<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="Generator" CONTENT="MS Exchange Server version 5.5.2650.12"> <TITLE>RE: car-free Europe</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> > Hostility to car use is merely > sublimated hostility to car users. No, I really hate cars themselves.  But here's an area where your technophilia might be useful, Jim.  Instead of squandering scarce R&D capital on genetic modification technologies, we should be investing heavily in ways to make automobiles less loathsome.  One prime area to focus on, IMO, is automated navigation. Once cars could largely drive themselves, there would be no need to produce oversized, fuel-wasting vehicles for reasons of safety; highways could be reduced in scale to make them less of an eyesore; and there would be no more concern about the driving practices of drunks, teenagers and the elderly ... among other benefits. Carl </BODY> </HTML>