Self driving cars and moral decisions-who will live, who will die?

so what? neither is the rest of the vehicle, other than simple stuff like oil changes, air filters, spark plugs, etc. they're also *far* more reliable and don't need much beyond that.

the days of home repairs are mostly gone, and not just cars either.

everything does.

That has not been my experience. None of the major drivetrain components (engine, transmission, rear axle) have ever been apart on my car. No body work has been required, though I don't sweat the small stuff.

However, any such breakdowns are likely to be repairable with simple hand tools and inexpensive parts. Very simple.

Once again, a judgement call. For the many thousands of dollars I've saved I am quite comfortable indeed.

Hasn't happened. I have spent very little on repairs.

That's their call. I'm not interested.

I don't care about any of those features, and having worked in the computer industry since the 1970s do not have the blind faith in technology rampant amongst many people, particularly the young. I will not be buying into any of it.

You keep saying that. You are wrong.

I have not reached that point in 40 years. If it does occur I'll be satisfied that I have gotten the full value of the vehicle and would look for another old car to replace it.

The problem here is that I have the experience of driving a decades-old vehicle and you do not, yet you persist in dicating to me what it is like to do so.

Perhaps for yourself and city folk who don't know how to hold a wrench. Not for me and most of the people I know.

40 years without any engine/transmission work? you must not drive it much, if at all.

not always, and unless you carry a trunk full of spare parts, you won't have the parts to fix it.

if you happen to break down near an auto parts store (which is also not likely), they probably won't have the correct parts in stock.

that's nice.

consider yourself incredibly lucky.

nobody said you had to be.

autonomous vehicles will be *much* safer than any human driver could ever hope to be, which sadly is not that difficult to do. more than 35k people die every year in the usa alone, many more worldwide. that's roughly 100 people per *day* and nobody gives a shit.

what i've said is not wrong. at some point, it becomes not worth fixing.

insurance companies refer to it as totaled.

unless it's a classic, a 40 year old vehicle is worth almost nothing, which means even a relatively minor repair is not cost-effective.

if it is a classic, it won't be driven as a daily driver, especially if it's registered as such because that class of registration normally has significant limits.

multiple incorrect assumptions.

ad hominem.

If you carry a fuel pump in the trunk, the one in use will never break. I'm surprised that you didn't know that.

Nah, it's not luck. It's selecting a car with good reliability and fixing what goes bad. I've had only 3 personal cars in the past 30 years. Doubt I've spent $3k on repairs. Done by myself or a mechanic. Purchased all 3 used for $18k total. It's how I retired early.

that's an average of 10 years per vehicle, which is typical, if not short, given that vehicles are more reliable than they used to be and should easily last longer than that.

that is very different than one vehicle in 40 years, supposedly without major repairs.

nothing wrong with that.