If You’re Anything Like Me
You’re going to be surprised what’s ahead for us in the category of transportation. Now is not the time to be in the “standard” automobile industry my friend. With what I see coming for this industry only the strongest will survive in the United States, not sure about Europe. You can wave car selling, car owning, and car making good-bye! You might be saying something like “Wait, what(?) Get the flying f..k outta here with that stuff you’re talking”. I know, I was thinking the same thing until I looked into it a little further. Here’s where my opinion rests at the end of the day –

Destination Please?
Where is this new push into driverless cars going? Let me begin with “if you’re reading this chances are very good that your great grandchildren will never own a car, ever!” They may even find the idea of it “crazy” as there will be no need. See automobiles have evolved over a very long period of time [still evolving] from the beginning as a status symbol to now more of a “utility” use asset. Just a thing we have to have because it’s much faster than a bicycle or walking to a destination and carrying all our stuff, that pretty much sums it up. Trucks and cars can look pretty or look mean and ugly but all they are really good for is to get us from Point A to Point B on time and safe mostly. That’s it! [There’s absolutely nothing worse than an automobile that doesn’t run, maybe you can try living in it but that won’t last long.] In the not-too-distant future pedestrians will find more and more reasons not to own an automobile. Here I present just some of those [very good] reasons: traffic congestion, car notes, insufficient parking, cost of auto insurance, personal liability, driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, violation tickets, licensing/registration, cost of fuel, the time required to charge a battery, replacing tires, brakes, and other repairs. Why bother with all this when you don’t have to right? I say ya’ bloody well right!

Just Dial Up a Driverless Car!
Every time you need one there’ll be one at your disposal in the future for in-town and/or out-of-town, it matters not. Driver(?) No driver(?) Still doesn’t matter. “Waymo” cheaper than owning an automobile plus no more headaches! Once we get there in our minds now we have to wonder what’s going to happen to traditional auto manufacturing and auto sells in this country if and when this transition takes place? The answer is the auto industry could become unrecognizable from where it stands today. No more pushy car salesman, however, I do see a need for fleet sales for driverless cars & trucks but that’s about it. People living in very large cities such as New York and Chicago are already living this lifestyle for the most part as many, if not most, do not own automobiles. This trend has been going on for years and rather than build new parking garages transportation services like Uber and Lyft have found tremendous markets for ride takers. I don’t know about you but I can see this trend for autonomous vehicles expanding out across the country to other large cities and eventually even smaller ones as the costs and headaches associated with owning an automobile are just not worth the hassle anymore and I say amen to that!

But Questions Still Remain
Questions as to who is liable in cases of an accident or injury and whether your chosen area to live will be serviced by ample driverless cars? These are all legitimate questions for which answers will be found [one day]. That was my first thought, why would a corporation behind driverless cars & trucks want to assume this amount of liability for passenger injury, software debacles, the value of hauled freight, etc.? There are questions without answers at this time but it’s important to recognize that this movement is still in its infancy; still, it’s a speeding train coming to a town near you, and that part you can take to the bank. According to my Son Google’s autonomous automobile [operating under the Waymo name] is being tested in markets where high pedestrian traffic is concentrated inside medium to large cities. At this writing, Waymo is offering passengers quick access to venues probably within only a 10 mile radius? But you and I know where they want this to go eventually. Meanwhile, Kodiak Robotics is one of several companies producing autonomous trucks for long hauls, and other truck makers are joining in on this new movement. Corporations like WalMart plan to use more and more autonomous trucks to get goods to their strategic locations.

The Prospects of Owning an Automobile Going Forward?
I’ve come full circle on this idea of owning a car. I mean if I can dial up a vehicle within seconds and have it arrive at my location without a raghead sitting in there driving slowly to my location to enlarge his fare I think I’m good? For me personally, I’ve moved from “no way, got to have my own transportation!” to “maybe I don’t need my own transportation anymore?” I mean I’m open, I especially like the idea of no car insurance, no huge maintenance costs for driving around in a BMW, and no liability for what may happen on a roadway.

Here’s a brief on how I think of transportation in these United States: If you were alive before 1910, you got around on horseback or horse carriage. Not too long afterward the advent of the automobile destroyed the horse carriage industry and made livery stables go virtually extinct. Now remember more recently how Uber and Lyft succeeded in destroying the taxi industry in the U.S.? Watch now and witness how autonomous vehicles are well on their way to destroying the automobile industry [as we know it today]. Not that we won’t need vehicles for transportation because we will. However, we will possess less and less desire to own them going forward, that’s all I’m saying, and that’s my prediction here.

Pictured: My Son Blaise and I went to dinner in Austin last month, he surprised me by ordering up a Waymo driverless vehicle to take us to a Korean Barbecue place he discovered, when he snapped these photos. I was impressed by how this vehicle handled the ride from climb in to climb out, overall a seamless travel experience with no driver involved.
P.S. please pardon my rally beard!…