I have a 17-y-o nephew, who talks to me occasionally about wanting his license and a car; he readily takes the bus (school and public) for his 2-location schooling, and will go with me when I need to use public transit. I believe he just wants the independence to go when & where he pleases. He already knows he needs a J.O.B. to pay his way on that, but still 'secretly' expects the car to come first. Sorry, my dude, but you WILL be disappointed.
I remember when I was his age; already HAD the license, the car, the job to pay for it, and had started smoking already. It was simpler then. Get your license at 16 & 6 months, insurance wasn't required (or all that expensive, yes, I had it), and gas was $.50/gallon (leaded regular, LOL -- and as a reference, cigarettes were the same price per pack!). NOW, there are all sorts of hoops to jump through for kids. My daughter only talks about "maybe it'll come in handy to have" a license, but she'd rather pedal. (She's 14.)
The viewpoints represented in the article for younger folks isn't something I see a lot of here; this town is still too car-centric. Wish it would change.