Bicycle Austin forum

MichaelBluejay

Webmaster

From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

Website

Fewer people believe that cars are a necessity

The Good News:  The number of Americans who believe that cars are a necessity (vs. a luxury) has dropped 3 percentage points since 2006!

The Bad News:  That still leaves 88% who believes that cars are a necessity.

http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/733/lux … valuations

tomwald

Moderator

From: 78722

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 290

Re: Fewer people believe that cars are a necessity

Thanks for the survey details.

I think the change in the number is more important than the raw number itself.  On any given day, I'm not sure how I would answer this question.  Even if my response is in the 85th percentile of respondents, that wouldn't mean that I would buy a car.  (I currently do not own a car, but do have access to one.)  Would it make sense for me to say that a car is a necessity but at the same time not own one or have access to one?

Keep in mind too that almost every other technology item dropped in perceived necessity too from 2006 to 2009.

deh

Member

Registered: 2008-08-19

Posts: 3

Re: Fewer people believe that cars are a necessity

TxDOT's interpretation: "Americans must have their cars."

http://www.keeptexasmoving.com/index.ph … heir_cars_