Have you bought your last car?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45786690

I'm not buying it.  I'm still waiting for the flying cars we were guaranteed by 2000....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45786690

I'm not buying it.  I'm still waiting for the flying cars we were guaranteed by 2000....

I was beyond skeptical when I read that, too.  Even if they do sort autonomous car service out for major cities, I think it'll be a lot like other public transport... only for cities.  I don't see that working for me, out in my rural situation.  The wait time between request and a vehicle showing up would be ridiculous, so it could only work for planned journeys.  This claim that "there'll be a car waiting in every village" still doesn't address the problem of multiple users needing to go in opposite directions at the same time.  And in rural locations, it would lose the efficiency aspect, as it would be a bunch of bespoke trips.

I agree that the internal combustion engine could be on its way out, but personally-owned private vehicles will continue for some time yet.  Certainly longer than this article's predicted 20 years.

Jetpacks.
We were promised jetpacks !

Call me a pessimist but I just don't see this being embraced.  Maybe someday... but not in 20 years. 

Cars are not JUST a mode of transportation for many.  They are also a passion and to some, a status symbol.  People LOVE having their own car.  A place for their sunglasses and other things that "live" in the car.  No germs.  You have control over your destiny - literally.  I just don't see cars leaving our garages and driveways. 

I certainly think the technology of cars is changing (more so here than the USA), but I still think personal car ownership isn't going away.  100 years ago, people replaced owning a horse with owning a car.  But they still owned something.

Call me a pessimist but I just don't see this being embraced.  Maybe someday... but not in 20 years. 

I think this not happening is the optimistic viewpoint! 

Agree with everything else you said.  Cars are independence. It doesn't matter how quickly the flying car arrives at your door or how cheap it is, you're still reliant on outside factors. 

This will revolutionise accessibility for disabled people though. Shared vehicles will always have the same challenges for me so I'll probably always own one.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-company-says-it-is-sucking-carbon-from-air-making-fuel-1.4696817

I think that ^ is probably the much more likely direction on power source. Battery production is stupidly heavy in pollution - it’s just exported from cities to poor areas of China and other locations. That’s for sure not the answer. That carbon capture, shake it around with some hydrogen extracted from water, ready to run in existing cars/semis/trains/planes is a much better solution.

As far as autonomous driving. We’ll see. I have no doubt there’ll be a shared service like uber/cabs. But, as others said, the existence of uber/cabs doesn’t eliminate the personally owned vehicle. I think autonomous features are great, but it’s likely to be a mode like Tesla’s autopilot, rather than an exclusive way to operate the thing.


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just don't see cars leaving our garages and driveways. 

People park them on the pavements here.

People park them on the pavements here.

How do the people in wheelchairs get by?

How do the people in wheelchairs get by?

It is a problem.

People park them on the pavements here.

I feel like we should be allowed to slash their tires. 

I feel like we should be allowed to slash their tires. 

I feel like if nobody is looking... *

But that still won't let the person in a wheelchair pass. 

* I have never slashed a tire outside of GTA.  I've also never "keyed" a car, or even so much as put a rude note on a windscreen.  But, you know... in my fantasy life, I've done some really horrible things.

I feel like if nobody is looking... *

But that still won't let the person in a wheelchair pass. 

* I have never slashed a tire outside of GTA.  I've also never "keyed" a car, or even so much as put a rude note on a windscreen.  But, you know... in my fantasy life, I've done some really horrible things.

In my fantasy life, I carry chalk in my handbag and leave rude markings by the car.  But alas, no chalk in my bag....

In my fantasy life, I carry chalk in my handbag and leave rude markings by the car.  But alas, no chalk in my bag....

You should totally carry chalk in your handbag.  I can't stand chalk (I'm cringing right now), but if you can handle it, go for it. 

I have never slashed a tire outside of GTA. 

Skyrim. You start out pledging to be honourable, and pretty soon you are knifing nuns in the alley.