Is the car losing its shine? An analysis of European adolescents' imaginaries of the automobile

Recent scientific publications show an increase in the average age for obtaining a driving licence. This phenomenon would tend to suggest a certain disavowal of the car among young adults and teenagers. Basing on a survey of more than 8’000 teenagers in five European countries, the paper analyses the car perception among teenagers aged 14 to 17 years old. Knowledge of teenagers' perception of the car today makes it possible to consider future modal practices in adulthood. The results show that the most of European teenagers have a good perception of the car. Basing on adjectives associated to car by surveyed teenagers, analysis reveals that car perception is structured by several dimensions: functional, safety, environmental or aesthetic dimension. The paper discusses in particular the effects of the place of residence, age, gender on these dimensions.