Aftermarket Business World columnist Larry Silvey says connected cars can help ignite the interest of younger drivers in owning and operating vehicles in his column “The connected car’s future is now.”
A Federal Highway Administration study reports that the percentage of 14- to 34-year olds without a driver’s license rose 5 percent from 2000 to 2010. This decline started in the 1990s and is expected to continue.
Motor Trend says Generation Y is more interested in technology to connect with people than in vehicles and that generation favors spending money on electronic devices rather than personal vehicles.
Many younger people feel lost without their smart phones and disconnected without Wi-Fi. While in vehicles, they want to keep in touch with their social and work networks. An IHS Automotive study forecasts that the number of cars connected to the Internet worldwide will grow more than six fold to152 million by 2020.
These reasons may explain why automakers are investing billions in connected vehicles. The column lists the wireless connectivity initiatives of several original equipment manufacturers and what they offer, as well as the challenge of making sure that connectivity does not lose any functionality as vehicles age. Click here to read the entire column.
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