OT: Buying a new car – are ‘they’ for real?

[spdrun]

Prepaid phones exist.
So does airplane mode.
So does leaving the bloody thing at home.

Scroogle’s model of self-driving cars means you’ll have a limpet attached to your arse whenever you travel. No fucking thanks.

[FlyerInHi]

I select the stick shift whenever I can. And I think that not knowing how to drive stick is a handicap and incompetence.
But I like my Camry. It’s an uneventful car that just runs; and it’s a great car to shuttle people around like when I have guests. It’s not flashy so you drive incognito.

I understand people want excitement, but who said tansportation should be exciting? All the emotional idiots driving around are causing traffic jams. Google self drive would make everything so much more efficient so you can enjoy doing things other than driving.

[spdrun]

No. It will make for dumb entitled cattle wanting to commute 100 miles each way because they can play with their electronic fondleslab in the car. Congestion will return to the same levels rapidly with likely higher levels of energy use.

Not to mention that the only exercise a lot of Americans get is walking across the parking lot to their cars. Take that away by having a car pick them up at the door, and you get Wall-E nation.

Plus, it’s likely to destroy public rail transit. I like trains. I like being able to get up and walk around on a ~300 mile trip, and maybe have a nice random but interesting seatmate to talk to.

Isolating people even more by having them either be in a car, at work, at planned activities, or at home is great for social control. But it sucks for human interaction.

Maybe I’m not meant for this country.

[The-Shoveler]

Human interaction is over rated, Drones delivering groceries, Driver-less cars so we can focus on our devices or get much needed sleep, robots doing our chores, these are the future LOL.
Just kidding.
[img_assist|nid=25405|title=Dilbert on human interaction|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=100|height=31]

[FlyerInHi]

I don’t see why trains and automated cars/moving pods cannot coexist.
Trains/subways will never really work in USA outside of NYC.

Someone was telling me about how wonderful public transport is in Portland, OR.
Then I asked compared to where? Compared to Asia and Europe, Pottland doesn’t compare. So it’s all relative.

[all]

My big concern with autonomous vehicles is software. Based on my experience, if something can be abused it will be abused. Also, if something can be abused somebody will find a way to monetize it.

[spdrun]

See also:
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway

[outtamojo]

[quote=FlyerInHi]I’m a big fan of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Very competent affordable family cars. The Camry is just above $20k.

I’m a big fan of the Google self-driving car. Self-driving and car sharing seem like the future of the automobile.

For most people not owning a car (and the associated expenses) sounds like a better option.[/quote]

Bought a 2014 Accord Sport last year after my 530 got rear ended last year and they said it was going to take almost 4 months to repair. Am I the only one amazed at how good the basic family sedan has become or have I turned into one of those old fogy left lane dawdlers?

[Anonymous]

[quote=outtamojo]Am I the only one amazed at how good the basic family sedan has become …[/quote]

I agree. The mainstream sedans (Accords, Camrys, etc) haven’t really gone up in price much over the years, but the amount of car one gets is impressive.

[The-Shoveler]

What I would add to that is that it is very very difficult to find a base model, they DONT want to sell you a base model to the point of not stocking them.
especially with trucks.

You can get them in other countries but the dealers wont stock them usually in the USA.

[spdrun]

If you have the money, you can special-order. Go to different dealers till you find one willing to do so without violent means of persuasion.

This is one reason why direct sales should be allowed everywhere, and dealer parasites kicked to the curb. You should be able to order a custom car online and either have it trucked to your door or pick it up at a freight terminal.

Dealers should be relegated to test-drive centers and authorized mechanics.

[FlyerInHi]

Good luck with that, spdrun.
Dealers have strong lobbying groups at the state levels. Your state of NJ only recently allowed tesla direct sales. And only limited at that.

If you want direct sales, it’s going to be a state by state war of attrition — maybe more difficult than gay marriage.

[scaredyclassic]

I had good luck with a base model on http://www.truecar.com a few yearss ago..

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]See also:
http://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-highway
[/quote]

spd, you like to me make cost/benefit comparisons. How many people are killed per year based on human incompetence? Compare that to the potential number of deaths due to car hacking or tech failure?

I think self-driving cars would be better, safety wise.

[kev374]

cars have just become so expensive I just have no interest in buying a new one anymore. I drive a 12 year old truck that is working just great so no interest in spending some ridiculous sum of money on a new one.

[Author]

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