When I was a teen (given where I lived), the only way to go on dates or have any kind of social life whatsoever was to get your driver's license. Not only that, but the car was for people that age - or any, really - the ultimate consumer item. Having a Nice Expensive Car was a status symbol. Driving, and what you drove, mattered.
The car isn't going away any time soon, and there are other factors here - crappy economy, ratcheting up of age requirements for licenses - but at the very least I think it's fair to say that cars and driving aren't quite as important as they were.
