I really think the poster has missed one important difference between the baby boomer generation and their kids. The baby boomers have gone through a period of life where a car is absolutely necessity because they were raising families whereas to people under 30 a car is an increasingly 'nice-to-have' that affords personal freedom and social status both of which are becoming more questionable. The abovementioned 'period of necessity' changes your view on cars.

I'm almost 30 with a pregnant partner and I've watched my car usage steadily increase over the last 12 months as my life is changing. I used to be a bike-to-work, walk-to-buy-groceries sorta guy who spent a period only using zipcars, taxis and public transport at necessary times and loved it. I really wanted this life to continue but...

Throw having kids into the mix and all of a sudden you're visiting your own elderly parents a lot more, going to the hospital regularly, and I'll bet the car that as the kids are growing up they'll need ferrying to extra-curricular activities, friends places and driving holidays become much more economical. At first I tried to get by on a clunker but issues like your families safety come to the fore and I caved and bought a brand new car.

It's just impossible to live close to everything. You'll have such a diverse range of destinations and reasons to go to those places (a lot of times at short notice which makes zipcar unappealing) that even if you take public transport to work or walk/bike you'll still _depend_ on a car unless you live somewhere as dense as Hong Kong, Tokyo or Manhattan