It seems an Enronish move that some companies are going after for corporate investment dollars .Once it hits the marketplace , would it be the vehicle itself you would purchase because its the first of its kind or will you actually use its technology and feel safe in your commute across town.

It depends on where I lived and worked.

I live in a rural area. No traffic and most people drive at least 70 on any open road.

But I was in Dallas the other day, trying to go north during rush hour. I was tearing along at the furious rate of 10 mph on the Sam Rayburn Turnpike.

And this is in a car capable of 190 mph.

So I could see where if I was going slow enough to react to a system failure it would be great. I could sit back, listen to NPR, work on my computer, grab a bite to eat......

And then, when the traffic opened up like it did after two hours of this slowness, I could take over again.

So it's not for everyone but I can see where there is a large market for such tech.

Never buy the first generation of anything, you're just testing the technology for v2.0. I'd buy an autonomous car in a heartbeat once everything has been out for a while and proven itself.

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1963 Ford Falcon Convertible
1972 220D 4-speed
1986 190D 2.5 5-speed
1999 300D

Yup, and the price will not be cheap.

Think of the first Plasma TV's. $15,000 and not that long lived.

Today a 65 inch LED is about $1,500 or less at WallyWorld.

The 4k versions are amazing pieces of tv tech and $1500 is for the higher end product. I dont know if the tech on the transmission end has caught up too that level,maybe its just for dvd / blueray but the clarity is mesmerizing.
On a side note I just happen to be over hearing a conversation at my local sprint store ,the techs where talking about the samsung delimia and their phones .It is widely known in the phone industry that the charger cords you buy at say amazon are chinese $1 built junk and wont charge the battery according to specs.The talk continued about this could plausable be lnked to the battery turning to a welder / scenerio, Intersting.

Would I buy a self-driven car? No.

First year buy? Maybe used, but not new. I once bought a 1977 (October 1976 build date) 240D, and drove it daily for three years with minimal issues. First year of W123.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

When i hit retirement definitely. By then it will be proven reliable technology. The first self driving truck made its first delivery the other day. Self driving on the highway at least.

I like that facet of the technology. Get on the highway, set self driving like cruise control. Let it work its magic while i nap or read.

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NO

Suicidal JB3

yes

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Jim

heres the truck-
Self-driving 18-wheeler delivers the first shipment: Beer | Computerworld

you arent fully thinking about the ramifications of this technology. imagine a situation where you get on the highway and set "self drive", and most other cars on the highway are set to "self drive" also, and everyone is placidly tooling along at 55-65 without road rage, without tailgating, without all the nonsense we take for granted daily right now.

If this tractor trailer can reliably self drive NOW, where do you think this technology will be in 20 to 30 years? The article is very interesting, the company that built the system envisions depots where local drivers take over, and otherwise the trucks are sent out driverless to the next depot.

I can see the hybrid adaption of this technology easily being applied to passenger cars for limited use, and even being retrofitted to older cars. Lets say the highway becomes a network, you hit self drive at a marked point on the onramp, the data that a new car is entering the highway is reported to cars approaching, all cars adjust speed automatically to allow the new car to merge in seamlessly, before its even visible.

We will be entering a fascinating world of automotive developments coming up, camera and sensor technology continues to improve exponentially.

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If that is where we are headed, massive public transportation is a better choice than cluttering highways with cars. In fact, we could use many fewer highways.

Yes - I can't wait for all vehicles to be self driven - it is gonna be 'king great (so long as Microsoft doesn't get the contract)

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

In what way are the highways uncluttered currently, and how could less highways benefit this situation?

Public transportation has failed to take off in much of this country because it works best in urban and heavily populated suburban environments. how do you think that problem will get resolved if it hasnt been resolved already? The nature of public transport isnt changing much unless we suddenly can get dropped off where ever we need to be via drone.

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I have asked one of our daughters not to use the self drive especially with our grandson in the car. No sense going into all the technicalities of why not.

It is a Honda product. If she will or not is up to her though.

I see a real danger of letting it lull you into a situation. As time goes by you become more dependent and the first event may be your last. The manufactures have taken this into consideration and provides some guidance. Depending on their methods of safeguarding many can be defeated as well.

At the same time human nature being what it is one might ignore them. Many of us when young remember driving until we were too tired to drive any further.

When in that state if you let the car continue could go badly for example. A component failure when not paying enough attention was another thought. You would not be expecting it and this could alone easily decrease your reaction time.

I think one lane such as a metro lane will be the answer for self driven cars, they can drive fast and wont be able to change lanes but theyll be aware of whats in frt of them and behind them as a system allowance , certain stops or lane openings will be part of that lane structured grid.I really believe its an viable tech of the future with one big problem, these car designers are leaving out one big problem and solution, infrastructure. Their wont be a SDC with out smart lanes to interact with them ,tax payers will be seeing the bigger expense for the future of the techie vehicles to hit the road.I see an inflatable rear bumper being the next techie idea coming from these brainey cars .