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posted by martyb on Wednesday December 19 2018, @04:34AM   Printer-friendly
from the now-they're-buying...trucks? dept.

Phys.org:

General Motors has announced it's shuttering five production facilities and killing six vehicle platforms by the end of 2019 as it reallocates resources towards self-driving technologies and electric vehicles.

[...] North American car production hit 17.5 million vehicles in 2016, and dropped marginally to 17.2 million in 2017. Interesting, but perhaps not significant.

More telling are changes in driver behaviour. In North America, for example, fewer teens are getting driver's licences. In 1983, 92 per cent of teens were licensed, while by 2014, that number had dropped to 77 per cent. In Germany, the number of new licences issued to drivers aged 17 to 25 has dropped by 300,000 over the last 10 years.

Are we over our love affair with cars?


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  • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday December 19 2018, @03:44PM (1 child)

    by isostatic (365) on Wednesday December 19 2018, @03:44PM (#776341) Journal

    Sure, having a license makes sense.

    Hiring a car is a great way to get out and see the world. But owning a car for day to day use and all that hastle? Get a week off, hire a nice car, go do your drive, great fun. The car you hire one week (or weekend) could be a convertable for a cuise down the coast, or an SUV into the moutains, or a truck or van for some moving, or perhaps just a fancy merc to go back to your hometown for a weekend.

    Far better than having to own a fleet of cars that can do all that.

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  • (Score: 2) by Pino P on Thursday December 20 2018, @07:04PM

    by Pino P (4721) on Thursday December 20 2018, @07:04PM (#776910) Journal

    Hiring a car is a great way to get out and see the world. But owning a car for day to day use and all that hastle? Get a week off, hire a nice car, go do your drive, great fun.

    Which puts licensed drivers aged 16 through 24 into a tough position, as I seem to remember that many car rental companies add a prohibitive surcharge for drivers who are under 25 or cross state lines. Do insurers even issue liability policies designed for drivers who drive only rental cars?