This is interesting.
EV purveyor Canoo – which used to be Evelozcity – has announced all of its EVs will be available on a subscription-only basis.
Meaning: You don’t own the car; you pay for the ride. Which means you never stop paying.
Canoo describes itself as a “boutique California EV brand” and plans to offer EV rides beginning in 2021.
And not just here. Also in China – where automated EVs and ride-sharing is being pushed from the top down by the oligarchy which runs the joint, for the same reason it is impressing upon the Chinese people a “social credit” scheme. Both are mechanisms by which to control the people – and far more effectively than the rough old-style manner of using blatant physical force.
This is Brave New World-style coercion. You are nudged into The Future.
Canoo will offer “subscribers” the “opportunity” to meatsack around in any of four “lifestyle” EVs.
None of which you’ll ever own – or even control.
Looking forward to this, anyone?
But Eric! According to the oligarch’s in silicon valley, owning a private vehicle will be here faster than we think!
(if you can stomach this)
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/22/opinion/end-of-cars-uber-lyft.html
Everyone wants to be the cable company, or the insurance company. For sure no one wants to sell us anything.
Witness Apple’s snooze fest announcement of yet another outlet for the same old, lame old Hollywood media. Giving a chunk of cash to Oprah so she can produce more drivel isn’t innovative, Tim.
Get a load of this:
https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-la-congestion-20190308-story.html
Force everyone into transit, except for the wealthy of course. They’ll have the roads to themselves.
How’s that going to work when most transit systems aren’t that good? Outside of NYC, Chicago, or Boston, most cities don’t have the sufficient SERVICE that would allow people to give up their cars. We have a bus service in our area, but it only runs once an hour on most routes, and only does so for part of the day.
Also, LA used to have a very NICE transit system prior to 1950. They had the famous streetcar system with the Red Cars. That was BEFORE National City Lines, a consortium of GM, Firestone Tire, and Standard Oil of CA (later Chevron) conspired to DESTROY it! What NCL would do is buy up aging streetcar lines, dismantle them, and substitute buses on the routes. Because buses made the public transit less desirable, more folks bought cars. That was the idea: get people into cars, thus helping GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil of CA. NCL did this all over the nation, BTW. Now, LA needs to basically rebuild their transit system at a cost of billions! Gotta love crony capitalism…
Nah, no worries Mark. Eloon is building his hyperloop to save the LA public transit system.
The history of the streetcar is a little more nuanced than how it is usually presented. Yes, streetcars were bought up and in most cases replaced with public bus lines. But they were already losing out to cars because they didn’t have the capital necessary to chase their riders out to the suburbs. And they were competing with heavily subsidized (in the form of public roads, especially the Pentagon-funded Interstates) automobile transportation. If they could have built out their networks and added large parking structures in good locations commuters alone probably would have kept them in business.
Sounds a lot like Zipcar, which has been around for awhile; my son has used them occasionally since he lives in the city and 1)can’t afford a car plus 2)couldn’t find a parking spot if he did.
Oh yay! Commiefornia car lots just became upscale automobile brothels, and salesmen are now the pimps! I wouldn’t want to use this service anymore than a cheap street-corner whore. Looks like that’s where it’s all headed though doesn’t it?
Hey Eric,
Sincere question, what is the practical difference between a subscription and a lease?
Cheers,
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy!
A lease is a contract to have exclusive use of a specific vehicle for a specific period of time (e.g., two years) and your payment is calculated based on a portion of its value vs. expected depreciation. These subscriptions are essentially rent by the ride. You pay “x” per month and this entitles you to access to the vehicle – or vehicles (several, as here) which you use for the duration of the ride but don’t possess.
The leased car is in your sole possession during the term of the lease – and one usually has the option to buy it (and own) it at the end of the lease contract, for a sum previously agreed at lease inception. The subscription car is a short-term rental only. You never own it.
Hi Eric
Thanks, so with a subscription service your access to the car could be limited by the terms. I suppose if you live in a city and have no access to parking a subscription/delivery service may be interesting. Otherwise, seems pretty awful.
Cheers,
Jeremy
You know, when ya think about it, it’s like the difference between a girlfriend and a prostitute. Neither one is permanent, and just 2 different lengths of time and levels of non-commitment. Ownership WAS like a marriage WAS, once upon a time, a legal, permanent commitment, so to speak. Interesting how both have gone the way of the dinosaur, just like our civil responsibilities, and likewise, liberties. I’m beginning to see a pattern here, IIIII, especially on the windows and doors!
OT police hero https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/03/20/dominique-difiore-punched-by-chester-officer-out-of-jail-posts-bail/
That smallish woman ‘pushed’ fatso so they’re more or less saying he was legit. Sooooo if my smallish wife pushes me and I knock her teeth out am I legit.
They would likely put me in jail and throw away the keys but Fatso will get a pass.
Just one one letter off from Canpoo, which was actually what I first read it as, oh wait, I still do!