Filed under: Car Buying, Time Warp, Trends
Can't buy a thrill-- is America's love affair with the automobile ending?
Paul Harris of the
U.K.’s Observer writes an interesting editorial on how the social significance of the automobile has
changed in the U.S.
Posits Harris, at the end of the 1970’s, the Big Three represented nearly ninety
percent of all new car sales. The American car was a symbol, representing freedom, patriotism, and sexual liberation.
Cars were identified as Javelin (pictured), Deville, and Aviator-- not letter designations.
Size (and how!), chrome, and sound announced the arrival of America at auto shows. Driving one’s first car was a
right of passage into adulthood.
But the Seventies also brought the first major oil shortage. Americans
rejected the gas-guzzling domestic brands and embraced the more fuel-efficient, reserved-looking, and standardized
Japanese and European cars. Though there has been a revival for “retro” in recent years, Ford and General
Motors still continue to follow Euro-Japanese design idioms.
But the biggest change has been driver’s
attitudes towards their cars. According to popular culture expert Peter Latham of the University of Iowa, “They
(his students) are like walking cyborgs with all these things (iPods, wireless cellphones) attached to them. Cars have
become functional. They are not statements anymore. Electronics are.”
So, is the thrill gone? Has romance 'left the building'? Have your say in the comments field.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ron 1:16PM (1/29/2006)
I think the younger generation views cars not so much as statements (like I did some 40 years ago), but more like "transportation appliances". How else can you explain the popularity of souless vehicles such as the Camary and the various brands of minivans?
Reply
Robert Farago 1:19PM (1/29/2006)
Crap.
Reply
Moofie 1:22PM (1/29/2006)
Obviously written by an old guy who's never seen a tuner showcase.
Reply
gerrynjr 1:27PM (1/29/2006)
Well...
Economic factors are influencing buyers decisions yet again. Not only are oil prices skyrocketing, but the dollar is also hurting as well. To add insult to industry, domestic car prices are also going up...
Reply
John 1:30PM (1/29/2006)
I agree, with ron (#1) and the general gist of the article. Cars used to define a lifestyle. Ponch had that Firebird in CHiPs which said everything about the guy who was driving it. If you saw a person driving a Belvedere GTX, you know they have some personality that was beyond that of a Tax Accountant (my apologies to those of you who are tax accountants).
Now, cars are just things that get you from point A to point B. Accepting otherwise is met with scorn as a lack of efficiency and utility is considered absurd. We're all very pragmatic in our car decisions now - the car is no longer an extension of the owner behind the wheel.
Maybe I do have this all wrong; maybe the car just represents what people wanted to be. Like there are so many Prius owners out there who still have a Toyota Highlander or Dodge Durango in their personal family fleet of cars. Then there are Corvette owners who don't bother to learn how to drive a stickshift... Such a complex topic :)
Reply
LuboDuboLoL 1:31PM (1/29/2006)
This so-called LoveAffair reminds me of the non-stop driving to the local garageshops I had to do with my '92 Ford Escort (last 2.5 years), '95 Ford Taurus (sold after 2 years of too many parts kept breaking down), '94 Ford Probe (junkyard in 6 months). It inevitably ended up in divorce.
I bought a used '92 Civic with 150K miles in December of 2003 and it's still running at 200K miles without a visit to the garage aside from the regular oil changes. This car is still using all stock parts it had back from 1992. Someone stole my CD Player and scratched the back and the sides but it runs. I use a FM MP3 player to play music from my memory card.
Reply
avixe 1:37PM (1/29/2006)
Considering how important design and brand image continues to be (as reported by this site, no less), I doubt very much that Americans are beginning to see their cars as soulless machines. The success of the Mustang and 300 alone seem to indicate that car buyers still see their wheels as a personal statement.
Reply
Greg Clemens 1:39PM (1/29/2006)
Is Americas love affair with the automobile over, hardly. All one would have to do was watch the recent Barret / Jackson auto auction from Phoenix Arizona. The Love affair is growing stronger every year. With record breaking sales numbers set for almost every collector series vehicle, you would be suprised to find out some of the highest bids are for NEW cars, thats right, your opportunity to own a limited production GT40, or Shelby Mustang.
Detroit may have gone through a bad styling decade, but models being produced today have style, performance, electronics, etc.
The new Mustangs, Chargers, Hemi Trucks, GT40's PT Cruisers, Thunderbirds, all show the buying public is and always will be in love with the vehicles.
Reply
avixe 1:41PM (1/29/2006)
Actually, yeah, as #4 says, hybrids are pretty clearly an example of car as personal statement as well.
Reply
XiozTzu 1:42PM (1/29/2006)
I believe in the next couple years we will have a gadget backlash, where everyone will try to get back to basics.
Anyhow, in the U.S. too much time is spent in a car not to develop preferences/desires for certain models and makes.
Is the love affair dead? I say no.
Reply
Richard Warren 1:42PM (1/29/2006)
I think I agree, and it's why the Japanese can get away with selling basically souless appliance cars.
Reply
jonb 1:48PM (1/29/2006)
I think that status still plays a role in the buying decision of young Americans. You can look around and see singles driving BMW coupes, Lexus 300is and Audi TTs and A3s. You also see Acura coupes and Nissan Zs. You don't see up and coming 20 somethings driving a Cadillac or a Buick. Years ago we dreamed of a Coupe d ville or a Mark VI. Those days are long gone. American manufacturers never seemed to pay attention or at least look forward anticipating what the consumer might want. They are always a day late and a Dollar short. A "big" car never needed a hood the length of a football field. They could have copied Mercedes or BMW or Toyota and discovered efficient, comfortable and roomy designs.... but no, they didn't. Not until it was waaaaay too late.
Reply
Dave in MI 1:52PM (1/29/2006)
#7 I think baby boomers are driving much of the sales that you talk about. They have the money and are indulging.
I think the interest of younger generations is thriving. I don't know how many Pimp My Ride shows there are on the tube, but there are plenty. You also have the fast and furious types that are as passionate as any generation. Rice, dubs, it just looks very different.
I do think that the internet makes it easier to find like minded individuals. So it is easier to find a community of Javelin owners or whatever.
Reply
Jake Stazewski, PA 2:24PM (1/29/2006)
As a member of the younger generation of 20 somethings I have to say that if anything, I think the love affair of people my age with cars does exist. However, the mainstream of that love affair is either with inexpensive imports or import style American cars (such as the neon or the cavalier). At college, where there are people with a bit more money, there are a lot of BMWs and Audis. I'd have to say that a lot of the thought behind these decisions has to do more with function, luxuries, or status than looks or performance. I personally like to restore pre-1976 cars (have done a chevelle and now an el camino). I save enough money by working on older cars that the lower gas mileage really doesn't factor. By staying before 1976 I avoid emissions laws and can run larger, more powerful engines on regular gas. Besides, anything I would work on certainly sticks out as opposed to a run of the mill newer car.
Reply
J 2:30PM (1/29/2006)
As much as this sounds sad, its is a true story. In a view of a petrolhead studying in America I was very shocked of how unenthusiastic people are towards cars. Of course there are people very much into them, but they tend to be a very very rare sight indeed.
My university peers really do think of cars as appliances. This is absolutely apparent in the way they like "bling" cars with chrome wheels and about 20 lcd screens in a single car. I notice there is the type of people who like old school classics like hotrods and muscle cars and the type who likes bling, but these are two extreme ends and there arent many people in between. When I first came to America, I was looking to see if there is a show like Topgear to get an American perspective of cars - I'm an avid fan of muscle cars - but instead I was disappointed as alot of car shows were like consumer reports as if they are reviewing a laptop or a tv.
Lastly, I am currently saving my scholarship money to buy myself a decent car. I'm a petrolhead. I have too much dignity in myself to drive a $1000 ten year old civic with a clumsy automatic gearbox. I know manual boxed cars are hard to find in the US, but its a minimum requirement for me. The fact that I am delaying my car purchase only drives me harder to get my money. I know this wouldnt happen if I took the cheaper, quicker solution. "how much do you need?", my 'average' friends ask. "around "$20,000, I reckon I need two more semesters to get that much". "For that money, you can get a civic and mod the hell out of it!" they say. "I'm interested in simple cars. I'm shooting for a second gen miata or a mini, if I can find a cooper s with manual." "Miata? Mini? That's so gay dude."
Reply
Christian J 2:44PM (1/29/2006)
Cars people buy are so utterly lifeless these days. People shop for quality and prestige without realizing their car is ugly as sin and boring as old rocks(i.e. all Toyota and Lexus). There is nothing that says a cars must be ugly and boring in order to be functional and have high quality.
Most interesting is the "wanker factor" as I call it where people will shell out huge amounts of money for cars perceived to be "the car to have" or "the car that's different" These days 9/10 these cars are small (compared to others in the segment), gutless (usually), boring and ugly.
Reply
Infinite Boost 2:45PM (1/29/2006)
I don't think that it is a completely. Look at the all the Evos, and STIs and SRT-4s, and M3s, CTS-Vs and S600s. People still buy cars that are much more then a device that transports you from A to B.
In terms of japanese vs american, american car manufacturers drove themselves into a hole, and now have trouble coming out of it.
Reply
ZoomZoomin' 3:03PM (1/29/2006)
With most people's approach to driving, I can believe it. Although since I wasn't around 40 years ago, I can't really comment on whethere there were droves of passionless drivers on the road and this article is nothing but nostalgia-tinted musings.
The funny thing is that I'm one of the biggest tech-nerds you'll find, but I'll spend a lot less on gadgets/electronics and devote those extra resources to cars/driving. Of course, even with the tech revolution, having the "hot" gadgets will be cool while actually knowing how to make them or what's in them will still remain uncool. Gotta love human irony.
Reply
Ryan 3:05PM (1/29/2006)
Well I'm a 20 something member and think that the "love affair" is in our generation with cars, initially...
For example, my boss "had" to have a Toyota Tundra
I "had" to have a brand new loaded Mazda 3
My co-worker "had" to have a brand new Equinox
My friend "had" to have a brand new 2dr Civic
My point is they are all 20 somethings as well, but once we had all purchased our cars, that was it, we have them.
My friend with the Civic *might* wash the car every couple months.
My boss with the Tundra just took out a construction cone, the sand filled kind and it dented in the side of his door, he is in no way in a rush to fix it.
My co-worker with the Equinox has no concept of "leather care" for her car and quite frankley could care a less.
Then there is my in my 3, I do all the normal care of the car, wash it,oil changes, etc. But could not tell you the last time I opened up the hood on the car, or really gave a shit to do so. It is pretty "office dirty" on the inside, papers all over the place, etc.
I think do have the drive to "have to have a certain car" but then once we have it just kind of goes downhill from there. I however to love cars, just not to the extent I used to, I'm really starting to concentrate on my other fav things like snowboarding or anything digital. Hopefully my Mazda can get me there with a little style. But even me, your not going to see my waxing my car to get reday to "cruise" it on a Satuday night.
Reply
Andrew 3:08PM (1/29/2006)
I think there is some truth to this: the "excitement" or irratinial exuberance of the 1960's is gone.
But I would not say the Americans simply think of cars as a way of going from point a to point b. As we become richer we've spent more and more on cars, often for non-essentials. 20's inch wheels, sport "utility" vehicles, and much higer paint quality.
One comment said that the Toyota Camry nas no soul. I disagree - I find basic, honest cars such as older Camries refreshing and actually think that they have real character. Just because you don't want to impress someone does not mean you don't have a soul - indeed, I think of putting 22" inch wheels on a car as losing your soul (and intelligence)
Reply