver, then it should be sent to the crusher.

[Drew Dowdell]

If that's the case, how does Toyota manage to move 350,000 copies of the Corolla every year?

[jwbouch]

I love driving my car - driving almost any car, really. However, I drive from NJ to Ohio regularly to visit family, and I can say I could appreciate a self driving car. It would be great to leave Friday after work, allow my car to drive while I sleep and arrive in Ohio rested and ready to play with my nieces/nephews. Then, be able to stay all day on Sunday and allow the car to get me to work on time while I sleep.

I agree with FAPTurbo completely, a self driving car in no way impedes those who want to and enjoy driving. In fact, it would make it safer for those who enjoy driving. That way people who normally text and drive would not be a hazard on the road. A self driving auto would enhance personal mobility for those who want it, and would not detract from those who want to drive in any way!

Edited January 19, 2014 by jwbouch

[regfootball]

how does one take personal responsibility for a self driving car? Someone's google prius spins out because it couldn't miss the inadvertent log or tire in the road, and ends up creaming me.

[Intrepidation]

how does one take personal responsibility for a self driving car? Someone's google prius spins out because it couldn't miss the inadvertent log or tire in the road, and ends up creaming me.

Human error will always be the #1 culprit of accidents. The Titanic didn't sink itself after all.

"Effortlessness" should never be a goal of automotive ownership. The automobile should engage and stimulate the driver. It should only be effortless for the passengers. If the automobile doesn't engage and stimulate the driver, then it should be sent to the crusher.

Because I'm sure you get ROCK HARD stimulation from your car while sitting in traffic.

I love driving my car. On a nice day. On a nice road. I don't love driving my car down long, straight, boring stretches of highway. I don't love driving my car in rush hour traffic to and from work everyday. I don't love having to put my trip on hold because I'm too exhausted to safely drive my car at night, so I have to get a hotel and be at my destination that much later. I would love a car that could drive itself for monotonous tasks like that, maybe enjoy the scenery as it passes by, and either have the ability to disable it when I want to drive it myself, or just have a second car for those days when I want to drive.+

Also this thread's title is, and I quote:

Industry News: Study: Gen Y Wants Cars... When They Can Afford Them

It isn't really about autonomous vehicles, its about Gen Y being able to afford the cost of one and the cost of ownership. That's a legitimate concern in this economic climate.

[Blake Noble]

You know, this thread is playing out exactly like I thought it would.

 

how does one take personal responsibility for a self driving car?  Someone's google prius spins out because it couldn't miss the inadvertent log or tire in the road, and ends up creaming me.

 

 

T-that sounds dirty.

[ocnblu]

you ppl make me laugh

[Drew Dowdell]

I asked our 18 year old nephew about this specific question, what he and his fellow classmates thought about cars and if he felt people his age didn't care about cars anymore. He said that for the most part, everyone wants a car but that unless their parents buy them one, it feels like something impossible to get. He pointed out that there is no way for a kid, if he starts working part time at 16, will have enough money to buy a decent car and be able to insure it and fuel it at 18.

And he's got a point. If you figure no more than 18 hours a week during the school year, and maybe 30 hours a week over the summer, a kid is going to be lucky to net $5,000 in a year.

And they also seem to realize that $5,000 will only get you a vehicle with over 100k miles these days which means a greater potential for expensive repairs.

[frogger]

For city people with access to good transit and not a tonne of disposable income, cars make less sense each passing year with the increasing cost of ownership. Better to rent by the day or hour when needed, spend money on investments and travel.

[Drew Dowdell]

I think there are minimum ages for the care sharing companies.

[ocnblu]

Care sharing? Sounds like the Hallmark Channel's movie of the week.

"First 2014 Z/28 brings $650k @ auction. proceeds got to charity". I can GUARANTEE you all that will NEV.ER. be said for the first autonomous car. And therein lies the problem.

[SAmadei]

I asked our 18 year old nephew about this specific question, what he and his fellow classmates thought about cars and if he felt people his age didn't care about cars anymore. He said that for the most part, everyone wants a car but that unless their parents buy them one, it feels like something impossible to get. He pointed out that there is no way for a kid, if he starts working part time at 16, will have enough money to buy a decent car and be able to insure it and fuel it at 18.

And he's got a point. If you figure no more than 18 hours a week during the school year, and maybe 30 hours a week over the summer, a kid is going to be lucky to net $5,000 in a year.

And they also seem to realize that $5,000 will only get you a vehicle with over 100k miles these days which means a greater potential for expensive repairs.

Fixing your car builds character.

Half the daily drivers I had over the years cost me under $600. I've bought 4~5 cars for less than $200. Granted, this is going back to 1989... but adjusting for the cost of scrap, I see plenty of cars well below $1000. Insurance is a killer... but one should be able to get a a low level plan for an 18 year old for less than $2000/yr if they look. Now you got $2000 left over for parts... assuming you bought something that don't need an engine or transmission, that's a lot of parts.

Having ANY car opens up opportunities, if you are in a place with abysmal public transportation.

Don't want a 1994 Olds 88 with fading paint? Walk. Don't learn how a car works... a skill that pays better than a lot of college jobs... I might add. Enjoy living with your parents when you're 40. There are no handouts... if you're poor, you're going to stay poor until you work your ass off.

Hey, you kids, get off my lawn!

[SAmadei]

A couple GM potentials listed today...

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294410687.html '93 Cutlass Supreme. Probably needs a sensor. $800
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294395301.html Caprice. Needs Alternator. $1000obo
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294351543.html '92 Acheiva. Minor issues. $800

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294409295.html '98 Grand Am. Shiny! Unspecified $200 repair. $800.

There were lots of other makes, too... including a few trucks that could earn some money.

[Intrepidation]

Buy a $1000 car.

Brake lines turn out to be rusty and need to be replaced. Pay someone to replace them $400-1000 depending on who you go to. Do it yourself: $50 in part plus the flare tool you will need to buy or rent. plus the bender. Plus the caliper your have to replace because the bleeder snapped off when you tried to open. Hours spent fixing it.

Fuel pump goes. $250 for the typical fuel pump assembly. Have to drop it from tank. $35 for straps because the old ones are rusty. $15 for new lock ring. Hours spent fixing it. Pay someone to do it $600+

Alternator goes. +/- $150 + $30 for the belt + $20 for the idler pulley or $50 for the tensioner.

Radiator starts to leak. $130 for Radiator +50 for hoses and clamps + $30 for coolant.

Needs timing belt. $35-100 for belt. Waterpump $50 component kit $80-$300. Lots of hours on that job. $1000+ to have it done.

Looks like it needs shocks and struts. Easily over $300 for the parts. At least $200 in labor.

+tools +fluids +unforeseen expenses that pop up during the repair.

This is worst case scenario but there are people who get a car and have this all happen over the course of a year. I've seen it. Parts can add up quick for a used car.

Work on it yourself...great if you have a driveway and a home to do it. Good luck replacing that waterpump in the city on a public road. Or if you live in an apartment. Most apartments won't allow you to work on your car in the lot.

Also "Don't learn how a car works... a skill that pays better than a lot of college jobs". Not always the case. Especially when something goes wrong a week later with a customer's car and now you have to eat the labor.

There are no handouts... if you're poor, you're going to stay poor until you work your ass off.

Working your ass off doesn't mean you still won't be poor. Ask a single mother working 3 jobs to put food on the table, for example.

It's never black and white.

A couple GM potentials listed today...

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294410687.html '93 Cutlass Supreme. Probably needs a sensor. $800
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294395301.html Caprice. Needs Alternator. $1000obo
http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294351543.html '92 Acheiva. Minor issues. $800

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294409295.html '98 Grand Am. Shiny! Unspecified $200 repair. $800.

There were lots of other makes, too... including a few trucks that could earn some money.

I love it "minor issues" "needs some repairs" "Ran great until I heard a bang, probably needs a spark plug"

But again, not everyone has the time or the space to deal with repairs. Or the money when more things begin to break.

This is coming from someone who owns my cars outright and works on them when I can, but there are times when I send one of the cars off to be fixed because I do not have the time or expensive tools to fix it.

[Drew Dowdell]

I asked our 18 year old nephew about this specific question, what he and his fellow classmates thought about cars and if he felt people his age didn't care about cars anymore. He said that for the most part, everyone wants a car but that unless their parents buy them one, it feels like something impossible to get. He pointed out that there is no way for a kid, if he starts working part time at 16, will have enough money to buy a decent car and be able to insure it and fuel it at 18.

And he's got a point. If you figure no more than 18 hours a week during the school year, and maybe 30 hours a week over the summer, a kid is going to be lucky to net $5,000 in a year.

And they also seem to realize that $5,000 will only get you a vehicle with over 100k miles these days which means a greater potential for expensive repairs.

Fixing your car builds character.

Tools cost more money.

You don't have to tell me... I bought my first Toronado for $2600 and my second one for $2300.

[Drew Dowdell]

A couple GM potentials listed today...

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294410687.html '93 Cutlass Supreme. Probably needs a sensor. $800

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294395301.html Caprice. Needs Alternator. $1000obo

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294351543.html '92 Acheiva. Minor issues. $800

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4294409295.html '98 Grand Am. Shiny! Unspecified $200 repair. $800.

There were lots of other makes, too... including a few trucks that could earn some money.

Of those, only the Caprice is worth it and I'm someone who has the money. The N-Bodies can be notoriously frustrating depending on which engine they have. The Cutlass Supreme isn't bad, but at 177k miles, the "just a sensor" is also probably "just the start of other problems"

I'll also note that not one of the cars you listed is younger than a 16 year old getting their license for the first time in 2014

[FAPTurbo]

Care sharing? Sounds like the Hallmark Channel's movie of the week.

"First 2014 Z/28 brings $650k @ auction. proceeds got to charity". I can GUARANTEE you all that will NEV.ER. be said for the first autonomous car. And therein lies the problem.

So first cars are:

personal transportation.

Which is true but in your world, 'personal transportation' requires being stuck in gridlock, being late for work and having stressful commutes.

When you've had your first bad argument debunked, you do a 180 and say:

The automobile should engage and stimulate the driver.

Which only a few people agree with. Based on sales-figure posts in this forum and sales of midsize sedans everywhere, yours is a minority opinion. Just an opinion, not fact. But that doesn't stop you from moving the goalposts again:

"First 2014 Z/28 brings $650k @ auction. proceeds got to charity". I can GUARANTEE you all that will NEV.ER. be said for the first autonomous car. And therein lies the problem.

So now, according to you, cars are meant to be expensive toys that tug on the heartstrings of exceedingly wealthy balding males who want a hopped-up pony car that doesn't even have A/C.

What exactly is the problem? Aside from your overtly nonsensical dislike of anyone who thinks outside of your narrow worldview of what a car is or can be.

Edited January 19, 2014 by FAPTurbo

[FAPTurbo]

Don't want a 1994 Olds 88 with fading paint? Walk. Don't learn how a car works... a skill that pays better than a lot of college jobs... I might add. Enjoy living with your parents when you're 40. There are no handouts... if you're poor, you're going to stay poor until you work your ass off.

Spoken like an old white guy who had grew up in a suburban home with a driveway and garage during a time where wages were good, inflation didn't kick our ass and C's got degrees.

[Drew Dowdell]

Care sharing? Sounds like the Hallmark Channel's movie of the week.

You sorely lack the ability to see outside of your own situation.

Car sharing is great for those who live even marginally close to a city. I've had a car sharing membership going on 6 years now. I use it for two reasons: 1st, If I need to run an errand from the office during the day, it is almost always cheaper to take the bus into my office downtown and then grab a Zipcar for my errand than it is to drive in to downtown myself and pay for parking. I can get a Zipcar for $4.00 an hour and I don't even have to pay for gas.

The other reason I have zipcar is for when I need a truck or a mini-van to haul things. Those cost a little more per hour, but I can also get an overnight rate for $45. Again fuel and insurance are included. I pick up the truck or van downtown after I leave work (I bussed in) and then drop it off in the same spot the next morning.

I have over 2 dozen different vehicles at my disposal all with-in walking distance of my office. I can get a Honda Insight or a Focus 5-door or a Chrysler Town & Country or a Nissan Frontier or a Mercedes C-Class or.. .if I really wanted another one... a Honda CR-V.

And that's just in Pittsburgh. My Zipcar account works in cities all over this country, Canada, and in England as well. No hassling with regular rental car companies (though I am a frequent user of National's Emerald Service also), no having to pay to fill up the car before returning it. I can just reserve a car from my phone and go.

In area where people live that have Zipcar right in their neighborhood, I can see Zipcar completely replacing at least one vehicle in a 2 car family.

Car Sharing is not some hallmark card wishful thinking, it is a multi-billion dollar industry.

[SAmadei]

Buy a $1000 car.

<Snipped restoration of car>

Looks like it needs shocks and struts. Easily over $300 for the parts. At least $200 in labor.

+tools +fluids +unforeseen expenses that pop up during the repair.

This is worst case scenario but there are people who get a car and have this all happen over the course of a year. I've seen it. Parts can add up quick for a used car.

Its a worse case scenario quoted by a guy who is a perfectionist.

Can't afford coolant? Water. Going to freeze tonight? Drain it. Refill it and drive. Rinse and repeat. I've been there.

Can't afford oil? I used my roomate's USED oil.

You can do a lot of repairs with a $50 set of Harbor Freight tools.

Buy it. Fix enough to get by. Prioritize your repairs. Brakes come before cooling. Cooling comes before shocks/struts. All of this comes before seat covers and a radio.

Dude, I bought a $180 car from a DEALER and drove it for nearly a year before replacing anything major. This was in the 1990's, not the 1940s. One of my other cars didn't get shocks for years. Safe? Well, safe enough... they always had brakes, tires and parts weren't falling off.

Work on it yourself...great if you have a driveway and a home to do it. Good luck replacing that waterpump in the city on a public road. Or if you live in an apartment. Most apartments won't allow you to work on your car in the lot.

Also "Don't learn how a car works... a skill that pays better than a lot of college jobs". Not always the case. Especially when something goes wrong a week later with a customer's car and now you have to eat the labor.

Move. Otherwise, you got to do what you got to do. The college cops eventually just left me alone. In NYC, its perfectly legal to do ANY repair in the streets. Got a friend with a house? Become his roommate. Houses are just as easy to rent as apartments.

As far as mechanics go, they aren't suffering around here. I've watched several family auto repair places expand like a weed... If you're charging the customer $90/hr and you can't make money, you got bigger problems.

Working your ass off doesn't mean you still won't be poor. Ask a single mother working 3 jobs to put food on the table, for example.

IMHO, that's a situation she put herself into by either poor planning or irresponsible behavior. Sure, you might sleep on the RR tracks and wake up in a hospital disabled for life... you've made life a lot harder for you... but if you had some marketable skill or learn one, you can get ahead. People are doing it.

But that's all a different discussion.

Tools cost more money.

I paid more for my tools 20 years ago than I can buy from Harbor Freight. Are they all good? No. But they get you started.

[SAmadei]

Of those, only the Caprice is worth it and I'm someone who has the money. The N-Bodies can be notoriously frustrating depending on which engine they have. The Cutlass Supreme isn't bad, but at 177k miles, the "just a sensor" is also probably "just the start of other problems"

I'll also note that not one of the cars you listed is younger than a 16 year old getting their license for the first time in 2014

When your $1000 car dies for good, you sell it to the scrapper for $600.

My "first" car was one year older than I was.

Spoken like an old white guy who had grew up in a suburban home with a driveway and garage during a time where wages were good, inflation didn't kick our ass and C's got degrees.

Got the white guy part right. Old is debatable. Everything else you got wrong.

I grew up on what was technically a farm. It was my parent's greenhouse business, which was failing. I worked unpaid for the family business. I got my car 7 days before leaving for college by cashing every bond I ever got. I would spend five tumultuous months at "back home" over the next 4 years and would not return until Dad died and I quasi-inherited an uninhabitable property. I started with a junk toolset bought from a flea market and worked on the car in the street, parking lots, friends' houses, etc.

I barely afforded housing for the next ten years... lived IN the car during a few stretches. When I was in college for 4.5 years, C's would have killed my scholarship and my college aspirations, so I had to drop some classes I couldn't finish either due to working 3 jobs or the crushing depression I suffered from. During this time, I had to buy my next $200 car and add my mother to my insurance so she didn't have to walk to work... I've done all the work on that car gratis, as well, in the street. I left school three classes shy of graduating because financial aid would not take "Parents do not have tax forms" as an answer and would not return for a decade during which I worked 60 hours a week to build a nice internet business FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

Sure, I finally got on top of things and got my degree... and have spent some time making good coin... but I don't take it for granted.

The only good thing for years was that I had my physical health... but otherwise, I know crap situations more that most people will ever imagine.

Every GenY'r show watch Richie Parker work on cars...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIAP04cc6qc

[Intrepidation]

The sort of barely running vehicle with compression fittings holding the spliced piece of brake line to the rest of the rusty brake line with leak from the front caliper, warped rotors with barely any pad surface left and locking pliers on the back hoses, with economy grade, Chinese suspension parts attached to the rotting subframe, are the sort of vehicles that I worry about having to share the road with.

The things I see and the "fixes" people want to do to their cars...

[SAmadei]

The sort of barely running vehicle with compression fittings holding the spliced piece of brake line to the rest of the rusty brake line with leak from the front caliper, warped rotors with barely any pad surface left and locking pliers on the back hoses, with economy grade, Chinese suspension parts attached to the rotting subframe, are the sort of vehicles that I worry about having to share the road with.

The things I see and the "fixes" people want to do to their cars...

Wow... so much desire to look down your nose at things.

In any case, then stop driving. Driving is inherently dangerous. You're more likely to die from someone being inattentive who never even touches their brakes.

Just because a car is being sold for $800 does not mean everything is broken or beyond use. We're not Cuba... people are constantly upgrading to some slightly shinier or cooler. I see the cars in the junkyard... usually in pretty good shape... but nobody wants them.

On the other hand, just because its selling for 5 figures, it can be as much as a deathtrap... running on 26" with stock brakes... or tinted windows to the point of affecting outward visibility... or "stanced"... or using five different hub adapters... 4000 watt megastereo blasting so loud is blurs your vision. Pick your poison.

Or how about the danger of me, strapped into a brand new tiny car so tight I can't see out the window or turn my head to see cross traffic?

I'd rather drive with people who avoid wrecking because they know once its gone... its walking. Or, they have to rebuild it.

[Robert Hall]

I'd imagine many young drivers would give up driving and get a bicycle or bus pass after dealing with the despair of a cheap worn out 20 yr old car that breaks constantly. Even 25 years ago I knew that $1000 or less cars were the ones to avoid like the plague.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Intrepidation]

Wow... so much desire to look down your nose at things.

In any case, then stop driving. Driving is inherently dangerous. You're more likely to die from someone being inattentive who never even touches their brakes.

Just because a car is being sold for $800 does not mean everything is broken or beyond use. We're not Cuba... people are constantly upgrading to some slightly shinier or cooler. I see the cars in the junkyard... usually in pretty good shape... but nobody wants them.

On the other hand, just because its selling for 5 figures, it can be as much as a deathtrap... running on 26" with stock brakes... or tinted windows to the point of affecting outward visibility... or "stanced"... or using five different hub adapters... 4000 watt megastereo blasting so loud is blurs your vision. Pick your poison.

Or how about the danger of me, strapped into a brand new tiny car so tight I can't see out the window or turn my head to see cross traffic?

I'd rather drive with people who avoid wrecking because they know once its gone... its walking. Or, they have to rebuild it.

Easy tiger, it wasn't directed at you so don't take it personally. I know you know how to work on cars. However, when a guy comes in wanting to use fuel line to replace his leaking brake lines, or someone calls you up asking if its ok to disconnect the rear lines and drive 45 minutes on a busy highway, its not "looking down", its a road hazard. You shouldn't be working on your car if you're 1.) Don't understand how the components work but proceed to argue with the people that do and 2.) Aren't going to fix it properly.

[Blake Noble]

ITT: People who can't into basic sociology.

I think there should be age restrictions on these threads.

Edited January 20, 2014 by black-knight

[Drew Dowdell]

Of those, only the Caprice is worth it and I'm someone who has the money. The N-Bodies can be notoriously frustrating depending on which engine they have. The Cutlass Supreme isn't bad, but at 177k miles, the "just a sensor" is also probably "just the start of other problems"

I'll also note that not one of the cars you listed is younger than a 16 year old getting their license for the first time in 2014

When your $1000 car dies for good, you sell it to the scrapper for $600.

My "first" car was one year older than I was.

Spoken like an old white guy who had grew up in a suburban home with a driveway and garage during a time where wages were good, inflation didn't kick our ass and C's got degrees.

Got the white guy part right. Old is debatable. Everything else you got wrong.

I grew up on what was technically a farm. It was my parent's greenhouse business, which was failing. I worked unpaid for the family business. I got my car 7 days before leaving for college by cashing every bond I ever got. I would spend five tumultuous months at "back home" over the next 4 years and would not return until Dad died and I quasi-inherited an uninhabitable property. I started with a junk toolset bought from a flea market and worked on the car in the street, parking lots, friends' houses, etc.

I barely afforded housing for the next ten years... lived IN the car during a few stretches. When I was in college for 4.5 years, C's would have killed my scholarship and my college aspirations, so I had to drop some classes I couldn't finish either due to working 3 jobs or the crushing depression I suffered from. During this time, I had to buy my next $200 car and add my mother to my insurance so she didn't have to walk to work... I've done all the work on that car gratis, as well, in the street. I left school three classes shy of graduating because financial aid would not take "Parents do not have tax forms" as an answer and would not return for a decade during which I worked 60 hours a week to build a nice internet business FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

Sure, I finally got on top of things and got my degree... and have spent some time making good coin... but I don't take it for granted.

The only good thing for years was that I had my physical health... but otherwise, I know crap situations more that most people will ever imagine.

Every GenY'r show watch Richie Parker work on cars...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIAP04cc6qc

But none of what you did is out of love for cars, it was about survival, which is an entirely different motivator.

This thread is about a generation who has decided they can live without a car until which point they are not limited to $800 basket cases. It is true that the price of cars, even used ones, has gone up while wages have remained stagnant.

[Robert Hall]

ITT: People who can't into basic sociology.

Translate to English?

[Blake Noble]

ITT: People who can't into basic sociology.

Translate to English?

... Anddddd point proven.

No offense, Moltar.

[Robert Hall]

ITT: People who can't into basic sociology.

Translate to English?

... Anddddd point proven.

No offense, Moltar.

What you posted isn't even readable..there is no verb.. "People who can't into basic sociology." doesn't parse..

Edited January 20, 2014 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Blake Noble]

ITT: People who can't into basic sociology.

Translate to English?

... Anddddd point proven.

No offense, Moltar.

What you posted isn't even readable..there is no verb.. "People who can't into basic sociology." doesn't parse..

:/

Edited January 20, 2014 by black-knight

[G. David Felt]

I am confused, what is Black Knight trying to say???????

[Robert Hall]

I am confused, what is Black Knight trying to say???????

Probably some kind of stupid internet meme that only the Gen Y kiddos can understand, I guess.

Interesting...clicking on the icon goes to the urban dictionary definition. Ok. It sort of makes sense, but not really. I like verbs.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[G. David Felt]

So this Urban Dictionary was written by the drop out on the street? Even going to the link on his icon still makes it confusing.

And they wonder why America cannot find enough workers who can fill the openings in the technology/science/engineering fields.

That web site is as bad as the terrible Ipad Air commercial that I had to watch over and over during the football games yesterday.

[Blake Noble]

I am confused, what is Black Knight trying to say???????

Some kind of code that only the Gen Y kiddos can understand, I guess.

[Robert Hall]

So this Urban Dictionary was written by the drop out on the street? Even going to the link on his icon still makes it confusing.

Urban Dictionary has been a standard resource for slang online for years...I even have contributed an entry or two.

[Drew Dowdell]

Don't feel bad, I didn't get it either.

[Blake Noble]

 

 

Yep.

[yougojay]

So glad I am a byproduct of the 60s.....

[Z-06]

Individualism the right way created and prospered this country; individualism the wrong way is destroying it.