The Matrix and the Millennial revolution.
It’s the social experience, stupid
Advanced infotainment systems. Stylish and fuel efficient compacts. Those two underlying trends will be key to the future of the auto industry, at least the portion driven by millennials and beyond, according to the latest conventional thinking.
Oh how funny is future shock especially the faster technology evolves. If only the future were so easily predictable. Then such boring predictions might actually come true, and life would be so much more simple.
According to Bottom Line automakers are putting ever more effort into millennials. That’s why GM showed off their new concepts: Code 130R and Tru 140S at the Detroit Auto Show — two cars I trashed after their debuts (see 140S + 130R = Tru Code for GM’s eAssist hybrid success?).
Don’t get me wrong. Both would be great cars if the future of the auto industry were to be driven by reborn baby boomers and Gen X’ers, but the millennial generation is the beginning of far more revolutionary consumer demands. Baby Camaros? Mild hybrid powertrains? Please. That’s just not what the kids want.
Unlike past generations, great design, especially ones that hearken back to the days of sub-$1.00 gasoline and Friday night cruising, won’t be the key to future automotive success.
Likewise, the kids will pay more for better long term fuel economy. Cheap gasoline is an oxymoron to this cohort of shoppers. Gasoline spikes are what these buyers are expecting, and that means the much greater fuel economy of full hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius C will trump the more stylish, but inferior fuel economy of, mild hybrids like the 140S.
Millennial ego simply isn’t driven by the the image a ride creates, it’s driven by social status updates. And you need to save as much money as possible on gas to own that latest smartphones and edition of Call of Duty.
Times have changed.
When guys like MotorTrend’s Angus McKenzie — whom recently called the 130R a “no brainer” — were kids, kids liked to work on cars, go to the mall, stop by their friends’ houses, maybe even play a game of pickup basketball. Therefore mobility — the car — was the key to a robust social life, and the bicycle before then. Mobility was desperately required back in the day of Angus.
For millennials, however, transportation isn’t even required to maintain proper social connections.
As Jim Gorzelany points out on Forbes today, there has been a huge decrease in issued drivers’ licenses in the millennial age segment compared to past generations. Maintaining a proper social image just doesn’t require transportation, and driving can even be an impediment to this social updates at the speed of light culture.
Driving as an impediment?
Sure, automakers can just add auto-drive to cars to overcome this obstacle — my pick for biggest automotive disruptive technology — but even that doesn’t fully quantify the extent of the revolutionary change upon us. It’s less miles traveled. Fewer car sales. Less overall need for cars.
Instead, think Matrix. Seriously.
As a kid I couldn’t stand being at home. The kids today, on the other hand, just need a comfy chair and a few portals onto the web, some snacks, and they’re good to go for hours, days, even weeks. Sure, eventually, the kids like to get out every now and then to actually connect to the real world and to see if other boys and girls are as cute as their profile pictures. But such real world experiences don’t drive their social requirements, and millennials need far fewer such experiences than previous generations.
Similarly, just head out to the beach, or hit you favorite hot spot in the real world, and watch how many are ignoring the real world in favor of the world taking place on their smartphone. And it’s only just beginning. 10 years ago such a world was mostly non-existent. Today it defines millennials, and think about those even younger. If you don’t have a smart phone by the time you’re twelve, you don’t exist.
Sure, the kids will still have to have to drive to jobs, maybe. The latest trend in marketing and advertising is technologies like Facebook. Do companies really need an office to Facebook? And, even if you still need to go to an office, wouldn’t it be far more productive — both socially and professionally — to Facebook along the way? Thus, would one really need to own a car? Could they just share? Whole new transportation models are today on the verge of reality, and the auto industry will never be the same.
Every generation is always a little more open-minded about certain topics than their parents, but every once in a while there is perfect synchronicity between this generational attitude change and technological capabilities. Such a convergence is unfolding today in terms of transportation and the human demand for social experiences.
The automobile as we know it is dead and dying fast thanks to the socially connected-motivated millennial revolution. If you’re beyond 30 and want to remain sane heading into the future, be prepared to embrace future shock because the world you’ve spent decades in will feel as though it were a millennium ago before you know it.
Good luck. May you live sane long.
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