High Tech Cars Are Killing the Auto Repair Shop. Will It Create a Market For “Dumb Cars”?

According to industry reports, cars in the US take an average of 2.1 days longer to repair than just two years ago. Industry experts predict this problem is going to get exponentially worse as auto repair shops today don't have the expensive diagnostic equipment, technical knowledge or replacement parts needed to offer faster repairs. Even routine jobs that once could be accomplished in an hour or two, such as a realignment, can now take up to a full day thanks to all the new sensors and cameras involved.

Will this inconvenience drive people in the future towards older "dumb cars" the same way modern frustration with ever present social media has led to an emerging market for dumb phones? While the demand for electric vehicles is likely to grow, given the high prices for fuel, it's not so far fetched to imagine a subset of consumers in the future opt for a more basic car that skips modern conveniences such as lane-change assistance, heated seats, back up cameras and automated parallel parking. It may not seem like it today, but each of those features are pretty unnecessary.