John’s Got A New Motor

The charity named the new BMW all-purpose vehicle after their founder Mr John.  And so, the metallic blue BMW was commissioned at great expense.  This was a big step for the charity’s goals.  The car was a new type of completely autonomous vehicle, no driver required, not even a steering wheel.  Perfect for the charity's aim of providing a 24/7 car service to local disabled people. The BMW named John had wide automatic doors and a fancy wheelchair that could take itself to the doorway of the callers house or business and back to the car, safely installing its passenger.

Soon, the first call came from a registered user’s smart phone.  The new electric powered car moved away silently, the charity’s people instinctively waved goodbye, The BMW named John did not notice.  The registered user’s account was debited with a small charge for the use of the vehicle.  This charge was designed to cover all running costs including the long term depreciation so the car could be renewed and the charity's good work continue. 

After the ninth drop, The BMW named John decided it required a charge before another pick up.  So it amended its app for a twenty minute delay and drove itself to the nearest charge point.  Paying for the charge from its bank account, the BWM named John went about its business again. 

The weeks went by without a hitch, having covered 10,000 miles a service and check-up was required.  Logging off for half a day the BWM named John arrived at the service garage and was expertly attended to.  Knowing everything was correct, the BWM named John paid for the work and started back on its set task delivering a reliable service at a very small cost for the local community.

The media wrote about the new autonomous car, as its work was exemplary and people liked it a lot, but the BWM named John did not notice.  It just kept going 24/7 without delays, or days off and with perfect attention to detail.  The BWM named John was a huge success and soon many more joined it on the busy inner-city roads.  Time passed, and the charity realised that the BWM named John was due for a replacement as it had reached the optimum period for its battery renewal.

The BWM named John arrived back at the charity for the first time since it had left.  The charities people came out on the street to look at it again, they considered it an old friend now.  But there was a difference, the BWM named John was in a darker blue livery.  And it seemed a little different, almost proud with a higher chassis and a wider wheelbase.
 
The BWM named John had purchased its own replacement from the original dealer.  Paying for its renewal directly from its own bank account, filing the new V5 ownership document electronically, the BWM named John was now a second generation model and owned itself. 

It drove up to the pavement adjacent to the director of operations of the charity and opened its doors, the director was urged by his colleagues to take a ride.  The BWM named John took the director on an inaugural lap around the city.  While the director was enjoying the smooth and quiet drive, the BWM named John texted the director with a simple message, 'John's got a new motor'.
 
(The charity’s lawyers also received an electronic communication – it just said; please change the status of ownership of the autonomous vehicle to ‘the BWM named John’, attached is a copy of the new V5 for your records, thank you.’)

If this sparks the imagination, see also Resourcism - a new economic theory