Rebel without a Car

Posted by Carol Coletta on October 12, 2009

Is the love affair between cars and young people starting to cool?

That could be the case, according to a new study of auto-related online commentary among teens and young adults by J.D. Power and Associates reported by the LA Times.

Between January and August, the market research firm analyzed hundreds of thousands of “conversations” on auto-related sites such as Autoblog, personal blogs and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

The goal was to gauge the perceptions of Generation Y toward the automotive industry.

The news for the auto industry was noT good.  Power concluded that "the negative perceptions of the automotive industry that teens and early careerists hold could have implications on future vehicle sales.”

The analysis confirms a new study by DHM out of the Portland metro area that showed 18-34 year-olds there strongly support support high density development and public transit infrastructure, necessitating fewer car trips.