It should be okay to rethink cars in our society now.

[Carbon882]

For a while cars were helping our economy because no one else had them, they looked cool and there was a big culture around them.

Now they are a economic burden. Everyone has to buy a used 2006 ugmobile and no one can get anywhere.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Carbon882

[Michael Hardner]

What?  When did no one have cars - you mean 100 years ago?

Do you have an alternative?

[scribblet]

Wait...  I'll go buy a bike for seniors and bike 6 km for a loaf of bread. 

[Rue]

1 hour ago, scribblet said:

Wait...  I'll go buy a bike for seniors and bike 6 km for a loaf of bread. 

You can get a small electric battery or even a gas engine put on your bike to help with the hills. May not be a bad idea depending on how far you have to go.

To be serious, we are headed the way of very small, driverless, computerized vehicles people rent by the hour at pick up stations. I would predict computer giants will get in on that. Its the wave of the future in inner cities where its already being tested.

In say the next 100 years if we don't kill ourselves mass transit is going to switch over to solar, electric and hydrogen and  make inner city travel faster and easier and it less necessary to fly.

You know I still like horses and dog sleds. Horses do give a shit but not as much a spoliticians.

[OftenWrong]

21 hours ago, Rue said:

To be serious, we are headed the way of very small, driverless, computerized vehicles people rent by the hour at pick up stations. I would predict computer giants will get in on that. Its the wave of the future in inner cities where its already being tested. In say the next 100 years if we don't kill ourselves mass transit is going to switch over to solar, electric and hydrogen and  make inner city travel faster and easier and it less necessary to fly.

Kumbaya...

[AngusThermopyle]

These guys rethought cars, in a big way.

 

[Guest]

Cars aren't going away but drivers are and that is an incredible disruption. Almost 3% of the North American population are employed as drivers. Most of us own cars and soon will not have to. It is time we get serious about that tax the robot talk. 

[-TSS-]

Electric cars wont be an alternative for some time in sparsely populated countries of vast distances. 

[eyeball]

On 2/22/2019 at 6:59 PM, Slick said:

Cars aren't going away but drivers are and that is an incredible disruption. Almost 3% of the North American population are employed as drivers. Most of us own cars and soon will not have to. It is time we get serious about that tax the robot talk. 

I'm afraid if we don't or can't chill out about the deep moral imperative to earn our keep that hangs over our heads like an axe, that the robots will be programmed to render the unemployed down into lubricants for their assembly line.

[GostHacked]

On 3/8/2019 at 3:55 AM, -TSS- said:

Electric cars wont be an alternative for some time in sparsely populated countries of vast distances. 

Electric vehicles will be good for about 80% of daily activities needing a vehicle. And yes that means city/suburbs dwellers mainly. Gas vehicles will still be needed for many things.

[eyeball]

It'll be fun rolling into the city with an old fossil fuel vehicle - they'll be throwing rocks at us.  Society really hates its pariahs with a zeal these days.

[Guest]

On 3/8/2019 at 10:07 PM, eyeball said:

I'm afraid if we don't or can't chill out about the deep moral imperative to earn our keep that hangs over our heads like an axe, that the robots will be programmed to render the unemployed down into lubricants for their assembly line.

or maybe soylent green.

On 3/10/2019 at 11:04 PM, eyeball said:

It'll be fun rolling into the city with an old fossil fuel vehicle - they'll be throwing rocks at us.  Society really hates its pariahs with a zeal these days.

Horse and wagons mixed with cars for a long time. Vehicles that require gas and a driver will just become a little more quaint and nostalgic every year. My grand kids may be amazed that I had to bravely pilot a two tonne machine down the highway surrounded by other error prone humans doing the same thing. 

On 3/10/2019 at 1:21 PM, GostHacked said:

Electric vehicles will be good for about 80% of daily activities needing a vehicle. And yes that means city/suburbs dwellers mainly. Gas vehicles will still be needed for many things.

Tesla V3 superchargers currently charge at a rate of 1,000 miles or 1,600 km per hour and the speed is only going to get better. The ability to add 400 km of range in 15 min or less makes me think that 80% is low.

[eyeball]

3 hours ago, Slick said:

Horse and wagons mixed with cars for a long time. Vehicles that require gas and a driver will just become a little more quaint and nostalgic every year. My grand kids may be amazed that I had to bravely pilot a two tonne machine down the highway surrounded by other error prone humans doing the same thing.

My grand-kids are amazed when I pile them all in the back of my pick-up and brazenly drive them up and down the road. It's a dirt road in out the boonies so, not like screaming down the 401 un-belted in a Ford Crumple when we were grandkids.  Young people today nearly faint when we reminisce over racing up and down Long Beach with a cold beer in hand.  Occasionally the odd car that was lost to the surf still pops up thru the sand like old sunken ships on Sable Island.

[Zeitgeist]

Question: Are driverless vehicles an attack on our freedom and autonomy?

[eyeball]

23 hours ago, Zeitgeist said:

Question: Are driverless vehicles an attack on our freedom and autonomy?

They'll certainly be cast as such - you will have to pry the dead cold fingers of freedom alarmists from their steering wheels too.

[Zeitgeist]

1 hour ago, eyeball said:

They'll certainly be cast as such - you will have to pry the dead cold fingers of freedom alarmists from their steering wheels too.

I think those may be my cold dead hands.  Not sure I’ll ever want to trust my family’s safety to a machine, nor would I like having my speed regulated.  I’ve never been able to relax with cruise control on, but this goes much further.  I suppose as long as I can switch it off and operate it manually...

[eyeball]

21 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

Not sure I’ll ever want to trust my family’s safety to a machine, nor would I like having my speed regulated.  I’ve never been able to relax with cruise control on, but this goes much further.  I suppose as long as I can switch it off and operate it manually...

I suspect the most dangerous thing on a computerized road would be a panicky individual who suddenly decides to exit the program and go autonomous. I think it will have to be all or nothing when we make the switch from hands-on vs hands-on driving myself.

I'd like to have the autonomy to crack a cold beer on the drive home in a Google auto-car myself. A Google auto-drone would be even more cool.

Thankfully I'll be mostly commuting by rowboat this year so... I doubt anyone is going to be overly concerned if I have the odd cold beer from time to time. The guy bearing down on me at 30 knots is a different story. I figure I can throw my beer at him at the last second.