Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How is this any kind of sensible hypothetical?
(Oh, and by the way, it's not much of a response to just keep saying "It's a hypothetical!". In order for a hypotehtical question to have any explanatory value it needs to have some relation to a potential reality.)
Is anyone here able to predict any product/feature that could be made illegal/extinct in 50 years that we think of as no big deal now? Not counting substances such as caffeine and nicotine... With what is happening in the world today, how could you limit the imagination to say horns are here to stay? What isnt potential reality when you think about it?
OK maybe Im sounding like a hippie now, I only said hypothetical once after my OP though, because it seemed like other posters did not see that.
What if horns become obsolete because of evolving technology? Is that a foreseeable future? I would say thats a guarantee pretty much.
I can see horns becoming unnecessary, but only if/when/where traffic becomes controlled by computer systems rather than human drivers. Not necessarily a good or bad thing.
If it says "DODGE" all the way across your hood, why do you even need a horn?
Dodge across the hood = intimidating. Dodge across the hood + horn = really intimidating . Although in all seriousness for maximum intimidation I'd get a black Ram 2500 with off-road tires, a bull bar, windows tinted very darkly (like a government vehicle), and a roof rack of high-intensity lights... or something like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackmccullough
Manufacturers are getting rid of ashtrays and replacing lighters with 12 volt DC sockets because fewer and fewer car buyers care about those items. It's nothing to do with the manufacturers just deciding that the drivers shouldn't smoke in the car. (For that matter, there are more and more cars with multiple outlets for electronic devices people have with them.)
Indeed. I find the power outlets to be more useful than the lighters, but then again I'm a non-smoker . Even so, most manufacturers have a smokers' package you can purchase for about $50, which by automobile standards is chump change.
Quote:
In this case I don't think it's at all realistic to think that manufacturers would stop producing horns as standard equipment. If they did an after market would spring up, people would buy them (for much less than $1500) and manufacturers would realize they had made a terrible mistake and start including them as standard again.
I agree with that, but it is, after all, a hypothetical scenario. I'd actually think adding optional components to horns is more likely in 50 years, such as a light horn (what I call a "peeper") to alert people to your presence without scaring them, which is particularly useful in an electric car. I can also envision a future scenario where you can purchase optional rear-facing high-intensity lights to dissuade tailgaters.
As for the future 50 years from now, the concept of the car controlled by a central computer is the 21st century Pandora's Box. Individual choice would be removed, the pleasure of driving would be removed, they would be vulnerable to hacking, and the potential for government abuse would be truly unlimited. Drivers would have no more autonomy than a bus passenger, with their fate in someone or something else's hands. Technology should be used by man to accomplish ever-greater feats and tasks. The machine should be the servant of man, but here the man is the servant of the machine. Even leaving all that aside, it seems like a waste of money and effort. Why spend $100 000 per vehicle to suppress and eventually replace the driver when you can use the same amount of money to empower the driver in ways never dreamed of before? Fighter pilots use beyond-visual range technology and can identify other fighters well ahead of time; why not enable drivers to do the same thing? Hypothetically, cars could be equipped with some sort of system that detects cars and other hazards 10 miles away and then relays the results to the driver. This would improve detection range, leading to increased safety, since you could avoid reckless or speeding drivers before you see them coming around that next bush or next bend. This would also permit much greater speed, since with a greater detection range 500 mph would be as safe as 70 mph is today. I can guarantee that none of this will happen on centrally-planned computer-controlled roads. Once the government gains control, the abilities of the system will be kept at the same "human-replacement" level, since individual choice and innovation will no longer be allowed, and the system will appear to be "good enough" compared to what they're used to. People will see this good enough system but what they will not see is the far superior system they could have had if they pursued driver empowerment. Driver empowerment would include an autopilot mode, which drivers could activate and deactivate at will, using the time on autopilot to send text messages or take photographs. Driver empowerment would also include platooning capabilities. The key here is that the driver is paramount and is in control - individual choice is retained, each car has its own autonomous computer system, and the roads are as accommodating to autonomous cars as they are to autonomous drivers.
It's almost like we have two futures to choose from - becoming a Borg drone or becoming one of the Acceleracers. I for one welcome the latter with open arms and with great anticipation, because despite all of the dangers that the driverless consensus poses to car owners, technology can and is used for both good and evil, for both empowerment and suppression, much like how telecommunications produced both state-controlled media and the Internet. The car of the future can and probably will take many different paths, much like how the Model T evolved into an increasingly divergent lineup of Ford models by the time its 50th anniversary came around. The differentiation maxed out around 1960, but even the 50 years since 1960 saw increasingly divergent vehicles. For example, in 1960 top speeds ranged from around 70 mph in the VW Beetle to 150 mph in the Aston Martin DB4 GT. Today top speeds range from 65 mph in the Tata Nano to 260 mph in the Bugatti Veyron. It's reasonable to expect that trend of differentiation to continue through the 21st century, mostly via advances on the high end of performance and function. In spite of this long post, however, in the end it will be the customers that decide what sort of car they want and what options they will choose.
goes and gets a set of train horns . with some of these idiots on the road you need em. so I guess they'll make signals an option as no one ever uses em out here and wait maybe the gas pedal to seeing how some people have a hard time finding that as well and like to ride the break
Dodge across the hood = intimidating. Dodge across the hood + horn = really intimidating . Although in all seriousness for maximum intimidation I'd get a black Ram 2500 with off-road tires, a bull bar, windows tinted very darkly (like a government vehicle), and a roof rack of high-intensity lights... or something like that.
Hey!! I resemble that remark!!!! It's amazing how fast someone gets out of your way when all they can see in their rearview is a huge "moose catcher" and 6-ton winch. Really puts the intimidation factor into the Red Zone (yeah, our truck is Red Sonja and our dog is a 100lb malamute)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Even so, most manufacturers have a smokers' package you can purchase for about $50, which by automobile standards is chump change.
. with some of these idiots on the road you need em. so I guess they'll make signals an option as no one ever uses em out here and wait maybe the gas pedal to seeing how some people have a hard time finding that as well and like to ride the break 
