Faster, Smarter, Greener: The Future of the Car and Urban Mobility (The MIT Press)

by Venkat Sumantran

At the same time, driving went from being a source of fun to a chore during which the driver’s attention had to be focused on mundane duties, often for a large fraction of a commuter’s free time. To many, this was valuable time robbed from more productive uses or entertaining engagements with a smartphone. Familiarity with the automobile had eroded its novelty. When every household could have a car, a certain dilution of the aspirational motive to car ownership set in. According to Michael Sivak, a researcher at the University of Michigan, “Young adults of this generation appear less enamored by the automobile than their parent’s generation”—this may be a consequence of the fact that car ownership had become commonplace, and hence the car has waned in its image as a prime possession that was a top priority to their parents.14