caddyowner

I'm sure our members in the NYC area know plenty of people who don't own a car and may not even have a license. Also, maybe parts of society are moving away from the car-oriented suburban / ex-urban lifestyle to that of the first half of the 20th century.

I was born in the 50s and remember when my mother first got her driver's license in the early 60s. (She was in her early 40s at the time and my older brother and sister were already out of the house.) We lived in a county seat and mom walked or had 6 brothers and sisters in town who drove. Anyway, dad had to drive to another town for work and took the only car. When dad joined a carpool, mom started thinking about the unused car sitting in the garage. She never was a very good driver and I didn't like riding with her.

ABC

As someone who has been on both sides of the coin (taking the train to work (NYC) and driving to work (SoCal) - with commute times totaling from 20 min/day - 4 hours/day), i can tell you that the grass is always greener.

As many of you already stated, cost and time are HUGE factors to which works out better for the individual. There are pros/cons to using public trans and driving yourself to work.

For me personally, time is probably the biggest factor with cost being a close second. It would be very difficult to go back to the long commutes i once had (2-4 hours/day). I much prefer my current ~30 min/day commute, which also lowers the cost of my commute.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Driving has lost its cool. The act and sport of driving are no longer as enthusiastic as before. Pair it with endless government regulation, electronic nannies, and the prohibitive costs of maintenance, insurance, registration, and the occasional ticket/fine; and you're no longer enthusiastic about driving.

Cars have not lost its cool. Cars are still the stuff that enthusiasts' dreams are made of. Speed, power, design, substance, metal, fuel, badge loyalty, pride, blood+sweat+tears, passion, performance, style, ego, and such: it's a hobby, it's an obsession.



The article is too unidirectional. Yes, transportation is functional, but it lacks the emotional connection.

Lesson of the day: It's not the destination that matters (thank you public transportation), but the journey to get there (thank you car/motorcycle).

mmarshall

The real problems today, compared to the years when I learned to drive (late 60s-early 70s), are too much traffic, too much development, too many "traffic-calming" devices, and a loss of what was once beautiful scenery due to suburban sprawl. Back then, you got in your car, started it up, went somewhere, admired the nice views/scenery, had fun, could pretty much drive where you pleased, and had generally smooth roads most of the time. Today, in contrast, you start your car, sit still in traffic, wear out the transmission/suspension/brakes with continual stop-go/speed-bumps/red-lights, etc....., have to put up with "DO NOT ENTER" signs and deliberate attempts to keep traffic out of some neighborhoods. And often in a sea of buildings, parking lots, and development instead of nice fields and countryside. Yes, driving in many places today, I agree, is certainly not the fun it was decades ago....and you have LOTS more distracted drivers yakking on the phone, playing with the GPS, or texting.

But, on the other hand, cars, today, are MUCH more reliable, less likely to break down on the road, far easier to start/ warm-up in the winter now that EFI has replaced carburators, handle and brake much better, have far better clearcoat paint-jobs for less-waxing, and we have great Internet forums like CAR CHAT to discuss what problems we DO have.

FrankReynoldsCPA

Yes, insurance costs can be prohibitive, however, that can be avoided by buying an older vehicle. In 2006, when I turned 16, I purchased a 1989 Pontiac Firebird. Now, Firebirds generally are expensive to insure(I don't know if the v6 engine it had would mitigate that). I'm not sure how expensive my insurance was. Because I had good grades and was helping to run the family business, my folks paid for my insurance. I do know however that it was relatively inexpensive. It was liability only, since the car wasn't worth insuring for collision.

Fastforward to 2011. I'm 21, and I buy a 1992 Lexus LS400. I pay my own insurance this time around, and opted for full coverage(book value is $4400-4600, I paid $3200). I pay $30 a month for full coverage on it Part of this is because I have a squeaky clean record and high grades all through high school and college. The other part is because the car is 20 years old.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

True but with work and college commutes we wanted him to have a new car.
His '08 Civic has 90K miles on it.The wife and I paid for the car and he pays for insurance and maintenance.

FrankReynoldsCPA

Ah, that makes sense now.
90k in 3 years, impressive. Driving must not have lost its cool for him
I was playing russian roulette with my first car. I got it with 170k miles and sold it at 200k. I drove it everyday and made several out of town trips with it. It was the reason my parents let me get a cell phone in high school...in case of emergencies, lol. Then they yelled at me when I DID break down and didn't want to come help.

I imagine my current car will last a long time at the rate I'm putting miles on it. I bought it in april with 112,000. It's now at 117,000. I'm guessing i'll average 10k a year. I'd love to drive it more...it's a nice car to drive......but the fuel is killing me. I maybe drag main street once a month now.

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

I think it really depends on where they live, people around me all love driving, and most kids really looked forward to it, my friends who live in bigger cities really didn't care and still don't have their licenses. I pay for part of my insurance but the car is under my dad's name. Its a 2001 lexus es300 with 176k miles, i think its only 1500 a year, It has high miles, but still drive it on long trips and everyday.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

what is needed are cars that drive themselves. i'd be first in line!

greg0126

iTrader: (2)

While reading I kept thinking that there is a plus to this: Less people driving would [ideally] mean less traffic for those of us that like to drive!

Getrag

I live in NJ and commute via public transportation into NYC for work.

Most of the younger generation (16-25; let's say), I see in NYC are all playing with their smartphones or tablets.

IMO this trend will keep continuing as portable electronics and wireless networks get more powerful.


Being in a city like NYC, the need to drive just isn't "needed".


Once I get back to my suburban house in NJ, the atmosphere totally changes; as you can't go anywhere without a car.

Lil4X

It's not just the collapse of car culture, but the internet age that obviates the reasons to travel. Online you can go to school, conduct personal relationships, order up entertainment, even food and drink. All we need is a hamster wheel and we'd be just fine staying at home with our netflix and facebook accounts.

A friend noted this change coming some 18 months ago, as the online lifestyle swept over Japan. Kids would trade up to the latest cell phone technology within weeks of their last upgrade, commonly changing phones ever two or three weeks. They no longer have sufficient money to purchase a car, nor the motivation to own and maintain one. Why travel when with a few keystrokes, you can be anywhere?

Fizzboy7

So does this mean we'll be seeing relief on the 405 Freeway as the next generation of kids become adults and less of them drive?
(wishful thinking)

mr3gs300

Well I know here in NY its a pita to have a car with trying to find parking, traffic the price of gas. Kids nowadays just want everything now, always multitasking. so it easier for them to take mass transit or cabs. Also kids nowadays are more worried about what new sneakers or games or electronic gadget is coming out. they rather spend their money on that

FrankReynoldsCPA

Where I grew up, if you don't have a car you are SoL. We had no public transportation, and it was very rural, so things were spread out.

Now that I'm in college, I live in a somewhat bigger city(but only around 100,000 people or less). There is a small bus line, but other than that, no public transpo, so I still use my car for most getting around, except to class, since I live only 3 blocks from campus.