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Shut Up And Drive: The Future Of Automobiles In A Post-Pandemic America

Cars line up to enter the Athens County Fairground from West Union Street to get food boxes from the Food Soldier Hunger Coalition through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program in Athens, Ohio.
Cars line up to enter the Athens County Fairground from West Union Street to get food boxes from the Food Soldier Hunger Coalition through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program in Athens, Ohio.

Whether it’s Beyoncé in her Camino with the seat low or Fast & Furious series, the American imagination renders cars iconic. But what could the future of cars actually look like?

The Biden administration could play a role in making cars much more safe for pedestrians, passengers and drivers.

From Bloomberg’s CityLab:

In particular, officials can issue overdue updates to the four-decade-old New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) that will push automakers to design vehicles less threatening to street users unprotected by two tons of metal.

You may be more familiar with NCAP than you think — this is the federal program featuring the legendary crash test dummies. Housed within the USDOT’s National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), NCAP staff deliberately (and carefully) smash new vehicles into various objects in order to estimate the likelihood of injury or death to real people in a collision.

Find our conversation about the Ford F-150 here.

And we’ve already heard a lot about self-driving cars, but what other developments could be ahead?

Oh, and if you’re planning to buy Tesla shares UK has, a word about the value of Tesla from Axios: “Anyone searching for evidence that the stock market and the real economy are not the same thing, should look no further.”

As the pandemic pushes some away from public transit and air travel, could the American love affair with cars resurge? We’re talking about the future of cars with you and our guests.

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Michelle Harven