Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?

Drop in driving could be delayed reaction to gas prices—or not: Silver

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted May 6, 2009 4:58 PM CDT

(Newser) – Is the fact that Americans are driving less even after the cost of gas has come down a sign that US attitudes are changing, Nate Silver asks in Esquire—or is it just another example of how slowly they respond to changes in fuel prices? “The real test,” he writes, “will come as the summer unfolds and Americans have had time to get ‘used to’ lower gas prices.”

Silver also posits a different explanation: The continuing drop reflects the time it takes for fed-up motorists to make permanent changes towards a more car-free lifestyle. The ever-slowing sales of the Big Three automakers, despite huge buyer incentives, support this, as do demographic shifts toward more alternate transportation-friendly cities like Portland and Seattle.

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Traffic is stopped on the northbound lanes of Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, Calif., in this 2008 photo. (AP Photo)

"The exceptionally sluggish pace of new-vehicle sales," Silver writes, "might imply that Americans are considering making more-permanent adjustments to their lifestyles." (AP Photo)

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This is, historically speaking, highly unusual behavior. If there have been two seemingly immutable trends for the American consumer, they're that he's eaten more every year and driven more every year. - Nate Silver

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 4 comments

May 20, 2009 8:17 AM CDT

BS - Americans will always enjoy their cars and the freedom that comes with them. Horrible public transit almost forces us to keep our cars and there are no alternatives to get things done. The others make perfect points as that people are unemployed and cannot afford to drive around and spend money they used to have, hence the reductions.

riffran

May 7, 2009 4:20 AM CDT

naaaa...that would make too much sense...lol....it's got to be something else....:)

Reader62719514

May 7, 2009 3:31 AM CDT

I'm a die-hard hot-rod loving, car freak. Graduated high school in 1965 in California, and cars were everything for me and my motorhead friends. Now I'm 61, have owned a boat load (75+)of automobiles, old, new, sports cars, sedans, pickups, etc. But I feel my 'car jones' is waining. Can't put my finger on exactly why, but today's crowded highways, inconsiderate drivers, cookie-cutter styling of the new iron may all contribute to my fading fascination with cars. Of course golf may have something to do with it.

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Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?