PowerSwitch

Will you miss the car?

Pros of the automobile- gives freedom, is delightful to be in compared to public transport, its your own little space etc

Cons of the automobile- pollouting, causes traffic, causes urbanisation, causes death, destroys communities etc.

Not untill it's gone, which won't be for the next thirty years, more's the pity.

Your pros are all personal and your cons society. Intentional?

Will I miss the car?...NO!!!! I'm quite a good shot

Try this little experiment: find a piece of road that, for some reason, is empty (you might have to try some odd hours to do this). Stand there. Take in the atmosphere. The quiet. The sheer space. Imagine what else could be done with it if it weren't a road. You could plant trees in it. Kids could play in it. People who walk or cycle along it could actually see who's who and choose to stop for a chat. If it were near a city centre you could have a market in it. When there are no motors you can actually look up at the buildings (some of us have never had the chance to do that even in our most familiar surroundings). It would smell better too.

Ballard wrote:Not untill it's gone, which won't be for the next thirty years, more's the pity.

I think from the beginning of the next decade we will see a gradual reduction in car users, but mainly due to unemployment. Those with jobs are likely to hold on to their car even if oil at the pumps trebles. Lets face it, without the automobile, you cannot have modern suburbia.

RenewableCandy wrote:Will I miss the car?...NO!!!! I'm quite a good shot

Try this little experiment: find a piece of road that, for some reason, is empty (you might have to try some odd hours to do this). Stand there. Take in the atmosphere. The quiet. The sheer space. Imagine what else could be done with it if it weren't a road. You could plant trees in it. Kids could play in it. People who walk or cycle along it could actually see who's who and choose to stop for a chat. If it were near a city centre you could have a market in it. When there are no motors you can actually look up at the buildings (some of us have never had the chance to do that even in our most familiar surroundings). It would smell better too.

Couldn't agree more.

My feelings over the end of the car will be mostly nostalgic. Drive in movies, early sexual fumbles and those moments of freedom that cars provided for me. I'll miss having a car once they're gone.

I haven't owned a car since 1996, my jobs all seem to come with cars or vans these days. So once cars are no more I'll probably be out of work, like the rest of the sheeple...

chris25 wrote:

Ballard wrote:Not untill it's gone, which won't be for the next thirty years, more's the pity.

I think from the beginning of the next decade we will see a gradual reduction in car users, but mainly due to unemployment. Those with jobs are likely to hold on to their car even if oil at the pumps trebles. Lets face it, without the automobile, you cannot have modern suburbia.

Possibly, but standing next to a busy road would you notice the difference between say 60 cars a minute and say 45 or even 30. The roads will be 'sterilized' by the car as long as I live.

I still remember the distant days when I used to zoom around at the speed of a light aircraft in my Audi 200 Turbo whilst playing Annie Lennox at full volume ...

I know better now ... (quiet sob)

Those with jobs are likely to hold on to their car even if oil at the pumps trebles. Lets face it, without the automobile, you cannot have modern suburbia.

I am not so sure on this one - its not like Britain has sprawl on the scale of the states!

I read somewhere the average commute in the UK is 10 miles (cannot remember the source so I maybe talking out of my butt! )

This is easy for a lot of people to travel by public transport - albeit much more inconvenient and time consuming.

Mind you - if those lucky enough to keep hold of a job get there sh*t together they could car share and thus maintain the car presence in our society for a while yet!

As for the question of the thread, of course I will miss the car! They are a bit like cigarettes and alcohol though, really enjoy them but you know they are doing you no good! (for the record I gave up smoking in 2000)

RenewableCandy wrote:When there are no motors you can actually look up at the buildings (some of us have never had the chance to do that even in our most familiar surroundings).

This is SO true! A city center street in Madrid was pedestrianised last year, and I noticed all of a sudden that some quite interesting buildings had "appeared" like magic out of nowhere! They had been there all along but were impossible to see properly whilst edging along the narrow pavements to avoid being squashed by passing traffic. It goes to show just how claustrophobic city streets are... and all because we have to enable all those individual drivers to enjoy their own personal little spaces on wheels.

YES!!!!

The power of 150 horses under your right foot!
The exhileration of 0-60 in 10 seconds or less.
The way you can travel anywhere, any time. Freedom.
The enjoyment of going for a drive. Up mountains, to the beach, to the countryside. 2 hours to Dublin, 1 hour to the North Coast (for me).
As a youth - going out with your friends, girlfriend, Privacy.

Anybody who hasn't had those feelings has missed a lot!

Of course we will miss the car....... (I gave up the dreaded weed in 2000 as well TB)

well yes not for me personally that much I used to have 2 cars and a van and for the last few years Ive been walking everywhere (really I should get a bike )

Ill miss it for things like car bootsales no cars how will people transport their crap to sell, car boot sales are my favourite hobby as are pop festivals and I think a lot of people will stop doing things like that .

Im a lot fitter since i stopped using the car , but the van was handy for moving stuff and I may get another one to buy and sell more stuff getting myself in a better position before things fall to pieces

chris25 wrote:Will you miss the car?

I didn't when I lived in London, as I didn't own one. Here I would - there would be numerous inconveniences I'd have to work around - but I'd be able to cope so long as I could keep my 125cc scooter.

I think it's a bit like America - I dislike a lot of what the country/culture as a whole does, but pretty much every American I've met has been friendly and a decent person.

Likewise, I will not miss cars as a "species", I'll be glad to see them go, but I will miss having my own to drive around in! Hypocritical, eh? I still think back to the days when I had my 3.0V6, before I had heard of PO....