Golden Age of motoring? It's happening now

A menu of Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen on the Business page of The Sacramento Bee’s website – www.sacbee.com/news/business/article4005306.html

Sacramento, California –  People are asking: What’s the story of the year in the auto industry?

In my view, the industry itself is the top story of 2017.

Historians like to talk about the so-called Golden Age of motoring back in the 1950s and 1960s.  Frankly, all the things that are going on right now make those years seem like the Dark Ages.

Domestic new-car sales are again on a strong pace as 2017 nears its close (California likely will top 2 million new vehicles again by year’s end).  Incredibly, crossover sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks continued to ring up robust sales even as automakers are under pressure to produce more fuel-efficient machinery.

And they are doing just that.  Electric vehicle development is at an all-time high, and manufacturers are producing gas-electric hybrid versions of their most popular models. Infrastructure for hydrogen-fueled vehicles continues to expand in California.

 

Behind the scenes, major automakers continue to develop and test autonomous vehicles, which you can expect to see on Golden State roadways in numbers in the near future.

Incredible technology that I once believed would take 50 years to master can now be had at dealer lots from coast to coast.

Cars can park themselves, automatically hit the brakes hard in advance of a nasty collision and warn drivers of dangers approaching their vehicles from all angles.  You darn near have to try to crash some of today's motor vehicles.  That’s how advanced the safety systems are right now.

Other than the dawn of the automotive age, I can’t think of any period in history where so much is being developed and put into motion.  It’s an amazing time to be a motorist.

And sure, traditionalists are concerned.  The very idea of a motor vehicle driving itself instead of being controlled by human hands is dreadful to many.

I say relax.

I don’t anticipate the joy of driving on the open road going away anytime soon.  It’s still OK to enjoy the simple pleasures of motoring, while simultaneously admiring the seemingly relentless development of more powerful, safer and more technologically advanced cars.

You can expect a lot more in 2018.  Me?  I can’t wait.