In the spirit of XKCD's "What If?": What if we stopped manufacturing cars right now? Shut down all the assembly lines. Surely there are enough used cars that can be refurbished to let anyone who wants to drive continue to do so.
@nivex i suspect the answer to this is “no” less because of the actual number of cars in existence and more because of the amount of “change the shape of the pump slightly every three years so everyone has to buy *this* pump which we will stop selling in 5 years” shenanigans which have gone on
@Satsuma Aftermarket parts have been a thing for awhile now, and that sector would probably grow if no new cars were being made, so I think a lot of these vehicles will still be maintainable.
@nivex i am perfectly happy to just keep taking public transit so i don’t really have a horse in this race, but the vibe i get from my friends who are owners of older cars is that it can be quite an expensive business as it currently stands. as far as subsidizing cars go, the aftermarket parts sector is one of the things i would be less opposed to see community money go towards i suppose though
