[/floatl]Asahi: Interest wanes in cars, once a must-have for young peopleThe dreams of a typical young man used to resemble a scene in a movie or a TV commercial. His gorgeous girlfriend (real or imaginary) would be sitting shotgun in his car, her long black hair flowing in the wind as he flashes a toothy smile and shifts gear along a seaside highway. Pedestrians and other motorists would stop and gape in awe at the man's girlfriend--and his wheels. Nowadays, the girlfriends may still be there, as are the romantic trips to the seashore. But the girlfriend's hair now is more likely to be blown by the air conditioning in a train. The car, once a must-have for young men, has lost its luster as a status symbol... The downward trend is well documented in government and industry statistics. According to a family budget survey by the internal affairs ministry, car purchases, gas fees and other vehicle-related expenses have dropped markedly among younger generations...A survey by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) also found that the ratio of those who do not own a car jumped from 21.3 percent in 2001 to 32.1 percent in 2005 among men in the first half of their 20s...Another survey last year shocked the auto industry because it showed that young people have lost interest in cars--and not just because of the costs...More than half of the respondents said cars were "simply a means of transportation," while only 6.7 percent said they were a "must-have" item for dating...more...
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