I know a lot of guys and some gals who really love their cars. In a post-Communist country, people over 40 still connect car ownership with luxury, even though the economic situation is now different.
But no one, no one loves the unavoidable traffic jams. So the thing about clinging to their cars is sort-of two faced.
Can understand this sentiment in younger people. As someone in his mid-40s, even living in New York City, I just picked up a car (after 8 years of not having one) and have been enjoying driving it so much. It's just something I grew up with and love to do as an activity.
You can fall out of “love” (or never fall in “love” with them in the first place) with cars and own one.
I’ve never really wanted to own a car but I did when I lived in a small town as there wasn’t really any other option. As soon as I moved to a place where I could live comfortably without one I got rid of it and haven’t had any regrets about that decision.
Older generations (my parent for example) truly love their cars and never could imagine themselves living without one. Same for my grandmother and she lives right next to all the services she uses and mostly walks to them but still she has to own a car.
People like the freedom that a car currently embodies — if you have good alternatives, the physical object is unimportant. I’m 35, I have owned one car for two weeks, and then only for the purpose of selling it on behalf of my partner without it looking dodgy. I don’t miss it.
I live in New York City and even here I’m really not convinced most people under 45 have a will to get rid of cars. There isn’t a huge passion for them either, more like a resigned acceptance.
You can love things even if you can't afford them. Not all cars are $28k, you can get a piece of junk for much cheaper, you can work for the privilege of using someone else's car, with enough motivation, even if you are poor, you can get to drive, while dreaming about your having very own car. Owning a car may become a life goal, the ultimate reward for hard work. And it was kind of the case a few decades ago.
But now, the young don't want to dedicate their lives to the car anymore. They have other priorities, other dreams. Maybe they prefer to let go of the car and eat good food instead of a cheap pasta diet, things like that.
Besides the financial and environmental reasons, I see cars as being misaligned with a frictionless culture that the young are used to.
It's a real hassle to drive, park and do maintenance/accreditation/insurance on a car that most people simply accept because that's the way things are done. Honestly, I'm 35 and I've always felt car-culture reminded me of smokers in the 60s: it's terrible overall but most people can't seem to see the problems since it's so widespread.
Based on anecdotal evidence, I've found that almost none of my non-wealthy family and friends like driving. They all drive fairly average cars (Honda Civic, old minivan, etc) on fairly average commutes between home/work/school/etc.
For them, driving is just a means to an end. If there was something better that was cheaper and fulfilled their needs, I think they'd sell their cars in a heartbeat.
That being said, I do love driving, and you're gonna have to pry my car from my cold dead hands :).
I'm in a moderately ok country, and I still see buying a new car as a luxury. It's something you do much later in life/career, when you can't be bother to take care of the extra management a used car comes with. And definitely not for everybody - there's quite a few people I know that are middle age with kids and don't even think about a new car. They just have chose other tradeoffs
Excellent post. My car is a Prius, at the lowest trim model, that I bought when I graduated from college 15 years ago. I "love it" in the sense that I love how cheap and reliable it has been. I totally view it as an appliance to get me from A to B with minimal fuss. And for the past ten years, my wife and I have largely organized our life to minimize how much time we spend driving around. We've spent a good portion of our marriage sharing the Prius as our only car.
My Boomer parents, on the other hand, own five or six cars, including several Corvettes and still go on long drives just for fun. We just can't understand each other.
I also live in a place now that has a "car culture," like people come to visit for races and car shows, and to do scenic drives in their exotic Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars. To a first approximation, it's all Boomers.
I'm a Millenial and I enjoy owning a car, but I definitely don't care about it as an indicator of social status the way older generations did.
I would much rather own a self-driving pod with a comfortable couch where I could work or relax without thinking about driving. Or even enjoying the view! Driving is fun, but for day-to-day stuff, I'd much rather get online as soon as possible to get my work done.
I tend to think of time in a car as time wasted, unless I just happen to be in the mood to drive.
That seems like a pretty subjective and personal opinion.
I love having a car. It gives me freedom and flexibility. It enables me to do the hobbies I like. It even gives me more career options and a broader range of housing options.
I'm engaged to an American and they seem to view a car as a right of passage into adulthood. They feel like the expense of a car, whatever it may be, is essential. If five people go to a restaurant, it's probably in 4+ vehicles.
The craziest thing to me was recently a twenty year old borrowed money to purchase a stick-drive car when she doesn't drive stick and already had a recent, usable car. Why? Now she's going to have no money for years to come!
I suppose the difference is that they can afford to be. If any of the rest of us stopped liking our car on an arbitrary whim, we'd have to suck it up and drive it anyway.
That represents an even bigger devotion to car ownership that does an insistence on commuting by car! These are people for whom car ownership is totally unnecessary, but who are willing to put up with enormous costs and hassles in order to keep a car available.
Even if I won't drive my car, I would still like to own it to keep it personal. To keep my stuff in it. To not have to pair my phone every time I go somewhere. To be hygienic(I hate public transport because of this).
And yeah, I drive in a large-ish city. Still enjoy the experience. Most of the time don't even have the radio on, just listen to the engine rumbling.
"Owning a car is a bit like watching TV vs. YT/VoD: it's partially driven by habits"
This.
Thank you, 50+, living in Germany, never owned a car (have a drivers license), never going to own a car.
When friends say "we need a car" they mean that they moved outside the city in a big house but want to go to the city every day and drive their children to a sports club every second day. Sure they "need a car". It's like I go diving and I "need an oxygen tank". Yes, sure, if you go diving.
But no one, no one loves the unavoidable traffic jams. So the thing about clinging to their cars is sort-of two faced.
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