the Future is Already Here

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” (Napoleon Hill)

America has had a century-long love affair with the automobile, even though the typical car is used only about 5% of the time. Ride-sharing services like Uber offer us a peak into the future of transportation, whether we are prepared for it or not. An idea has recently been planted in the American imagination that it may be more practical to share cars rather than to own your own and keep it parked in the garage, reserved for one's personal use. In metropolitan areas people are already accustomed to ordering up a ride anytime they need to go somewhere. Many people in cities do not even own a car. In some areas we can already order a ride from our smart phones for a self-driving automobile to pick us up in the morning and for another one to be there to take us home at the end of the day, allowing us to convert the garage into additional living space if we so choose.

Sharing rather than buying saves money spent on the depreciation of a purchase, registration, maintenance, and for insurance, eliminating the hassles associated with commuting and parking. A car that can be used to take your family on a road trip can be roomier than the one you take to work or the gym. You won't need the subway or bus or train any longer if you can read or sleep securely while in transit. As with many other innovations, the creativity of countless individuals and organizations will continue to generate technology that will lead us into a new world unforeseen. Imagine Americans giving up their love of the automobile and driving over the open road! A similar transformation from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles only a century ago seemed just as unimaginable. (Pictures are of the stylish luxury self-driving Mercedes-Benz F-015.)