Re: the article: I think it said that acoustics sales were up in comparison to electrics. This tells me that there's a new market for guys who play for themselves. I've known 3 guys at different times in my life who seemed to have no desire to be in a band. I think there's a lot of guitar players like this. So, an acoustic should really be appealing to them because who needs an electric other than for amplification? If you're playing for yourself, what do you need to turn up the volume for?
Guitars will always be popular because they're so easy to carry around. And six strings to learn - not bad - not too many elements to master. Get to know the frets for each string and a couple of chords and presto - You're a Guitar God!
I've given up on my guitar fantasies. I will never learn to play it well. At this point in time, I'm thinking of donating them to a school. I only have five now but I've had more in the past. I think a lot of guitarists like to have multiple collections of guitars. Can you imagine a pianist having a dozen pianos? No, I can't but I can imagine a life long guitar player having a dozen guitars or more. They probably like the excitement of buying something new, too.