I found the article to be interesting, and true. In the list of their bullet-points, I think they missed one:
- Increased devotion to social media, such as Facebook and texting, which are replacing in-person interaction and making cars less necessary for “hanging out” with friends.
- Gaming, which is displacing sporting and activity events.
- A shift of discretionary income toward mobile devices, leaving less money for automotive expenditures.
- Current unemployment rates among 20- to 24-year-olds reaching 15%.
- A tight economy, rendering parents with less disposable income to help young enthusiasts with auto-related purchases.
- Economic pressures forcing older wrenchers from the hobby, depriving youth of role models.
- Increasing pressure from leftist educational facilities to use public transit and "green" transportation.
Before everyone gets all bent out of shape, hear me out. Today's schools have been pushing the whole "Global Warming / Climate Change" agenda in a "Fast and Furious" manner, pun intended. It's simply not as "cool" to have your own car unless it's a Hybrid/EV. And those suck, from a performance/thrill standpoint... not to mention they're too expensive for 95% of the high-schoolers to afford.
My nephew is 18... still doesn't have his driver's license. Simply has zero interest in it. He's a gamer, and his girlfriend has a car and a job (he has neither). So, his view is "why try, I'll just rely on her". That works great until she realizes there are men out there that are independent. It chops my ***, but his mom (my sister) is a Lefty, so the apple didn't fall far from the tree. But I digress.
Nissan has been insulated from the decline in youth interest due to the Leaf, Z, and obviously the GT-R. We can thank Gran Turismo for that car's fame... LOL
Still, those are out of reach for many young kids.
One thing I think the article hit the nail on the head about, is the need for kids these days to have the "latest/greatest" of everything, or simply go without. God forbid you be seen with a three year old iPad... you'll be the laughing stock of the school. So if that same entitlement mentality translates to vehicles, many kids won't be satisfied with mom's clapped-out Corolla.
It doesn't stop with cars, though. Many of my peers are in debt to their eyeballs, trying to match the house/cars their moms and dads have acquired after 30 years of working. The kids want all of that
right now.