4 ms·

Another thing you could do is just not buy the damn things. As someone who cannot physically drive because I'm blind, the idea that you need a car is already su

by ctoth 3y ago

Another thing you could do is just not buy the damn things. As someone who cannot physically drive because I'm blind, the idea that you need a car is already suspect, but regardless, you certainly don't need a 2023+ car with "smart" features. Don't buy them, tell your families not to buy them, let them pile up, unpurchased, on dealer (what a silly idea a dealership is!) lots. You are still allowed to opt out. For now.

TheNewsIsHere 3y ago
I would agree that the dealership model for sales is ridiculous. When you need service from the same company that made your car, dealerships can be a life saver. (Not all of them, of course. YMMV.)
jcranmer 3y ago
Your ability to not need a car is highly dependent on where you choose to live. A coworker of mine got into a car accident a few days ago and has temporarily lost access to a car, and in the process discovered that getting from the house to the airport without a car was far less viable than they expected. (I say this as someone who is emphatically of the opinion that we should be less reliant on cars!)
- nullserver 3y ago
  Never mind when Covid hit all the buses in our area. Shut down through almost 2 years.
xivzgrev 3y ago
This only works if there are some popular automakers not in on it. If everyone goes that way then consumers are screwed. Then inevitably after 10-20 years there will be enough anger that congress will do something about it, but in the mean time the original execs all lived like fat cats and danced into the sunset. Yippee!
- etrautmann 3y ago
  it'll also increase demand for used cars without these features.
  - ddingus 3y ago
    Yup. I am already in the used market for the long haul. I find many new features detract from the overall vehicle value. For now, there are a lot of used cars and my plan is to get good ones and drive them.
  - ddingus 3y ago
    And there will be increased demand for hacking the cars too. I can't wait! The auto makers will deserve everything they get for going down this road.
etrautmann 3y ago
exactly this. Start building resistance to these anti-patterns early and often. Reviews need to call this out. More broadly, business models should only rely on recurring revenue streams for products that are receiving nontrivial updates or for which there are demand-based costs. Presumably where this gets murky is with AI features, where inference costs are high and one-time fees aren't sufficient or appropriate.
Justsignedup 3y ago
The united states is designed to be driven. It was very intentional. In NYC, depending on where you live you don't need a car, but once you get to the outskirts of the boroughs (like outer queens, outer brooklyn, any of staten island that isn't right by the ferry, upper bronx) you basically drive or getting anywhere to anywhere can take hours. And NYC is the best in the country regarding not needing a car. Many places "going to the corner store" is a 20 minute drive. I still remember going up to long island to visit a friend, and we wanted to eat. The absolutely closest place to get food was a 45 minute walk each direction.
- pulse7 3y ago
  Because building code is US don't allow mixed living/business areas - so you CAN NOT FIND business near the place you are living and YOU MUST HAVE A CAR...
  - tzs 3y ago
    (I assume you meant "zoning", not "building code". Zoning is what says what kind of building you can make, such as business or residential. Building codes cover things like electrical service and safety, plumbing requirements, what building material you can use, and stuff like that) Around 92% of US households have a car. Comparing to Europe Italy is around 89%, Germany 85%, France 83$, Spain 79%, and UK 74%. Unless those countries are also restricting mixed living/business areas they suggest that there is some other more general factor that drives (no pun intended) people to car ownership. US zoning might explain why US car ownership is higher than in Europe but seems unlikely to explain more than maybe 20% of US car ownership.
    - Terretta 3y ago
      Run the stats again, this time on 2 cars. And 25% in US have 3 or more. Montana has 2.4 vehicles per licensed driver.
- usefulcat 3y ago
  That's all fine; none of it precludes voting with your wallet by e.g. buying an older car. It's not necessary for literally everyone to do this for it to have a noticeable impact on auto makers.
tonyedgecombe 3y ago
I was reading an article about car prices in the UK over the last 50 years. It seems the median car price has increased inline with earnings. This is twice the rate of inflation. It seems car manufacturers have done a really good job on us. >You are still allowed to opt out. >For now. Opting out of consumerism is probably the most subversive thing most people can do.
m463 3y ago
and don't buy a smartphone. or a smart tv.

by ctoth 3y ago

TheNewsIsHere 3y ago

I would agree that the dealership model for sales is ridiculous. When you need service from the same company that made your car, dealerships can be a life saver. (Not all of them, of course. YMMV.)

jcranmer 3y ago

Your ability to not need a car is highly dependent on where you choose to live. A coworker of mine got into a car accident a few days ago and has temporarily lost access to a car, and in the process discovered that getting from the house to the airport without a car was far less viable than they expected. (I say this as someone who is emphatically of the opinion that we should be less reliant on cars!)

nullserver 3y ago
Never mind when Covid hit all the buses in our area. Shut down through almost 2 years.

xivzgrev 3y ago

This only works if there are some popular automakers not in on it. If everyone goes that way then consumers are screwed. Then inevitably after 10-20 years there will be enough anger that congress will do something about it, but in the mean time the original execs all lived like fat cats and danced into the sunset. Yippee!

etrautmann 3y ago
it'll also increase demand for used cars without these features.
- ddingus 3y ago
  Yup. I am already in the used market for the long haul. I find many new features detract from the overall vehicle value. For now, there are a lot of used cars and my plan is to get good ones and drive them.
- ddingus 3y ago
  And there will be increased demand for hacking the cars too. I can't wait! The auto makers will deserve everything they get for going down this road.

etrautmann 3y ago

exactly this. Start building resistance to these anti-patterns early and often. Reviews need to call this out. More broadly, business models should only rely on recurring revenue streams for products that are receiving nontrivial updates or for which there are demand-based costs. Presumably where this gets murky is with AI features, where inference costs are high and one-time fees aren't sufficient or appropriate.

Justsignedup 3y ago

The united states is designed to be driven. It was very intentional. In NYC, depending on where you live you don't need a car, but once you get to the outskirts of the boroughs (like outer queens, outer brooklyn, any of staten island that isn't right by the ferry, upper bronx) you basically drive or getting anywhere to anywhere can take hours. And NYC is the best in the country regarding not needing a car. Many places "going to the corner store" is a 20 minute drive. I still remember going up to long island to visit a friend, and we wanted to eat. The absolutely closest place to get food was a 45 minute walk each direction.

pulse7 3y ago
Because building code is US don't allow mixed living/business areas - so you CAN NOT FIND business near the place you are living and YOU MUST HAVE A CAR...
- tzs 3y ago
  (I assume you meant "zoning", not "building code". Zoning is what says what kind of building you can make, such as business or residential. Building codes cover things like electrical service and safety, plumbing requirements, what building material you can use, and stuff like that) Around 92% of US households have a car. Comparing to Europe Italy is around 89%, Germany 85%, France 83$, Spain 79%, and UK 74%. Unless those countries are also restricting mixed living/business areas they suggest that there is some other more general factor that drives (no pun intended) people to car ownership. US zoning might explain why US car ownership is higher than in Europe but seems unlikely to explain more than maybe 20% of US car ownership.
  - Terretta 3y ago
    Run the stats again, this time on 2 cars. And 25% in US have 3 or more. Montana has 2.4 vehicles per licensed driver.
usefulcat 3y ago
That's all fine; none of it precludes voting with your wallet by e.g. buying an older car. It's not necessary for literally everyone to do this for it to have a noticeable impact on auto makers.

tonyedgecombe 3y ago

I was reading an article about car prices in the UK over the last 50 years. It seems the median car price has increased inline with earnings. This is twice the rate of inflation. It seems car manufacturers have done a really good job on us. >You are still allowed to opt out. >For now. Opting out of consumerism is probably the most subversive thing most people can do.

m463 3y ago

and don't buy a smartphone. or a smart tv.