A better analogy is the auto industry in the 70's. The OPEC gas crunch made every car a brick, pressed higher unemployment, and resulted in towns full of abandoned vehicles.

For 2015 we're seeing a generation of drivers who simply don't care enough about having their own car. Low wages, transportation options, green choices, etc., are all weighing on an old school industry that hasn't evolved past SUVs. Going into the red while still carrying the burden of school debt is not likely to motivate them much, even with cheaper gas. For them, a new bit of tech, one time payment, and $50 cell charges will keep them connected more than any car would.

If you were a kid, which would you choose? A $25,000 loan you have to have to find parking for, or a $1,000 watch/band/hat you can use anywhere with no further responsibilities? Probably they are going to take the latter.

I don't find these stats promising.
Being from a family of 50k miles per year per driver, I can tell you that we all take vehicle safety highly seriously. We do not get into accidents, we do not get broadsided or hit pedestrians or bicyclists or even stop signs.
The two incidents I can recall in over 10 years are once my uncle got hit from behind at a full stop at a red light, and the other time some loony attacked my mother's van with a baseball bat while she was driving down a street in broad daylight. Both had to be reported, neither were "our fault".
What happened in California was probably at least partially the fault of the person or computer behind the wheel. In all likelihood, a human who sits behind a motorized cart all day is likely to make small, albeit non-fatal mistakes when they are finally prompted to take over the wheel. This might account for the two "low-fault" incidents reported, but I would hardly let them get away with "not at fault at all". When you drive with your full attention on your task, you can judge surroundings better, assess risks, quickly decide a course of action, and execute your escape fairly well. So sadly even little fender benders are someone's fault, and almost always both vehicles. The computer accidents? Who knows, shrouded in secrecy no doubt. Twenty bucks says Google paid good money to make it go away quickly and with an NDA.

That in itself would be illegal too
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/31443f/donating_to_snowden_is_now_illegal_and_the_us

Nailed it.

You can do a lot of things to help him out, except they're all as "treasonous" as his disclosures.
Donating to Snowden is now illegal

Now the climate deniers are going to pounce on us all. What's next, a Tachyon Field Generator inside the Large Hadron Collider?

What if someone annoying is online, can I punch them?

And Google, And Apple, And ...

Netflix, Amazon, Sling
Possibly Google, Apple, anyone else?

I wouldn't have a problem with the whole thing if our taxes weren't the linchpin in enabling the whole process. Seems anti-democratic..

People intent on banning this stuff have forgotten one caveat: it tastes fairly bad, even when you pollute it with sugar.
A good bottle of whiskey/rum/vodka actually follow a process that gives them a refined and palatable flavor.
Grain in any form, diluted or not, just tastes like rubbing alcohol every time.

Although I hike and enjoy some alcohol after a climb, I will still carry a flask and make myself joyful the old fashioned and refreshing way.