Why don't kids like cars?

I was a "clean-up kid" for a new home contractor and I bumped a guys door driving a beater work truck when I was 15 years old. First question from my dad: why were you driving if you don't have a DL?

Shoot, I convinced a 17 year old kid to teach me stick on his clapped out Datsun 510 wagon (beer bottles rolling around in the back) at the same construction subdivision site when I was 14 years old.

When I see a kid interested in cars......I highly encourage them.

We made the daughter drive for a full year before she got her license. A lot of her friends don't like to drive, and she absolutely hates to drive at night.

I could name the four cycles of an internal combustion engine and describe what happened during each when I was in first grade.

Apparently, this trend started after my childhood.

Maybe it's not such a bad thing they don't like to drive...traffic accidents are the leading causes of death in 18-25 year olds, right? Plus more road space for us, because it's not being taken up by teens with their thumbs on their phones rather than the steering wheel.

I sat on my grandfather's lap and steered his 500 Galaxy from the time I was around 4yrs old. I drove him around town in his super beetle when I was 11 and could finally reach the pedals. I was obsessed with cars, bikes and racing since I can remember.

My oldest son is obsessed with racing but he could care less about cars. Karts have his eye. My youngest could care less about any of it. Neither will even ask a question about how they work despite me trying to get them out to the garage just to play with something.

Maybe they will come around in a few years when the possibility of driving and freedom is closer.

friedgreencorrado wrote: I have a hypothesis..traffic congestion. With all the jobs going away in rural communities, more of us live in the cities. And the cities are *packed*. The kids, as they ride with us, see us cursing, having close calls (or in the case of non-enthusiasts, crashes), getting stuck in traffic jams..and think that driving is nothing but a constant struggle to survive. IMO, a lot of these kids don't see a drivers' licence as "freedom" like I did when I got mine..they see it as a "responsibility". And not in the sense of being a responsible driver, but in the sense of "..yeah, I can't get the job without having a stupid berkeleying car..."

If I could drive less, I would. It's because of the traffic and the fact that owning/operating a car is EXPENSIVE now.

I'm tempted to replace my current car with a Smart Car because of the fuel economy and being allowed in HOV lanes in Toronto. It's funny that the HOV lanes are nearly empty even though all you need is ONE other person in the car with you. It'll be really hard not to trade in the magnum once the new HOV lanes running through Oakville are open.....

It's a sad time.

My wife hates driving. She hates riding with me when I drive. She wishes we had teleporters.

My sister-in-law didn't get her drivers license until she turned 19. She just didn't want to get it, but my father-in-law told her that if she was going away to college, she needed a car.

My Cousin has a license but chooses not to drive. His dad (my uncle) worked for BMW PR back in the 80's and Early 90's and always had the newest coolest BMW that was coming out. Also he had 2 BMW motorcycles. My cousin had a Jetta and got into one fender bender and decided that he hated driving and would rather bicycle all over Austin.

My old boss's kid grew up around the weirdest and coolest cars, but has no interest. I think he is turning 16 too.

I don't get it.

As a kid I wasn't super interested in cars, but my dad is very much a wrench and was always fixing stuff out in the garage. I'll never forget the day I had a friend over and my dad came up the driveway at about 60, put the GMC pickup in the garage, came in, cussed about the transfercase being broken, grabbed a sandwich, and had the transfercase dropped before my friend decided to go home that evening. That forever engrained my father as the manliest man EVER in the eyes of my friend, hahaha, as his parents never would've thought about working on the car themselves.

However, when I hit 16, I had my license, and I was driving. I avoided city driving, but we lived 2 hours away from the closest one, so that wasn't much of an issue. I put a minimum of 200 miles/week on my car from the time I got my license 'til I graduated high school... I drove everywhere. Driving was freedom... we only drove places WE wanted to go, not where our parents wanted to drag us. Small town was boring? We drove over to the next one. We didn't care, we just pointed the car and WENT.

My wife also got her DL on her 16th birthday and then a car 2 months later (4-speed Ford Capri - that European one).

We know family and friends that have 18-19 year olds and no DL. My wife cannot believe a 16 year old boy wouldn't be hammering to have his liscense.

I was pissed because the DMV was closed on my 15th birthday so I had to wait an extra day to get my learners permit.

Born 1960, driving a 1959 CJ5 at 6 years of age, driving a GMC 2 ton grain truck, unloading the combine while moving by age 9. Owned my first car, a 57 BelAir at age 12. Rebuilt my first 6 cylinder Ford at 14. Blew up my first fresh Ford 6 cylinder at 14 years, 2 weeks. Took driver training with a girl who used to drive her dad 600km home from dog shows because he liked to drink, and figured he'd get in less trouble with an underaged driver than a DWI. Tried to get my driving test out of the way 2 days before my 16th birthday because harvest time was coming, and we needed somebody to drive the semi.

I think theres lotsa people out there now that would call that child endangerment, but I'm 50 this year and have had one "not at fault" collision (I was sitting at a light), no at faults.

I also learned all about screeding concrete at 12.

I must be lucky. My eldest has been driving since he could see over the steering wheel. Autocrosses with me every chance he gets. My daughter has been driving since she was 15. She autocrosses with me every chance she gets. My middle son wants a gokart for Xmas so he can autocross. The youngest just wants to work on them. Must be good genes.

I didn't get my license until I was 19. I could have gotten it when I was 18, I even tried but failed miserably. I've been a gearhead since before I could talk.
The only reason I ended up getting my license at 19 is because it was one of the requirements for the job I got (that and to be 21 ). I live in an urban area, I could get anywhere either by bicycle or public transportation. Not having the license didn't hinder me much.
These days because of the same urban area, I don't care for driving, I drive because it is faster than taking a bus. I drive because it is convenient.
Don't get me wrong, I love cars. I spend most of my time with them, but around here they aren't really practical.

Yes, my kids love cars. Sadly they are young enough where they think rice is cool.

I was a self made motorhead. My Father's idea of preventative maintainece was maintaince you had to do when it prevented your from going anywhere.

He would hoon his Datsun 210B on backroads a bit which got my spark going, but did nothing to fan the flames.

As such, and I was in walking distance of everything I was not motivated to get my license. Add to that getting in the millitary which included 2 years overseas and I didn't get licensed in the US until I was 21, but had a Japanese SOFA license at 19.

Luckily when I married, I got a stepson who was a muscle car maniac who I've turned into a more well rounded motorhead. He's chomping at the bit to get his license.

My own son has picked up on the gearhead nature early on. Hopefully I can keep it going till he gets older. He can name most makes by their emblem and he's not quite 3.

And then there's this... http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=152587768090292

All of the guys on my Dad's side of the family were gear heads and so were their sons, call it a DeLacy trait. When I was little I was always out helping Dad by getting tools in the garage and holding lights until I could graduate up to doing some real work. Any question I asked about a car he had a detailed answer to, but one I could still understand. Before I had a car I had modified remote control cars and a hopped up power wheels, a motorcycle at one point too.

My mom while not a gear head knows the basics about cars. She used to drive a nova that didn't always run right but knew the whole procedure to get it up and running again (I think it had a flooding problem), the cop didn't believe her until she drove off. She learned how to drive stick with me shaking around in a car seat in the back.

When I got my first car it was a manual I didn't know how to drive so Dad drove it home and I learned in the backyard until I was good enough to hit the streets, wasn't fun with either end of my street being a hill with a stop sign. I once missed all of thanksgiving dinner because I was so excited to go out for a drive and prove to myself I could drive a manual and not stall.

If any of my friends were curious about driving I let them have at it, no sense in me carting them around all the time. Taught a bunch of them how to drive, shift, and parallel park. But the rural setting and lack of traffic sure does help with that. Im 23 now and still tend to be the one who doesn't mind long trips or city driving - I don't like it but I'll do it.

I do have one grandmother in her 80s who never got her drivers license, but she lived in Philadelphia all her life and never had the need for it.

I got my provisional licence a few days after my 16th birthday. That was just a written test, in-out-done. When I went to get my full licence eight months later (minimum time allowed, road test), the MOT were booked full for like half a year. Nuts to that - I actually bribed another kid to let me take his spot.

THAT SAID - I don't see it as a problem if not every kid gets his or her licence immediately. So they have no interest in cars, don't want to drive, and can get around fine by bus - good for them! Less congestion, less pollution, less road works needed, etc... More room for us enthusiasts out there. Wouldn't it be great if like 50% of the "point A to point B" crowd took public transit?

I leared to drive when I was 10 years old ('83 Bronco II 5-speed back in the woods). I was so excited to get my liscense I read the entire drivers-ed book and beat everyone in the class. That let me drive first and I had my liscense on my 16th birthday.

It was total freedom!

All my kids will learn to drive early and at their own pace like I did. Not driving is not an option in this family. I'm not paying for their car or insurance either... but that's something I'm telling them now while they're young so it won't be a surprise when they're older.

What counts as learning to drive?

I was born and raised way out in the country (nearest neighbor was 1 mile away)

At 5 I thought the riding lawn mower looked like a go-kart and was given the responsibility of mowing approx 6 acres.

At 7, I was driving the 8 speed John Deere tractor

At 12 or 13 was driving the family bronco up and down the back roads

My 16th birthday, school was closed due to excessive snow (Michigan, 8" on the roads before 6:30am) and still drove the 45 minutes to the closest DMV to get my license.

My sister in law just got her license. She's 46, and lives in the sticks.

We had an oval track on our property when the kids were young. The youngest one would do 250 laps, turn around, and do 250 laps the other way. He would beg to do chores for gas, and was so fast on that track, he could corner on 2 wheels when he felt like showing off. He was 12 at the time. The older one would do 5 laps, and park the car. He liked cars, but had no interest in going in circles. This went on for about 4 years. With the seat time, you'd think the younger one would be a great driver. He's not, and has terrible habits. The older one is fine.

Man, when I turned 15, all i could think about was getting my license. I even concocted this plan were I'd move out to South Dakota with my cousins, were it on 14 to get your card. My other cousin married a gut who's 26 and is just now learning to drive. (Good: learning to drive. Bad: how the berkley do not understand how to park a car? Not parallel park, but Wal-Mart, pull straight in park?)

More stories about this stuff..
http://blogs.trb.com/features/family/parenting/blog/2010/10/why_dont_teens_care_about_gett.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/07/deferred-dream-fewer-teens-getting-their-first-car/1

http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144155

When I was 14 my grandpa died and my parents were offered his mint condition 72 Cutlass, I begged with them for weeks to let me have it but they sold it instead. Later that year my neighbor was selling an AE86 for $400, I had the money saved for it but my parents still said no. Needless to say I got my license the first chance I could and bought my own car.

Now I am 22 and have had around 12 cars and 10 motorcycles.

Most of my friends don't care about driving though. They just see it as an inconvenience and only got their licenses for the freedom of leaving the house.

Now that I think about it and reading all these responses something occurred to me. This could be a very positive trend for the future.

Bear with me...

These kids disinterested in driving as they see it as a chore, would normally grow up and buy appliance mobiles just to facilitate the chore of transporting ones self.

If this trend continues, perhaps this would eventually lead to a populace more interested in more efficient public transportation. And while it is not the end all be all answer to such a thing, the public opinion to move in that direction would be key to start funding.

In net, this would benefit the future hoons and gearheads, less congestion, less resource use by those who could careless about using it.

While its not a perfect answer, it would be an upside to a story that seems to only point at indifference.

neckromacr wrote: Now that I think about it and reading all these responses something occurred to me. This could be a very positive trend for the future. Bear with me... These kids disinterested in driving as they see it as a chore, would normally grow up and buy appliance mobiles just to facilitate the chore of transporting ones self. If this trend continues, perhaps this would eventually lead to a populace more interested in more efficient public transportation. And while it is not the end all be all answer to such a thing, the public opinion to move in that direction would be key to start funding. In net, this would benefit the future hoons and gearheads, less congestion, less resource use by those who could careless about using it. While its not a perfect answer, it would be an upside to a story that seems to only point at indifference.

Good point. If even just the cities in the US could achieve levels of mass-transit quality found in most of Western Europe/Japan (of course, we'll never achieve it out in the countryside..our nation is just too big for that), the roads would be much kinder than they are at the moment. You may be on to something here, neckromancr!

I don't see what's so wrong with kids these days... I was just a kid yesterday and I couldn't freakin wait to get a car. I started looking for one to buy for myself when i was freakin' 12. Needless to say, my parents didn't take me too seriously, something about "you don't have a liscense for years" and "we already have too many cars in storage" blah blah... I would've been fine to take any of theirs, but they weren't too willing there either

However, now that i'm in a city, i don't want to drive places. I want to drive with every cell in my body, but i don't want to drive around here. Luckily i'm getting my fiance into driving (she even said she wants to go racing!!!) but she's inexperienced (and 2 stereotypes that don't mix well for driving ) Currently, I have her hooked on gran turismo and a G25 wheel, so maybe she'll stay interested...

I think the biggest thing i see with other people my age (early 20's) is that they've never been exposed to any car that was more than an appliance. You can NOT develop a love for driving if all you have is a camry and a minivan. Well, maybe you can, but you'd have to be a crazy, sick person. I like those kind of people.

I was thinking about this topic last night and I got to thinking about how I became fascinated with cars and trucks and cycles and....well, anything with wheels and an engine.

When I was a kid (back in the mid '50s-early '60s) 3 things, I think, had a HUGE impact on my life.

1.) When new cars hit the showrooms in September, it was a HUGE deal. I all but begged my Dad to take me to the showrooms of the "Big 3" in my town. (We had an AMC dealer, but I wasn't all that interested in their products.) Nowadays, a "new" car is introduced whenever a car company feels like it and you don't need to go to the dealership to get "all the details" via a nice glossy brochure....you can print up your own in the comfort of your .....wherever.

2.) When I was a kid, cereal manufacturers would put plastic miniatures of their cars in cereal boxes. I remember having whole fleets of mini plastic cars gotten by eating a Post band cereal called Rice Krinkles (a sweetened cereal that looked like Rice Krispies).

I think my burgeoning waistband and my love of cars got their starts with those cereal boxes. Nowadays, Mickey D's might put a Hot Wheels/Transformer kind of car in a Happy Meal, but not a car that you can actually buy.

3.) (Reasonably) cheap plastic model cars also had a MAJOR impact on my car love affair. For about $2 (in the '60s) I could have my own (1/24th scale) car, any color I wanted, with any "custom" touches I wanted.