Cars are one of the means of transportation used by humans in the industrial era to replace carriages. Starting with the mass production of the Ford Model T, the automotive industry has become a strong support for the modern economy.

The automotive industry, with its super industry chain, has greatly promoted technological innovation and solved employment and economic development issues. From the United States, Germany to Japan, the global economic powers are all automotive powers.

From styling design, power technology to chassis tuning, various automakers have flourished in the century-long development of the automotive industry, each with their own fans and sentiments.

Nowadays, cars are starting to abandon humans and become a fully industrialized product throughout the entire process.

One of the cornerstones of the development of the automotive industry is the advancement of automotive manufacturing technology and processes. Every breakthrough in automotive manufacturing technology has brought about earth-shaking changes to the industry, with automated production being one of the most notable hallmarks.

The development of the automotive industry over the past century has given birth to highly integrated and automated production lines. Cutting-edge equipment, represented by robots, has enabled manufacturing processes such as stamping, welding, and painting to achieve fully unmanned production.

Automated production enhances production efficiency, offers unlimited production time, and ensures consistent and stable manufacturing quality. It has also gradually led to the abandonment of frontline workers in this industry. More people in factories are now responsible for maintaining the normal operation of production lines, no longer needing to tighten screws.

The hard but lucrative job of tightening screws in an automotive factory right after graduation will soon cease to exist.

Of course, in processes such as assembly and quality inspection, many factories still retain the highest density of workers. Even the relentless Elon Musk has encountered severe setbacks in his efforts to automate assembly.

However, the trend towards full automation in automotive manufacturing is irreversible, especially given the intense competition and unpredictable market conditions in the global automotive market today. A flexible and adaptable manufacturing system has become crucial for automakers to win the competition.

With the development of the equipment manufacturing industry and artificial intelligence, the final hurdle to automotive manufacturing automation is gradually being overcome. Elon Musk has even manufactured robots capable of building cars.

The ongoing layoff plans of major global automakers are not just a response to overcapacity but an inevitable choice for future competition. Many long-term employees who have worked in automotive factories for decades will have to find new paths.

It's not that the automotive market is struggling; it's that automotive manufacturing has changed! In the near future, automotive professionals will no longer enjoy the golden job security of automotive manufacturing.

The golden age of automobiles will exist in another form, not in automotive manufacturing but in the automobile product itself.

Cars, once hailed as mobile sofas, are accelerating their intelligent evolution marked by autonomous driving, beyond refrigerators, color TVs, and spacious apartments.

Our evaluation of a car is based on hard indicators such as spatial comfort, driving quality, and power performance, which also serve as sources of differentiated competitive advantages among automakers and their various models.

As cars accelerate towards fully autonomous driving, they will no longer require human control to operate independently, reverting to their past as sofas. Design, power, and handling will no longer be important.

Even the current autonomous driving assistance systems, which are nearly L3-level, allow many people to experience the future of mobility, where cars will no longer require human control around the clock, whether on highways or urban expressways.

While there are many variables, including technology and policy regulations, surrounding the realization of autonomous driving, this era will ultimately arrive, returning cars to their dual roles as a means of transportation and a third space.

We won't delve into whether autonomous driving can improve road safety and traffic efficiency, nor will we discuss different autonomous driving technology routes. Our primary concern will be whether the seats are comfortable enough and whether the interior space meets our needs.

As for aspects long touted by multinational automakers, such as chassis tuning, driving quality, and acceleration performance, they will become specialized topics within the small circles of automotive enthusiasts or professional racers.

When control of car driving shifts from humans to cars, we will merely be ordinary passengers, choosing between modes of transportation akin to planes or high-speed trains and between comfort levels like first-class or second-class seats.

Cars are vehicles created and controlled by humans. From automotive manufacturing to driving, both will become fully automated in the future, and cars themselves will no longer be our primary focus.

When cars no longer need humans, former factory workers will need to find new jobs to support their families, while car drivers will need to discover new hobbies to fill the void left by being abandoned.

We may already miss the bonuses that lasted for more than ten months in automotive factories, and we may have forgotten the thrill of pressing the clutch and shifting gears in a manual car, but there's no going back.