Cars Get Complicated: Do We Actually Need It?

 

Cars of today have gotten so much technology-driven that they have converged to become a Swiss Army knife from being a simple machine of transportation. They now possess so many quirks and features, which makes them essentially a technological tool that is able to serve so many needs. The market is flooded with models that do not offer physical buttons but a touch screen to control even the basic functions, like setting the temperature inside the car. While automatic gear shifting has long been standard for the sector, the gear lever itself has started to disappear completely.

Automobiles used to be much simpler than their current make. The automakers of the '90s and 2000s prioritized longevity and reliability over the technological upper hand. Their build quality surpassed that of today's, as we still see many cars made during that era on the roads. Today’s cars, albeit much more technologically superior, brake often and do not last more than a couple of hundred thousand miles.

Another face of this discussion can be driving safety. True, today’s cars exhibit more safety features than ever. Yet, they provide so many entertainment opportunities throughout the ride, posing a safety hazard to the driver in terms of distraction.

I can attest to the fact that all these new technological innovations make the customers satisfied. However, manufacturers should not forget that the majority of customers only demand safe travel over the years with low cost of maintenance. The rest is optional.

Toyota's Legacy

Toyota has been known for making reliable cars for decades. Their cars are labeled as having the perfect combination of passenger safety, comfort, and cost-effectiveness. Toyota excels at anything an average consumer may need while claiming low emissions. But how do they achieve these traits anyway?

Toyota’s secret lies in their relentless pursuit of consumer satisfaction. To them, a satisfied consumer can be more important than money since a customer having a bad experience with the brand might discourage others who had eyes on the same brand. That’s why they recall all those cars with defective airbags. Even though it costs them a fortune to undertake such an endavour, it makes the consumers happy to feel valued.

Toyota never makes drastic changes to their cars, making sure that no hiccups happen at the production phase. Something that has not been tested and tried can always go wrong. Hence, it is company policy that innovation is introduced incrementally rather than abruptly. That does not mean Toyota’s doors are closed to technological advancements; rather, the timing of these advancements is of vital importance.

Toyota emphasizes environmental sustainability. They acted a lot earlier than its competitors by introducing hybrid cars to the industry. Converting some of the car’s kinetic energy to electricity and thereby using that electricity to move the car was revolutionary. Others followed Toyota on hybrid cars, helping consumers enjoy a driving experience that is cleaner and cheaper.

Toyota continues the legacy by offering people a safe and comfortable ride from point A to point B while still working on ways to enhance the consumer experience further. Setting the standards higher while stiffening the competition, Toyota’s production mentality lifts the automobile industry as a whole.

Innovation and Private Sector

Private firms spearhead the production growth in any country. After all, the capitalist system itself pushes the private sector to engage in economic activities, as the capital needed for these activities is held by private individuals. It has been proven that the government acting as an entrepreneur in the market often yields outcomes that do not benefit society as a whole.

The private sector’s stance on market opportunities involves rational choices based on the profitability of any economic endeavor. Private entities prioritize their money, the capital, before dulging in any activity since it is their hard-earned and accumulated capital that is at stake. On the other hand, governments spend the tax money, which belongs to citizens. When government officials decide to compete in any market, they do not always behave like private firms do, as the capital that they are putting forward is not theirs. They are not betting their own money, which could lead them to make bolder decisions. The private sector is the key to efficient economic decisions.

Not only that, but the private sector comes up with innovation, which brings about economic growth. To increase productivity, thus profit, firms need to innovate. Take, for example, Henry Ford’s assembly line. He needed to manufacture cars at a faster rate, so he devised a new production method in which pre-produced parts were attached to the body at a specific location on a continuously moving line.

The fact that the private sector’s efficient production, combined with the government’s monitoring and safeguarding, propels a nation’s economy to new heights is undeniable.

On Rural Income

Rural lands are known for their contribution to the national income through agricultural production. Acres and acres of land are allocated for the sole purpose of feeding the population that lives in cities. What if the allocation of resources is disrupted in a way that spoils the welfare of the people living in these rural areas? What if they find that growing wheat, grains, or vegetables no longer sounds profitable? In that case, the villagers or their offspring would flee their homes, looking for new prospects outside their world. Discouraged, they would stop producing food, causing prices of the food to plummet at the country level.

Such a scenario has been coming true in many parts of the world. Masses of villagers move to cities at a greater pace than ever. They find it difficult to raise their family merely by harvesting crops. Family ranches with less than an acre of land barely make ends meet, as it is costlier to practice farming on a small scale. Big farmers with hundreds of acres of land can minimize their costs by making use of economies of scale.

Governments must act in such cases by coming up with policies that can encourage these small farmers to continue producing. Subsidies are one of these policies since they have the potential to raise their income to levels that enable them to keep going.

Small farmers can also form what is called "co-operative farming", getting together with neighboring farmers to produce on a larger scale. Such a practice has cost-saving features that help farmers cope with the ever-rising costs of agricultural production.