Y2K

[Matthew Crews]

> Cars are a problem. We all expect our 60 year old 1957 Chevies to keep
> running. In 2038 a 60 year old car will be a 1978: Not an unreasonable
> expectation.
>
> By 2038 they can gain 29 years by redefining epoch-start as 1999
> instead of 1970. By 2067 technology will be so advanced that there can
> be special hobbiest car computer simulators that do all the same stuff
> as the original equipment, but have 64 bits underneath, and do dates
> the right way.

I actually expect that modern cars have an abysmally short lifespan these days due to the way automotive electronics are designed. Mechanically you can maintain a car practically forever as long as spare parts are available (or at worst, they can be machined if the designs are available). The problem is that everything is so intertwined with custom electronics that it probably isn't practical or possible to fix a car with a computer or electronic issue once the manufacturer stops caring to provide spare electronics. And before you say aftermarket, I counter with patents, copyrights and DRM being a legal problem that must be surmounted first.

My personal car right now is a 2005 Cobalt. Its still new enough that I could probably find spare electronics if needed, but in 10 or 15 years? I doubt it even from a dealership. 50 years? Definitely not happening. My wife's new 2017 Ford Escape? I expect this to be completely unrepairable electronically in 20 years, maybe 10 or 15 if Ford decides they don't want to support it anymore.

However,  we are veering far from the original discussion at this point.