Yeah when we were kids, it was absolutely expected that you'd skip school the morning of your 16th birthday, take your driver test, and have your license. It was a rite of passage.
If you were fortunate or extremely hard-working, you might also have a car of your own, but if nothing else, you at least had the capability to borrow a parent's car on evenings/weekends when they weren't using it. The point being, that license and that car represented freedom-- the teenaged American dream.
Modern kids really don't have that same motivation. I guess they're able to keep up with their friends well enough through facetime, texting, snapchat, and social media, that they don't feel the need to share physical space with their friends. Which is something I view to be unhealthy-- people need time outdoors, time away from home, time shared physically in the presence of other people. It forms stronger, healthier, more mature bonds.
Luckily for me, my 16yo daughter is completely the opposite. She approached it just like we did back in the day. She figured out what drivers ed class she wanted, she figured out the cheapest way to do it, she made sure we got her signed up for the class and made sure I made the appointment with the DMV so that by her 15th birthday she could get her learner's permit. Then she made sure she finished her online class and driving hours with me, as well as made the appointment with the DMV for her driver's test, so that she could have her license exactly on her 16th birthday. She was MOTIVATED and now she's looking for a summer job, which will be easy for her to attend, since she has her license and a car.