As an old grey sideburns guy, I agree 100% with Greg! However I will add three more causes as well. Air conditioning, electronics, & sims.
As Brock pointed out we learned to know brands of cars, models, etc. at a very early age. How did we do that? Well we sat out on the front porch and watched them pass, or we saw them as we were walking to school or friends homes etc.,we went to or drove by Drive In restaurants. We also pulled engine and transmissions in the driveway, played with carbs, gapped points, etc. on our or our friends or parents cars. Almost all my friends' fathers were "shade tree mechanics" so it was assumed by the time you were old enough to read 1/2" or 9/16" on a wrench or socket you would at least hand the old man a tool he needed while under the car.
Younger people now never go out because it is either too hot or too cold. Whenever they go anyplace they are driven by parents or others, they don't walk. And now even in a bar or club you find young couples sitting next to each other while texting others. No one knows what being part of a community is anymore.
Now as then, the typical "starter car" is a ten year old cast-off. Except now they all have electronic fuel injection, timing, etc. you either have a good black box or a bad one. There is nothing to adjust. If a kid doesn't know what a carb is, he probably won't be too interested in a car with carbs later in his/her life.
Finally we need to remember sims. As an old pilot who can no longer pass a flight physical I still enjoy "flying" with Flight Simulator. Anyone, regardless of age can lap the Nurenburg, Watkins Glen, or almost anywhere else in the car of your choosing on a sim. After putting down hot laps at Road Atlanta in a hot Porsche how exciting can it be to drive a front drive Chevy Malibu down to the grocery?
Many of my friends either have children or grandchildren who don't even want to learn to drive till they are in or past college! An no, I don't live in NYC. I live in the suburbs of Louisville Ky. where there is no bus service, subway, etc. nearby. These young folks prefer to have someone drive them everywhere so they won't miss a text! Or if they do have their license, look at the phone rather than out the windshield.
