Rumor has it that Tesla will upgrade the software in their cars so that they will be self driving in 90 days. Will self-driving cars change how vehicles are thought of? Why pay sixty thousand dollars for a Mopar Hellcat when you won't be driving it? Will most cars be simple econo-boxes when the thrill of driving is gone?
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Will it change how they are thought of? I don't think so yet. It will be a gradual switch to self-driving cars I'd bet, although there are many out there who should let someone/something else do the driving.
Econo-boxes? Nah, there's too much to spend in the comfort options and the gadgets - there will still be high-end and affordable models.
I would be scared s***less the first time I let it drive me, but highly interested in how they do! To think I could work/text/call while driving as well - sweet!
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ScienceChic wrote: <snip> Econo-boxes? Nah, there's too much to spend in the comfort options and the gadgets - there will still be high-end and affordable models.
<snip> To think I could work/text/call while driving as well - sweet!
I am thinking along the same lines. The mobile office will become that much more mobile and productive if none of us have to fret about traffic and driving the vehicle to get where we want to go. Safety is the other issue that comes to mind and I am of the opinion that it's almost always better to let the bleeding edge technology become well understood before I adopt it. There are a lot of potential abuses that could come to be if/when it becomes possible to control a self driving car without the owner's knowledge or consent.
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Torchwood had an episode about self-driving cars used against owners. A evil multi-national sold self-driving cars, if reporters wrote articles attacking the corporation, their cars would drive them off bridges.
Good point SC, instead of econo-boxes, people would be caring more about comfy seats and laptop plug-ins than horsepower and cornering ability. In some ways, I would want to keep my hand on the steering wheel, but driving I-80 from Denver to Omaha sounds like a perfect time to hit the auto-pilot.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
One can only hope the "OFF" button never disappears from choices allowed. The very thought of giving my safety over to a bunch of software developers makes my skin crawl. I'll take my chances with vehicles operated by flawed humans please . . .
As a car guy myself, I hope I'm dead before I am forced to give up the controls to a computer. That said, I think urban clusterf**ks would be ideal for these cars since it only takes a couple of morons to ruin the day for thousands (I-25 is the moron expressway). But to put this technology into a car that's fun to drive is just dumb.
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Rick wrote: As a car guy myself, I hope I'm dead before I am forced to give up the controls to a computer. That said, I think urban clusterf**ks would be ideal for these cars since it only takes a couple of morons to ruin the day for thousands (I-25 is the moron expressway). But to put this technology into a car that's fun to drive is just dumb.
I think this technology can be real useful on long road trips.
Tesla is not the only one with this tech either. Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes, etc all of the manufactures have some form of lane assist and blind spot detection that is ground work for self driving vehicles.
Rick wrote: As a car guy myself, I hope I'm dead before I am forced to give up the controls to a computer. That said, I think urban clusterf**ks would be ideal for these cars since it only takes a couple of morons to ruin the day for thousands (I-25 is the moron expressway). But to put this technology into a car that's fun to drive is just dumb.
I think this technology can be real useful on long road trips.
Tesla is not the only one with this tech either. Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes, etc all of the manufactures have some form of lane assist and blind spot detection that is ground work for self driving vehicles.
PrintSmith wrote: One can only hope the "OFF" button never disappears from choices allowed. The very thought of giving my safety over to a bunch of software developers makes my skin crawl. I'll take my chances with vehicles operated by flawed humans please . . .
I'm a software developer with over 20 years experience in lots of different coding shops. I agree with PS completely.
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PrintSmith wrote: One can only hope the "OFF" button never disappears from choices allowed. The very thought of giving my safety over to a bunch of software developers makes my skin crawl. I'll take my chances with vehicles operated by flawed humans please . . .
I'm a software developer with over 20 years experience in lots of different coding shops. I agree with PS completely.
Sorry PS, although I agree, its already way too late for newer cars. Drive by wire, ABS, ESC stability and traction control, electric motor power steering. The computer, code, and sensors are already between you and the vehicle "outputs".
At best, you could yank the battery cable with your hand, and apply a mechanical emergency brake.
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