Are you thinking about purchasing a new vehicle? If so, then it’s important to have a clear understanding of the car market as it exists today. There are a lot of different misconceptions floating around the car industry right now. So, let’s look at a few of these in turn and find the truth that lies within the fiction.
A Car Will Run Forever
One of the first common myths that you should avoid, particularly if you’re in the process of buying a car, is that they will run forever. Particularly if you look after them the right way from day one. This just isn’t the case. The reality is that a lot of cars have a considerably shorter life expectancy that most people tend to believe. For instance, you could be interested in picking up an Audi. Depending on the model, you might find that an Audi doesn’t last much longer than 150,000 miles. Even if it does, there’s a strong possibility that it will develop various problems which will become far too expensive to manage overall. So, it’s not just about whether a car will last but whether the vehicle will remain viable to drive and keep on the road.
That said, there are ways that you can ensure that your car lasts longer. One of the ways that you can do this is by keeping it well maintained. Cars that are maintained the right way are less likely to develop issues that stop them from working. You should also try and keep the mileage as low as possible. A high mileage will also mean that a car is more likely to develop issues in the future. That’s why if you need to take your car a long distance, it might be beneficial to use one of the best car shipping companies rather than choose to drive it yourself.
Self-Driving Cars Already Exist
Another common misconception about modern cars is that there are already self-driving vehicles that exist and that are available to purchase on the market. It’s true that various autonomous vehicles have been produced by car developers. Some have even been marketed as self-driving. However, self-driving suggests that a car can drive without any human assistance or interference at all. Thus far, no car like this has been developed and sold on the market. There are cars that can drive themselves in certain conditions but there’s no car available that will drive itself all the time. Similarly, developers are keen to point out that drivers should still pay attention to the road when the car is under control. Some have even programmed vehicles to pull over safely if the driver has their hands off the wheel for too long.
Ultimately, what you need to be aware of is that there are five different levels of self driving vehicle. The majority of self driving vehicles available to purchase on the market are hovering around level 2. Some are hitting level 3. Cars that self drive at levels 4 and 5 are in development but there have been problems making them work in real world settings. You may have seen videos where cars like this have steered into pedestrians. Similarly there is some debate as to whether these cars are more dangerous for certain pedestrians over others.
Does that mean that fully self-driving cars won’t exist in the future? No, indeed, fully self-driving cars will likely be introduced onto the market over the next few years. It’s just a case of getting the technology right and developing it to a point where there is no chance of it failing.
When self-driving cars are readily available, the ramifications will be tremendous. In the future, we could even see a person’s right to drive called into question. Afterall, the biggest threat to pedestrains and other drivers is always going to be human error. If you can eliminate this, then you make the roads safer for everyone.
Electric Cars Are Always The Best Choice
If you are thinking about buying a new car, then you might assume that an electric car is always going to be the best option. However, this is not the case. First, don’t assume that electric vehicles are always going to be a green friendly choice. In the long term this might be true, but there have been reports questioning the power that is required to produce these vehicles. It’s possible that it takes more fossil fuel to produce electric cars compared with the classic petrol engine. As such, if you are buying an electric car to reduce your carbon footprint, then you may want to complete a little research and find out more about the production methods that are used.
One of the other points to consider is infrastructure. EV cars are a great option if you live in an area with an infrastructure that will support them. There are still lots of places around the country that do not have the right infrastructure in place to provide full support for EV vehicles. This will be the case if you live in a rural area as the power outlets won’t be accessible. Your only option will be to add an electric point to your home. This is going to drive your energy bills through the roof.
Something that you don’t need to consider when choosing whether or not to buy an EV is the range. In the past, EV ranges were pretty dismal. This meant that they were only suitable as an option if you lived in a central city location. These days EVs can have ranges that are hundreds of miles. That means that you don’t have to worry about needing to recharge the car halfway through the day.
So, if EVs aren’t always the right decision, what is the right choice? Hybrids provide the best of both worlds allowing you to save money and energy while also not relying fully on an electric motor.
Since we mentioned fuel efficiency, it’s also worth exploring the idea that manual cars are more fuel efficient compared with automatic vehicles. This may have been true in the past but technology has since moved on. This means that you can save just as much fuel driving an automatic engine as you would with a car that has a manual transmission. As such, there’s no need to choose one over the other if you’re hoping to save fuel.
Bigger Vehicles Are Better
There’s a common misconception that bigger vehicles will keep you safer on the road. This isn’t quite true for a few reasons. While larger vehicles can provide more weight and thus more protection in a collision, some research suggests that they are more likely to be involved in an accident due to the higher number of blind spots. Larger vehicles may also be more likely to roll over which can lead to a fatal incident on the road.
These days, smaller vehicles also have similar safety features to larger cars which means that they have the same chance of protecting drivers and passengers. If you want to know how safe a car truly is, then you need to look at the safety rating.
We hope this helps you understand some of the misconceptions about modern cars that should be avoided. By being aware of these misconceptions, you can guarantee that you do make the right choice when you buy your next vehicle and don’t get led down the wrong path. It’s worth noting that vehicle technology is constantly evolving overtime. In ten years cars could look and perform radically differently.
