Financially-pressed young peo­ple are con­nect­ing online or by smart­phone instead of in per­son these days – pre­fer­ring 4G to V-6 or V-8. At stake is whether the recov­ery in vehi­cle sales is restrained by Gen Y’ers.

What does that mean for the auto sales outlook?

The rate of U.S. auto sales to 18-to-34-year-old buy­ers declined to 11 per­cent in April 2012, down from 17 per­cent for the same age group in April 2007, before the reces­sion, accord­ing to South­field, Michigan-based R.L. Polk & Co.