I think we will stop having our own cars in the future. Instead we’ll summon a car to us like a driveless Uber. You’ll pay more for prestigious makes which are more luxurious inside. You’ll arrange cars for the trips you do regularly like work etc. Then that car will go off and service someone else’s trip. The average car today spends most of its time parked anyway.
Yeah I'd rather have a car in my driveway the second I need it than wait for one to drive up, plus I like having my own music and other settings pre-programed.
I think chad is right, at least urban settings. There is a general move to subscription based "velocity model" already. Since most people see driving and car ownership as a hassle but convenient, this would allow even more convenience (never need parking <great for those without garage access>, curb side pick up,etc.) and all you do is auto pay a monthly bill. Rising car prices and falling wages make the lower cost model a fan favorite too. Add that once most cars are self driving it will likely be more annoying to manually operate around them, and may even become unsafe. Finally maintenece. People already do a piss poor job holding to the minimal maintenance the factory specifies. Commonly overlooked items like worn suspensions, tires, or brakes could be even more serious in a self driving car, plus it will need periodic tests and adjustments of sensors and software to be kept safe. This is far in the future, many decades- but I do believe eventually most won't own cars but "rent"
Enjoy it while you can. As smog laws tighten and manufacturers continue to drop coverage for older vehicles, pre smog cars have already begun running up in value, and pre OBD2 cars are aging out. There's legislative and economic pressure to get old iron off the roads except wealthy pleasure vehicles, and finding newer cars without drive by wire systems (like cableless throttle, electronic power steering, TCS, etc.) is becoming rare as the market and regulations push them into even low end market new cars. Almost anything made after 2000 or so is theoretically vulnerable, and newer cars even more so. But yeah- they'll have to come take my keys themselves if they think HAL is driving me around. I've owned every car I've ever had, no payments, and every one has been a drivers car or at least had some passion behind it.
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