Teens have less desire for cars

[rickaren]

Study says teens have less desire for cars

Posted Friday, Oct 16, 2009, 11:30 am in Employee News

Is the love affair between cars and young people starting to cool?, the Los Angeles Times asked. That could be the case, according to a new study of auto-related online commentary among teens and young adults by J.D. Power and Associates, the paper reported.

The market research firm analyzed hundreds of thousands of online conversations held from January to August on auto-related websites such as Autoblog, on personal blogs and on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, the paper said. The goal was to gauge the perceptions of Generation Y (those born in the 1980s and early 1990s) toward the automotive industry in general as well as toward specific vehicle brands, the story said. The analysis focused on “teens” (ages 12 to 18) and “early careerists” (22 to 29).

According to J.D. Power, “online discussions by teens indicate shifts in perceptions regarding the necessity of and desire to have cars,” the Times said. Part of the reason could be economic, the study said. During the worst recession since the 1930s, the cost of owning a car probably makes less sense than it did when gas was 30 cents a gallon, the story said.

“Also, with the advent of social media and other forms of electronic communities, teens perceive less of a need to physically congregate, and less of a need for a mode of transportation,” the study said.

“The negative perceptions of the automotive industry that teens and early careerists hold could have implications on future vehicle sales,” Chance Parker, vice president and general manager of J.D. Power’s Web Intelligence division, said in a news release. (Los Angeles Times)