There's a few necessary evils in this world that seem to take a little piece of me every time I come across them...Taxes, insurance, and car repairs.
My dad and I have been talking a lot about our automobiles the last few months. Not by any desire of our own. It's not great dinner conversation. We've actually been forced to share our battle stories of the cost of new alternators, transmissions and batteries. It's always frustrated me that there is the maintenance aspect to a car that never really offers any improvement to your everyday usage. New brake pads don't look pretty. And a new alternator doesn't necessarily give me a noticeable improvement to driving performance. It's just upkeep..maintaining the existing level of function. Yuck.
I've actually been wondering why the automotive industry product model has gone virtually unchanged since it's inception. Sure now we have onboard computers, airbags, etc. But the basic functionality of the car's internal combustion motor hasn't changed a whole lot. And it's always frustrated me that it seems to be the only technology that hasn't advanced much. I'm sure there's an automotive CEO out there that can offer up a 'good' reason for that.
Then I got to thinking about other industry approaches to advancement. The electronics industry has done an incredible job of making their products more approachable and usable for the everyday man. Even going so far as to be able to make changes to a rather technical computer as easy as pulling out a drive or plug and replacing it with a different one.
I wished for the auto industry to think the same way...Create a 'plug & play' approach where the various workings of the car could be compartmentalized into separate pods that coule be replaced by any consumer who can unlatch it and go get another one at Wal-Mart. I've wished for the car to become more of a consumable good instead of a long-standing, depreciating 'investment' purchase.
It always seemed like there was a better option, but couldn't figure out how to break through the intricate interdependancy of the combustion engine. That's as far as I was able to go.
I was never able to figure out how to do it because my thought process was limited to the existing engine format. I had never thought of going to electric. Sure, it's not quite 'plug & play', but they've gotten to the next step of eliminating oil and transmission fluid. Which begins to compartmentalize a bit more.
Previous electric cars haven't had the staying power to fully integrate into our lifestyles. But it seems like Nissan is going about it the right way, building partnerships to ensure a good number of charging stations, ensuring longevity in the market, etc. And, cost of operation: $3 per 100 miles! Can't beat that. The money I would save per year in gas and repair would easily make up for a higher payment. They're saying they are shooting for the average family sedan pricepoint.
All that to say, I'm keeping my eye on this one. I'd love to see the face of the automotive industry change. We all know it can't continue to exist in it's current state...
