Autonomous vehicles vs. 914, Your Driving In The Days Of The Wild Old West! Options

[Skydance]

Autonomous vehicles will render our old cars useless, and therefore worthless.

I don't think so.

Horse people talked about these same concerns ever since horses stopped being beasts of burden. Today, the recreational use of horses has increased the horse population to it's highest number in the past fifty years. Considering the cost of ownership, shrinking countryside, escalating environmental restriction, and many other issues we still have a high and healthy horse population.

Autonomous vehicles will hit us fast, an avalanche of them is on the way. Level four driverless cars will be taking the kids to school, circling back to take me to work, and then picking up the dog at the groomer. Driverless cars make good sense, and for many reasons. We all get the concept. After all the safe shuttling is done, I think a lot of properly wired guys and girls will feel like taking a good old car for a real drive. I don't think we'll see people lose desire for driving, in fact I think the opposite is likely.

Check the oil, enjoy your ride, your living in the days of the wild old west!

[JoeDees]

I don't think "running out of oil" is the issue within the next 50 years, but the question arises of "what is its pricepoint?" Will we still see it as viable if gas hits $10 a gallon? What about $15? $20? There's a book I read in college by Christopher Steiner called "$20 per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change our Lives for the Better." It's absurdly utopian in many ways, but thought provoking as to how change will be forced upon us.

I think we'll replace oil (not completely) out of a shortage and price hike, it'll still be in the ground and stuff, but geopolitical issues will halt its mass importation and our desires to buy it from certain sellers. That said, old cars will still be fun and able to drive, just more expensive. I doubt it would even hurt values all that much; afterall, who buys a classic for affordable driving? Maybe EV swaps will become more popular and DDs will adapt, but the classics will still be driving.