[ExI] self driving cars again

[spike]

From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of spike
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2012 3:29 PM
To: 'ExI chat list'
Subject: [ExI] self driving cars again

 

 

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/googles-self-driving-c
ars-300-000-miles-logged-not-a-single-accident-under-computer-control/260926
/

 

 

>.I thought of an interesting idea.  I have a relative who really wants to
go touring the northwest, but she isn't a good enough driver and has no
companion.  ...  She doesn't want to hire a driver, but wants to go road
touring for a few weeks, one last time, just once.  spike

 

Oh there are buttloads of money to be made here.

 

If one has elderly relatives and is close to them, one is introduced to a
whole nuther world, of which younger people are generally and blissfully
unaware.  There are skerJILLIONs of older people, and this includes a lot of
those who have plenty of money and are eager to do things like I suggested
above, go solo touring in a self-driving motorhome or camper.  The reasons
for this are perfectly understandable: the elders often have special medical
needs and want to set up their medications and devices before they go.  This
is generally incompatible with staying in hotels, but would work just fine
for a camper.

 

My great aunt knows her time is short and only wants one more tour, just
one.  She does not want to actually own the camper, but would rent it,
eagerly paying a big premium.  If one could buy a self-driving camper, one
could rent it and keep it on the road all summer if not all year around.
With the thing programmed to go only the speed limit, and most of the miles
on the freeway, that under-worked engine would never even realize it has
been sold.  It would be as good as new after years of such service.

 

Furthermore, it creates a new market for something I haven't seen in
tragically many years, since my own misspent youth: a full service gas
station.  I haven't seen one of those in California since about the early
90s.  Are there any of them still around?  If a 90 year old single geezer
came riding into town, she would gladly pay 20 or 30 cents a gallon more for
some lad to come out and wash her windows and pump her gas, perhaps look at
the tires and check the oil.

 

Young people, I am not kidding: back in the olden days, gas stations hired
guys to do that, for every customer.  It was so creepy!  I don't like having
people do for me that which I can do myself.  By my great aunt really loves
it and misses that.  She has plenty of money and no children.  She is an
ideal candidate for that technology and that service.  She has pleeeenty of
friends just like her.  We could set up full service gas stations and
program the auto-campers to drive to those stations, or perhaps have a local
slacker who is paged by an incoming geezer, who then comes over and performs
the services for a tip.

 

Hey wait, better idea!  We could have on-call harlots who are paged by an
incoming lonely single geezer.  He or she just shows up at the local
station, checks over the van, fills it with gas, services the horny geezer,
collects the cash and off they go to the next, um, pit stop so to speak.
The elder returns to assisted living with tales of grand adventure to rapt
attention from the other singletons, and you fill in the rest.

 

spike

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