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"   This month&amp;#039;s evocative cover shot of the , Evora and is our interpretation of rapid transit for the enthusiast. Whether it&amp;#039;s carving a mountain two-lane in the tidy Evora, basking in the open air while driving the Maserati along the coast or taking a spirited drive with three of your best friends in the Rapide, each of these cars in their own way embodies the passion and exhilaration to be found behind the wheel of a fine automobile.   It seems some watchers of the culture believe that the American love affair with the automobile may be nearing an end since young people are on average waiting longer to get their licenses and that many 20-somethings rely on mass transit rather than car ownership for their mobility. According to Advertising Age, the automobile &amp;quot;is becoming less relevant to a growing number of people under 30.&amp;quot; It says the shift reflects the ascendancy of the digital age and the decline of auto culture.   The article states that while in 1978 nearly half of 16-year-old and three-quarters of the 17-year-old population had licenses, only a third of the former and just under half of the latter today are licensed. And the share of miles driven by the 21 to 30 set has fallen to just 13.7 percent last year from 20.8 percent in 1995, even as this demographic has grown in numbers.   Ad Age, says William Draves, president of the Lern consulting group, believes the internet is responsible for this shift away from cars. He says greater use of digital media means that younger people have the option of working at home or when they do commute, prefer public transportation as a way to make this time more productive. While some may read this as a sign that the love affair with the automobile is on the wane, I believe just the opposite is happening.   What these youngsters are discovering is that most stop-and-go commuting is a chore. Given that cars and gasoline are a lot more expensive, insurance rates higher and graduated licensing programs the norm, there&amp;#039;s no wonder that youths are waiting longer to get their licenses and to buy that first car.   Telecommuting, better public transportation and increased urbanization are trends that will make car ownership less of a necessity. The flip side means that when someone does buy an automobile, it will be more for want than need. This in its own way liberates the automobile from its role as a workhorse and moves it back into the realm of being an object of desire.   In a way, history is repeating itself. We used to rely on horses for transportation and even though they were eventually replaced by automobiles, enthusiasm for riding them did not disappear. Not everyone owns a horse these days, but those who do are a pretty passionate lot. The growth of country club style tracks, like our partners at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, is just another sign of the equestrianization (if I can coin a word) of the automobile. While younger people may wait longer to get their licenses or buy that first car, I&amp;#039;m sure in the end they&amp;#039;ll be every bit as enthusiastic as I was 40 years ago as a freshly minted 16-year-old driver. Then as now, they&amp;#039;ll be behind the wheel because they want to be there, not because they have to. And that bodes well for those who make the kinds of cars that grace our cover. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a16068/our-kind-of-rapid-transit/>