Study * Sweden - Prove The Obvious: Commuting Is Bad For You

Money doesn’t buy happiness, but science has proven that commuting buys misery...

(Photo: A Traffic Jam)

Umea,Sweden -The Car Connection -1 June 2011:   --  This just in: the longer your daily commute, the less likely you are to be happy, healthy and even married for any length of time...  A new study by researchers at Umea University in Sweden proved that commuters who drive more than 45 minutes each way are 40 percent likelier to divorce than those with shorter commutes. The study failed to identify reasons for this, but those of us who’ve experienced commutes from hell know the reasons all too well: commuting leaves you drained, stressed and robbed of time to do things that matter, like exercise, interact with loved ones and even focus on life at home...  Long commutes are often the byproduct of real estate prices. Jobs are usually located in urban centers, and urban real estate is expensive; hence, for the price of a studio apartment downtown, you can often buy a three bedroom house in a distant suburb. For some, it’s about the quality of suburban or rural life versus urban life, where things like cars and motorcycles are liabilities and not assets. Surely there has to be a break-even point between commuting distance and income, right? ...  There’s a study on that as well, and its conclusion isn’t good news for those with long commutes. To justify an extra hour of commuting time, your salary would need to rise by 40 percent just to break even. Factor that in the next time you get a job offer that pushes the limit of what you’d consider a reasonable commute...

Carmakers' next problem * USA - Generation Y

People in their teens and twenties are more interested in gadgets than cars

Denver,COL,USA -Autos on MSNBC, by Allison Linn -4 Nov 2010:   ... At 25 years old, McVeigh lives in Denver and has two good jobs, as a research analyst and an adjunct professor of philosophy. What she doesn’t have — or want — is a car...   A confluence of events — environmental worries, a preference for gadgets over wheels and the yearslong economic doldrums — is pushing some teens and twentysomethings to opt out of what has traditionally been considered an American rite of passage: Owning a car... The percentage of new cars sold to 21- to 34-year-olds hit a high of nearly 38 percent in 1985 but stands at around 27 percent today, according to CNW research. Over that same period, the percentage of new car buyers who are 55 or older has generally been trending up, according to the vehicle research group... Brauer said one issue is economic: A combination of high unemployment among young people and economic troubles for their parents is making it harder for younger people to afford to drive... But there are also other, longer-term issues at work, he said... For one thing, many young consumers care more about new technologies, such as the latest phone, than about the latest car... Brauer said this generation also is thinking more than any other about the repercussions of driving, both in terms of the environment and our dependence on oil...    (Photo from Marc Piscotty - Natalie McVeigh, 25, of Denver, reads while she rides a bus on her way to work earlier this week)