More self-driving car propaganda.

Big Media just loooooves this self-driving car story. Here's one from the Wall Street Journal.

To revel in the future that the visionaries hold out, the obstacles are nearly insurmountable. In their lush vision, America's parking lots and driveways could return to nature as a relative handful of always-handy robot cars would supplant the mostly idle cars owned in the millions by Americans today.

In practice, though, all cars would likely have to be driverless—or at least capable of taking control away from a driver in heavy traffic situations—for any cars to be driverless. Otherwise, effectively one jerk in a '74 Buick would own the only right of way.

Doing so, though, would require not only expensive onboard systems in every car but wireless networking that would likely raise privacy and personal autonomy fears far more alarming to many Americans than whether NSA computers are scanning their mostly boring emails and text messages. Imagine a National Rifle Association for car owners.

What this guy is saying is meant to be a word of caution, but really he's just saying what these technocrats actually want: humans as bulk cargo in an automated transport system, not as free individuals going where they want, when they want.

For my part, I'll be the jerk in the Buick. But it'll be a '64, not a '74. More mass, better styling, less plastic.

The Phantom