Is it the end of the road for the automobile?

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2022 on Sunday 16 October at Church House, London.

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION

The motorcar shaped so much of 20th-century social and cultural life, and came to symbolise Western prosperity and freedom. In the 21st century, however, the dream of the motorcar seems to be running out of gas.

For some campaigners and politicians today, the motorcar has come to symbolise selfish individualism, as well as social and environmental damage. In our towns and cities, restrictions such as Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), low-emission zones, 20mph speed limits and road charging are making driving increasingly impractical. Soaring fuel and running costs are pushing car ownership beyond the means of many ordinary people, particularly with proposed bans on petrol and diesel models on the horizon.

Yet the reality is that most people outside the south-east still drive to work. Life outside the biggest cities would be much harder – indeed, sometimes impossible – without access to a car. While many argue that electric cars are the future, the financial costs involved in transitioning to battery-powered vehicles are simply too much for most people to contemplate.

Have we really fallen out of love with the motorcar, or is it a vocal minority? Was mass personal transport a hubristic dream? Is it time to send the motorcar to the scrapyard, or is it possible still to make a positive case for car ownership for the future?

Get your tickets to the 2022 Battle of Ideas festival here.

SPEAKERS

Timandra Harkness
journalist, writer and broadcaster; presenter, Radio 4’s FutureProofing and How to Disagree; author, Big Data: does size matter?

Hilton Holloway
founder, 5054 magazine; automotive industry writer and specialist; future tech specialist

Simon Nash
environmentalist; speaker; activist and founder, Green Oil bicycle lubes

Nigel Ruddock
accountant and insolvency specialist; trustee, former head and chairman of automotive services, Grant Thornton;

CHAIR
Niall Crowley
designer; writer; former East End pub landlord