John Eichberger |
September 2024
The title is not a metaphor – the car expedition series featuring Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond has aired it final episode. As the series fades away, it raises a lot of questions for me. Why did this dynamic trio survive hosting car shows for more than 20 years and why has it come to an end? There are a lot of reasons that have been discussed in interviews, many of them fully legit (e.g., aging hosts, limited new territories to visit, other endeavors, desire to quit on their own terms, etc.). But if you watch the final special, “One for the Road,” the hosts provide additional insights. On many occasions in the episode, they said that new vehicles just are not as interesting or fun as the ones they have been driving for the past two decades. Is this true?
Much has been written about the lost love of the automobile, the decline of car culture that really exploded in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. Some point to the fact that many kids seem to not aspire to get their driver’s license at 16 and rather than dream about the car they want to own they seem more focused on the newest tech product they might acquire. According to a Washington Post article in February 2023, in 2021 only 25% of 16 year olds and 42% of 17 year olds possessed a driver’s license compared with 43% and 62% in 1997, respectively. The article continued to point to potential causal factors for this drop in driving among teenagers, suggesting among these a fear of accidents, cost of insurance, concerns about the environment and access to transit and ride app. [Cost of housing has also been cited elsewhere as a factor.] The article also mentions that young people today can “get together” online and the need to go see someone in person has reduced the need to drive. I personally cannot relate to these feelings, getting my license was my number one priority as a teenager…but times change.
Perhaps all of this is true about younger people, but I wonder if what the television hosts said might also be true – are vehicles becoming boring? Are they becoming simply commodities to move people from point A to point B without personality or attention to style and form? Do they not inspire a desire to drive as they once did? They apparently no longer represent the access to freedom they once did, if we accept the premise that getting together “online” is as valuable as physical proximity.
The program Top Gear was rebooted in 2002 on the BBC and featured our three venerable hosts. Was the vehicle market of that era so different from what we have today? Well, according to sales data in the U.S., not really. Among the top 15 models sold in 2004 and in 2023, there is some variation but not significant. Pickups still dominate the top five models and crossovers have replaced the sedans that once occupied those positions, but other than some models dropping out (or being eliminated from production completely) and a couple new ones entering the ranks (most notably the Model Y and Model 3), the type of vehicles being sold today are relatively the same as those sold nearly 20 years ago. Maybe by 2004 the era of special vehicles had already faded…
That said, any gearhead will tell you that today’s vehicles, while they may be the same model, are not the same vehicle. They are dominated by computer-based controls and loaded with modern conveniences demanded by consumers. In essence, today’s vehicles are more like rolling computers than anything else. Drivers seem to be more concerned about staying connected while driving rather than viewing time behind the wheel as an opportunity to escape. If their phone is not integrated with the vehicle’s user interface and constantly connected to the internet, they cannot “enjoy” the drive. (This is just my own speculation based upon observations of drivers around me that struggle to stay in their lane or maintain a consistent speed or lift off the brake with the light turns green…ok, I am literally starting to curse as I write this!)
Watching “One for the Road,” I felt a connection with the hosts. They were talking about the sound of the engine, the feel of the road, the responsiveness of the steering wheel and the enjoyment they got from their vehicles carving across the landscape, providing them with access to immeasurable beauty. (I wrote about this love for driving in a 2020 blog, “When It’s Love,” which was also a tribute to Eddie Van Halen.)
Earlier this year, NACS and TEI joined with Bold Decisions and conducted a national survey of 1,200 Americans. In that survey, we learned that 62% of respondents were somewhat or very likely to take a road trip over the summer. Of those, 70% said that one reason for doing so was because road trips were fun and enjoyable. This leads me to think there remains some level of enjoyment associated with getting behind the wheel and exploring. (I also explored the nature of the road trip in a 2018 blog, “Where the Streets Have No Name.”)
Saying goodbye to Clarkson, May and Hammond may not be unlike saying goodbye to any other beloved television program, but it feels different. This was not a situation comedy or a crime drama with fictional characters, this was a celebration of vehicles and travel. We could share a passion, learn about that passion and see places we may never have the personal opportunity to visit. I believe what the hosts have said about their legitimate reasons for the shows conclusion, but I still wonder how influential to their decision was their personal narratives about the type of vehicles entering the market today. Could it be that the new vehicles we are welcoming onto the roads, which despite being superior in so many ways to those they are replacing, might in fact be contributing to the complacency of drivers?
I am enthusiastic about the improvements automakers have made to our vehicles, from efficiency and emissions to performance and convenience, but I do look back fondly on what once was. I drive a plug-in hybrid Jeep Wrangler when I am home, and I love it; but when I am visiting my family in California and staying by the beach, I drive an older, manual transmission two-door Wrangler with manual windows. I accept and can celebrate the future, but that doesn’t mean I am not going to hold on to something of the past. (Btw, my 10-year-old loves the manual cranks – such a novelty for her!)
The auto industry is working hard to comply with regulations while meeting new and evolving demands of drivers. Consumer age, spending habits, and level of disposable income are all considerations that appear to directly impact vehicle sales, in addition to desire and interest in available models. TEI follows these trends and tries to provide insights to help industry stakeholders better understand and satisfy the needs of the market.
