I keep hearing the "there would be fewer cars" claim, but my counter-claim is that the mileage would be the same, so wear and tear would be the same. Look at how quickly taxis decay to see this.
Furthermore, I looked up reuses for tires. There is already a large, multi-stage chain of reuses and recycling for them, for all kinds of applications, from burning for cement kilns to civil engineering and agricultural products.[0] [1] [2] As one article put it "Those same characteristics, which make waste tires such a problem, also make them one of the most re-used waste materials"
One thing I've learned over the last 10 years in the tech world vs. the last 25 years in it, is that the mainstream (via its marketing catalyst) will override traditionally-held beliefs about the uses of technology and the words used to describe it.
Hence the public talking about "wifi" instead of "wireless ethernet connected to the internet."
The public doesn't know and doesn't respect the world as it was before the products became available which they feel express themselves.
I am/was with you in believing that high price doesn't mean "high-end," but that association has now become useless for communicating with the rest of the world.
The same can be said for the word "decimate." I've given up trying to use it properly and/or correct anyone. It's over. Also using "data" as plural. The world doesn't want a plan, it wants a dream.
Furthermore, I looked up reuses for tires. There is already a large, multi-stage chain of reuses and recycling for them, for all kinds of applications, from burning for cement kilns to civil engineering and agricultural products.[0] [1] [2] As one article put it "Those same characteristics, which make waste tires such a problem, also make them one of the most re-used waste materials"
[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_recycling
[1] http://www.designrulz.com/product-design/2012/12/20-ideas-of...
[2] http://www.earth911.com/living/travel-living/recycling-myste...