Yeah, I don't know why this article got under my skin

You're human? ;)

While I think 20(plus) person capacity vehicles will exist in the world of automation, I think many <8 capacity vehicles will cut down on wait times and manage the load of local traffic - and I think that's ultimately a good thing.

And I'd argue that we need to be more frugal with our natural resources and people are either gonna go all (personal transport) or nothing (true mass transit) and that trying to have a middle ground of the two is gonna leave people disappointed. Personally, I'm all for the latter.

I've recently been doing work around food security and nutrition and a lot of issue crop up around families whose sole guardian spends 3(plus) hours a day commuting - limiting the time they have to find a prepare nutritious food. By coordinating smaller vehicles, a person can strike a balance between cost and efficiency - which I think that market is going to ask for.

The people who have to worry about food security, nutrition, and the frustrations of mass transit now are probably gonna be the ones who will be fucked job-wise 20 years from now. If the future of transportation is gonna be tiered just like it is today, they're still probably gonna be screwed cause chances are they can't afford the more personalized, expedient services.

As for the culture aspect, I didn't mean to dismiss the culture - I meant more to say I don't think it'll be that big of a battleground as the numbers just aren't there.

Actually, people in the car world are pretty active politically when it comes to protecting their hobby, industry, jobs, etc. I don't think I've said it before on Hubski, but I'm kind of curious as to see what kind of position SEMA will take when autonomous cars become more prevelant.

The pasttime will look different than it did 100 years ago, but most of the car hobbies we're talking about didn't exist in 1917 either.

As long as cars have been around, there have been tinkerers. That's kind of a moot point though, in my opinion, because the cultures are here now and they have an impact on society and will probably leave a lasting impression well after they're gone. I'm not saying ban autonomous cars because of a few car enthusiasts, but I am saying that car enthusiasts have a right to feel threatened by autonomous cars because they have something special they enjoy and cherish and they know they're gonna lose it eventually fear and trepidation is a natural response to losing something that's special to you.

Edit: Had to edit the plus signs in your text to eliminate bolding. Sorry about that.