The Ask:
Find Out What The Current Car Culture Is
Background:
For years teenagers were eager to get their license and hit the road. Having a license was more than access to independence it was a rite of passage. However, over the years there has been a steady decline in the number of licenses being obtained as well as decreased interest in getting a license. Our team was briefed on what getting your license and having a car used to mean and tasked with understanding what it means now.
What We Wanted to Know:
1. Why teens aren’t as interested in having a license or getting a car as they used to be.
2. What the new rite of passage is.
3. What cultural shifts are causing all these changes.
4. How they could impact a brand like Ford.
2. What the new rite of passage is.
3. What cultural shifts are causing all these changes.
4. How they could impact a brand like Ford.
Where We Looked:
- Surveyed undergraduate students at VCU
- Interviewed used car salesmen
- Read Reddit threads / public forums
- Reviewed news, academic, and government articles
- Spoke to parents we knew and their teens
- Listened to Spotify ‘driving’ playlists
- Watched old My Super Sweet Sixteen Episodes
- Compared classic car scenes in older and modern movies
Today cars still have an appeal to teenagers and young drivers. To others, it provides a sense of anxiety and overwhelming responsibility. Whether they drive to practice or get a ride, many teens’ lives still revolve around cars. While cars may no longer be the star of the show, they still play a role in this coming-of-age saga. These are some of our highlighted findings.
Cultural Shift:
Safety First
Impact:
Safety isn’t just cool now, it’s a requirement
Pimp My Safety
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While interior design and added features still matter, safety features are becoming more of a must-have. Frequent features mentioned included:
- Lane assist
- Rear-view cameras
- Blind spot alert
Teens Checked Out While Parents Check Out
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Car lots have noticed teens becoming less excited about getting a car. If they even come, they are usually checked out in the first few minutes and let their parents handle the rest. Their main wants are around safety, not things like sound systems or seat warmers.
Old Cars Can’t Learn New Tricks
- Getting an old beat-up car used to be the norm for young drivers, now it’s more of a concern. Selling older cars can be difficult since they lack the updated safety features kids and parents want.
What this could mean for Ford:
Knowing teens are already on edge with concerns around driving, Ford can focus on highlighting the safety features their vehicles offer in more casual ways. The common car commercial showing how a car survived a crash might not be how a teen wants to know they’re safe. A simple demonstration of blind spot alert in a realistic setting might be more effective for Ford’s brand image in their minds and considerations. Crashes are real, but not more common than someone riding in your blind spot.
Temporarily, Ford can take advantage of the current used car market. If the price of used cars stays high, it could be easier to push buying a new car since they offer all the updated safety features parents and teens want without spending that much more.
Cultural Shift:
Societal Movements and Advancements
. 
Impact:
More Rites of Passage
Voting
- Interest in voting was a common rite of passage mentioned by people we spoke to. Political discourse over the past few years has become a part of daily life for many people, including their kids.
Increase in Educational Goals
- Many teens we talked to mentioned that graduating high school and college was a huge goal of theirs. However, while interest in obtaining a college degree is high, so is the cost. More research led us to understand that applications and admissions are high but the completion rate has stalled over the past few years, leading us to believe that goals are becoming more career-focused than degree-focused. In turn, considerations for other degrees and programs, such as trade schools are on the rise.
Entrepreneurship Goals
- The idea of owning a small business or “working for myself” is a common aspiration among teens and young adults today. It seems that being able to drive is just a part of independence while working for yourself is seen as a major sign of independence.
What this could mean for Ford:
As a brand, Ford knows what it’s like to want a better life for yourself and how to build it from whatever you have. Because of this, they are not often associated with a corporate-like lifestyle. This is beneficial for the brand in communicating and connecting with younger drivers looking to jump-start their careers, specifically with routes like trade programs, rather than a 4-year college. Even if driving isn’t the main rite of passage anymore, it could be a right-of-way for furthering young careers.
Cultural Shift:
Schools Cut Classes Due to Costs & Rising Academic Standards
Impact:
More Barriers to Entry
Pay to Drive
- Many teens already struggle to have access to a family car, a driving mentor, or time to get their required hours. Due to schools cutting driver education classes, teens now have to seek out a third party and pay even more to get their license.
Auto Shop Revival
- In the early 2010s, many schools cut shop classes from their curriculum due to the push for other academic expectations. In recent years many schools have been re-introducing classes like auto shop into their curriculum offerings. Having these types of classes cuts down on drop-out rates and keep many students interested in other subjects that correlate with auto shop, like math and science. Schools are having difficulty in finding teachers for these classes.
What this could mean for Ford:
Intelligence is often measured and celebrated in very traditional, academic ways. Previously, many teens interested in cars and mechanical subjects were seen as not reaching academic standards, but now are being encouraged to follow these pursuits. Ford is known for being a leader in innovation for cars and other mechanical advancements. The stage is set for Ford to remind us of the role they played in building what we know today and advocate for the importance these skills still hold. Recognizing and celebrating teens, young adults, and mechanical veterans, with these skills and interests, through brand messaging, activations, or involvement in schools could be very ownable for a brand that set the precedent. The interest is there, as we saw with the popularity of Ford’s Bronco Series featuring Sydney Sweeney.
Cultural Shift:
Lack of 3rd Spaces
Impact:
Nowhere To Go
Homebodies
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Many teens are staying in touch with friends via Facetime and even video games. If kids go somewhere it’s more than likely someone’s house, which could be within walking or biking distance. There is a decrease in spaces for teens to call their own or feel welcome in.
Parking Lot Party
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In contrast, more rural areas have an answer to “where should we go?” These teens see parking lots of gas stations, fast food places, and grocery stores, as common gathering areas. It’s a place that needs no plan and no invitation, just a car.
What This Could Mean for Ford:
It was mentioned in the brief that cars used to be a private place for teens to be teens which they are no longer utilizing. This is a chance to remind young drivers of the escape, and “3rd space” that cars can create, even if they’re ‘in park’. Ford could take inspiration from the rural tailgates with the idea that you don’t need a lot of money, or anywhere to go to create moments and memories with friends.
Cultural Shift:
Trucks Rising as Family Cars
Impact:
Trucks Offer Opportunity
Truck Family
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We noticed that many teens were interested in trucks, whether they felt like they needed them or not. Through some more research, we also noticed an increase in talk about trucks becoming the new family car, which could be trickling down to younger generations.
Trucks as Tools
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Teens like bigger cars because they feel safer and more in control. They focus on the opportunity and options a truck, or bigger car can provide, rather than a particular need for a truck. The idea that they don’t need a truck specifically to help with yard work but if they had a truck they could use it for yard work.
What This Could Mean For Ford:
Being known for their trucks, Ford can benefit from “casual” truck interests outside of farming and industrial needs. Having a truck whether you need one or not, is already common in many areas but it’s expanding into even more scenerios. The main difference is that trucks are being seen more as a tool rather than a rural badge of honor in these types of areas. Ford already knows the growing role women play in truck purchasing so they can go even further to communicate to the different types of people that buy trucks beyond the traditional “rugged” character. Knowing people aren’t always interested in trucks for their traditional uses, Ford can expand on what being “Ford Tough” means and how that looks in various forms.
How we got here:
As a team, we collaborated constantly with new research findings and ideas. I focused on research around truck culture and the growing interest in trucks, as well as, driving education, higher education, and trade school interests. I interviewed car salesmen and read articles and forums about teens avoiding their licenses. I researched previous generations and their cultural shifts and compared them to today. I watched MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen Episodes to see how teens spoke about cars in the early 2000s. Finally, I observed playlists on Spotify that mentioned “driving” in the title to see if there were any common or popular themes. Once we had all of our information I researched Ford as a brand to better understand their beginnings and current standing.
As a team, we collaborated constantly with new research findings and ideas. I focused on research around truck culture and the growing interest in trucks, as well as, driving education, higher education, and trade school interests. I interviewed car salesmen and read articles and forums about teens avoiding their licenses. I researched previous generations and their cultural shifts and compared them to today. I watched MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen Episodes to see how teens spoke about cars in the early 2000s. Finally, I observed playlists on Spotify that mentioned “driving” in the title to see if there were any common or popular themes. Once we had all of our information I researched Ford as a brand to better understand their beginnings and current standing.
Team:
Kate Coleman (ST)
Shaunda Lambert-Gary (ST)
Zach Ackerman (ST)
Abi Diallo (ST)
Anna Foster (ST)
Kate Coleman (ST)
Shaunda Lambert-Gary (ST)
Zach Ackerman (ST)
Abi Diallo (ST)
Anna Foster (ST)
