I have been wondering what shift in meaning adding 'the' to those bare plural nouns would cause. My guess is it would cause readers to imagine they had known 'the cars that hand back control to the human driver,' or 'the cars that shoppers found prohibitively expensive when they are new' as presuppositions although they are not salient. Is this right?
But there is an elephant in the cab with even this rudimentary form of autonomy. Many companies are planning cars that, in the event of an emergency, hand back control to the human driver. (Google, a notable exception, plans a car with no steering wheel or brake pedal.) The potentially fatal weakness of this strategy is that it assumes “drivers” will be paying attention at the split second they are most needed, instead of being busy, say, taking a nap.
(New York Times)
Electric and hybrid cars often languish on dealer lots because they are too pricey for many new-car shoppers to consider. But on the used-car market, these "green" rides are among the most sought-after and fastest-selling vehicles. Some models are also more affordable than ever.
In many cases, cars that shoppers found prohibitively expensive when new — like the battery-powered Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius Plug-In hybrid — are priced more like traditional cars on the used market, according to a study by research company iSeeCars.com.
(Today)