[DeTomaso] NPC interesting article

Sun Mar 30 10:53:04 EDT 2014

I think the article is a lot of wishful thinking.  There are some fair
points to be sure but a few things stand out for me that are not mentioned
in the article.

Millennials don't have any money.
http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/Household-Incomes-by-Age-Brackets.php

While it does look dire, if you compare that to the cost of a new car, you
can see that the barrier to entry is that much higher as a percentage of
income.

Disturbing as well is why would you invest so much money into a disposable
item?  That is, why would I put up $22k (close to yearly income) for a base
model car that is an actual depreciating liability, but taxed as an asset?

There is also a declining amount of "fun" you can have informally with a
car.  We do have formal and safe events and that is a good thing, but
speeders are routinely caught, doing doughnuts in your cul-de-sac or in the
mall parking lot is no longer a "boys will be boys" (or girls) affair.
You're going to jail.

Nobody works on cars.  Well, we work on cars but the barrier to
understanding them is low and we grew up in a culture where you changed
your own oil and spark plugs and checked fluids before long trips (and had
to sometimes).  Now cars are very reliable and the only time you have to
interact with your car at this intimate level is when something horrible
happens.  Overheat your car?  The head warps and your car is trashed.
Never change your oil?  Big deal.  The damn thing will last 150K easy and
you can unload it on some other poor sot.  Even your tires are designed to
last 60,000+ miles.  You don't get a relationship with a mechanic if you
never see one save to give your car last rites.

For heaven's sake, you're not even *allowed* to look under your hood
anymore.  Open the hood?  Well, there's another hood underneath your hood
with a few labels that while they don't say "no user serviceable parts
inside" they are also not inviting.

Wow.  Rant much?  I need to stop oversleeping.

sean

On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 10:32 AM, Charles Engles <cengles at cox.net> wrote:

> Dear Chris,
>
>
>          Thanks for sharing.  That is an excellent analysis of Young People
> and Cars.   It is not the same as our youth.  It is a problem for the car
> makers, but it is a problem for car clubs from BMWCCA to POCA.
>
>
>                     Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: DeTomaso [mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of Christopher
> Kimball
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2014 10:16 PM
> To: detomaso at poca.com
> Subject: [DeTomaso] NPC interesting article
>
>
> I intuitively felt this was happening--this article describes it well.
> Young people just don't care about cars as we did.
>
>
>
> http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027876/millennials-dont-care-about-owning-cars-a
> nd-car-makers-cant-figure-out-why
>
> Chris
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at poca.com
> http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at poca.com
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>

-- 
Sean Korb spkorb at spkorb.org http://www.spkorb.org
'65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera #1382
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
"Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso
-------------- next part --------------
   I think the article is a lot of wishful thinking.  There are some fair
   points to be sure but a few things stand out for me that are not
   mentioned in the article.
   Millennials don't have any money.
   [1]http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/Household-Incomes-
   by-Age-Brackets.php
   While it does look dire, if you compare that to the cost of a new car,
   you can see that the barrier to entry is that much higher as a
   percentage of income.
   Disturbing as well is why would you invest so much money into a
   disposable item?  That is, why would I put up $22k (close to yearly
   income) for a base model car that is an actual depreciating liability,
   but taxed as an asset?
   There is also a declining amount of "fun" you can have informally with
   a car.  We do have formal and safe events and that is a good thing, but
   speeders are routinely caught, doing doughnuts in your cul-de-sac or in
   the mall parking lot is no longer a "boys will be boys" (or girls)
   affair.  You're going to jail.
   Nobody works on cars.  Well, we work on cars but the barrier to
   understanding them is low and we grew up in a culture where you changed
   your own oil and spark plugs and checked fluids before long trips (and
   had to sometimes).  Now cars are very reliable and the only time you
   have to interact with your car at this intimate level is when something
   horrible happens.  Overheat your car?  The head warps and your car is
   trashed.  Never change your oil?  Big deal.  The damn thing will last
   150K easy and you can unload it on some other poor sot.  Even your
   tires are designed to last 60,000+ miles.  You don't get a relationship
   with a mechanic if you never see one save to give your car last rites.
   For heaven's sake, you're not even *allowed* to look under your hood
   anymore.  Open the hood?  Well, there's another hood underneath your
   hood with a few labels that while they don't say "no user serviceable
   parts inside" they are also not inviting.
   Wow.  Rant much?  I need to stop oversleeping.
   sean

   On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 10:32 AM, Charles Engles <[2]cengles at cox.net>
   wrote:

     Dear Chris,
              Thanks for sharing.  That is an excellent analysis of Young
     People
     and Cars.   It is not the same as our youth.  It is a problem for
     the car
     makers, but it is a problem for car clubs from BMWCCA to POCA.
                         Warmest regards,  Chuck Engles

   -----Original Message-----
   From: DeTomaso [mailto:[3]detomaso-bounces at poca.com] On Behalf Of
   Christopher
   Kimball
   Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2014 10:16 PM
   To: [4]detomaso at poca.com
   Subject: [DeTomaso] NPC interesting article
   I intuitively felt this was happening--this article describes it well.
   Young people just don't care about cars as we did.
   [5]http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027876/millennials-dont-care-about-ownin
   g-cars-a
   nd-car-makers-cant-figure-out-why
   Chris
   _______________________________________________
   Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
   DeTomaso mailing list
   [6]DeTomaso at poca.com
   [7]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
   _______________________________________________
   Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
   DeTomaso mailing list
   [8]DeTomaso at poca.com
   [9]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com

   --
   Sean Korb [10]spkorb at spkorb.org [11]http://www.spkorb.org
   '65,'68 Mustangs,'68 Cougar,'78 R100/7,'60 Metro,'59 A35,'71 Pantera
   #1382
   "The more you drive, the less intelligent you get" --Miller
   "Computers are useless.  They can only give you answers." -P. Picasso

References

   1. http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/Household-Incomes-by-Age-Brackets.php
   2. mailto:cengles at cox.net
   3. mailto:detomaso-bounces at poca.com
   4. mailto:detomaso at poca.com
   5. http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027876/millennials-dont-care-about-owning-cars-and-car-makers-cant-figure-out-why
   6. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
   7. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
   8. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
   9. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
  10. mailto:spkorb at spkorb.org
  11. http://www.spkorb.org/