America’s Love Affair with Automobiles Declining

Researchers noted that driving in the United States is on a downhill trend. Apparently, many Americans have lost the interest to own a car or to drive one – America’s love affair with automobiles is declining. The interesting results were revealed by economists Don Pickrell and David Pace who are both affiliated with the Transportation Department. There is still a lot of speculation about America’s lukewarm relationship with driving but many people believe it is just temporary.

American prominence in the car industry

Since the dawn of the automobile industry, the United States is known to be one of the most competitive countries first and foremost in terms of mass producing vehicles. The US is also known for having a population wherein the majority of the citizens owns a car. Not everyone can afford a brand new car but somehow almost everyone who can drive has his or her own vehicle to use. Used or repossessed cars suffice for those who can’t afford a new one.

They started driving less

In the past decades the use of vehicles in the United States rose consistently. Statistics showed that vehicle usage reached its peak in August 2007. When the Great Recession hit, the acquisition of vehicles in the US simply leveled and driving became less popular to Americans. Car usage and driving also stayed at status quo even though the population was increasing. This remained the case even though the shadow of the recession was fading and the economy was getting better. Just recently, an accurate report was filed by the Federal Highway Administration. The report explicitly showed the steady downfall in the vehicle miles traveled in the country in the first quarter of 2013.

Pickrell and Pace said that driving levels was an indication of economic growth until the mid-90s. If economic growth is directly related to automobile use, parallelism could not be obtained at this time. The economy has gotten better since the recession while automobile use remained stagnant.

Reasons behind the decline

A few reasons were pointed out that greatly affected the automobile industry in terms of sales and usage. One of the most dominant reasons why the masses prefer not to use their cars is the heavy traffic congestion, not to mention the insufficient parking space particularly in American cities. Public transport has also become more popular since it is designed to give the public a more convenient way to travel. Another reason why many prefer to leave their cars at home and use public transportation instead is the steady increase in the cost of gas. The usual mileage a driver can get with one liter of gasoline has declined much in recent years. People don’t believe it’s worth the effort and expense anymore.

Owning a car

Owning a car nowadays is also becoming less of a priority for Americans. Families, especially those who do not have sufficient funds to support their loved ones would rather save money or use it to buy basic necessities rather than buying a car or getting one in installment. Owning a car in 21st century America is also becoming less important to teenagers. Back in the day, a teenager’s acquisition of a driver’s license implied his or her entry into adulthood. It seems that this is not the trend amongst teenagers anymore.

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