I don’t, how’s that for a short answer?
Mind you, this is coming from a huge science-fiction movie nerd and robot fan, so theoretically, I should love the whole car-drives-itself thing, an SF standard since forever. And I do love the way Will Smith’s Audi stows its wheel in I, Robot, which is where I grabbed the frames for the topshot GIF. (Notably, that GIF is reversed, because while the Fresh Prince does trust his Audi to self-drive while he naps, he does not trust it to do the right thing when he’s about to get piled on by a bunch of Fruitiger Aerobots.)
I’m also a big fan of GM’s 1956 vision for self-driving technology as seen below, wherein a family of four is seen cruising effortlessly beneath the bubble top of a wheeled Wally Wood spaceship (which you may recognise as GM’s Firebird II concept) in the wondrous future of 1976.
And of course, I love Johnny Cab, because who doesn’t. Jonathan Entertainment Cabriolet is an interesting example, because he kind of gets at why I don’t see myself ever wanting a “full self-driving” car. Adaptive cruise control? Automatic braking? Yes, I’ll have those, but door-to-door from city to highway and back under computer control is a pass for me – even in a world where the machine’s infallibility can be taken for granted in exactly the same way that none of us ever wonders if a calculator did the math right.
You see, I would just be too uncomfortable sitting right there behind the wheel (or the space where it used to be, if I’m in Will’s Audi) as the car drives itself. I may have total confidence in the car’s ability to get me from A to B safely, but I would certainly be judging it. “Why are you changing lanes?” “Why aren’t we in the left lane?” “I wouldn’t turn here.” Etc. My head would be pounding. Just let me drive. (Assuming I can drive – make no mistake, I would appreciate being able to tell the car “take me to the hospital, I’m having a heart attack,” or “take me home, I overdid it on the Mai Tais,” and the safety benefits of that capability cannot be overstated.)
Strangely, I would be unbothered if I were on a bus that was self-driving (again, assuming take-it-for-granted safety of the system). Because who pays attention to the driving of a bus? Just let me know when I’m at my stop. But I can’t tune out like that in a car, where I’m constantly confronted by the fact that no one is driving, like the recurring nightmare I frequently had as a kid (feel free to psychoanalyze me in the comments). Sitting in the passenger seat while the car self-drives would be even worse. Know what would help? Put Johnny Cab in the driver’s seat. Even though he’s hilariously fake and doesn’t even pretend to hold a steering wheel (or have arms), someone is driving. I need that.
You tell us: Do You Actually Want Your Car To Drive Itself?
Topshot GIF: I, Robot/20th Century Fox
I’m split myself.
I have a car that has Ford’s BlueCruise on it. For the time I’m on the highway for 7 miles every morning or when I take my yearly trip to see my parents 3 hours away, it has been wonderful. It took a few time to get used to it (wife still hates it), but it has truly made those drives less stressful.
However, any other time, I don’t want it. I enjoy driving the side streets and the other half of my commute is a windy two-lane road that is quite fun so I wouldn’t want that taken away. If I’m really feeling “caveman-ish”, I will take the Focus out.
It’d be nice if my car could pick me up from the pub and bring me home… Other than that I’m not interested
If I could go through my commute reading a trash book on my kindle? Hell yes. It’s what I’d do if I could ride a train to work, but I live in the southern US and that’s socialism here.
I don’t even want electronic throttle. There’s a reason that both my daily beater and my work/project/backup truck are both 29 years old. No nannies, real throttle cables, easy to work on, super reliable, and cheap parts.
getting harder and harder to find said parts though, so prices are either going up or the parts are pretty bad Dorman variants.
But I agree with DBW and Electric Brakes. It is a concern.
What’s been great for now though is all of the wholesale closeout deals on RockAuto for both cars. New door handles for $2? Yes please! Brake pads for $5? Yup, stockpiling those. A pair of CV Axles for $30? Yup! (All of those happened on my Avalon, along with more I don’t remember).
close out scares me, it means they are not going to be available next time, but yeah, I definitely premptively buy closeouts on some of my vehicles. the water pump is slightly different on the H3 Alpha Aluminum LS and the the power steering pump is also rare, the plastic fluid reservoir is pretty much unobtainum now. and unnecessarily easy to break. same with the T-Case parts. shared with Mercedes, but getting harder to find, so I have a spare chain and the aluminum shift fork for when that gives out. I have a set of trans cooler lines for the old silverado since they were all out of stock on Rock auto I noticed. It’s always seemingly small stuff that gets you.
The only part of self driving capabilities that I find intriguing are for emergency situations. Falling asleep and the lane keep assist (maybe) swerves away from the deadly tree. Other than radar cruise control, which I adore, I’m not interested in anything below level 4/5 as it means I need to pay attention, so I may as well just drive myself.
I only own cars that are fun to drive. They tend to be less fun for passengers.
If I ever had a self driving car it would have to be a comfy barge.
I’ve had my Mach-E for almost 2 months. Blue Cruise was one of the main reasons I bought it. It makes my 60 mile commute, mostly interstate, so much better.
No doubt because it allows you to enjoy your whiskey en route
I hated the lane keeping system, the auto spacing cruise control and all the other out of the blue warning stuff on the new genesis the wife bought, but it grows on you….until it senses an imminent collision because the road surface color changed dramatically after a repair. still the early stuff is good to be adopted by you I suppose so it can get better for the rest of us once we don’t have a choice.
Absolutely not. I’ve seen enough YouTube videos of self-drive fails to be wary of this technology. Not to mention the incessant buzzing if one doesn’t place a hand on the steering wheel (some found the workaround with soda pop cans). I don’t want to feel complacant and more inattentive if I use self-drive feature too much.
It’s so much fun driving at 200–250 km/h on the Autobahnen so why should I relegate the driving pleasure to the technology?
It depends. When public transit isn’t possible, I’d love to be able to be driven. Whether it’s the car or a chauffeur driving is kind of an implementation detail and not essential to the task. Goal-oriented car trips are a waste of time if you have to focus on driving.
But sometimes I want to drive. Aimless driving is fun. So I wouldn’t want a car that is only self-driving.
I would like the option for my car to turn into a safe automated taxi for my daily commute and long highway drives.
I’d rather look at the scenery than the rear of another car
And other times I’ll drive it myself for the joy of driving a car myself
Hell no…never ever in a trillion years
That self driving demo by GM seems able to handle dozens of cars.
The Chicago area being transformed into a post apocalyptic desert wasteland is a nice touch of realism.
Not really, but I sure wish some of the other cars were driving themselves.
On many sections of I5 between Sacramento and Seattle, I would love for a self-driving car. Sometimes.
“Do You Actually Want Your Car To Drive Itself?”
For me, the answer is… sometimes.
Sometimes I know I’ll want to drive myself. Other times I’ll want it to drive me.
I want self driving to be like cruise control… where I can use it when I want, turn it off when I don’t want it and override it when I want.
Why wouldn’t I want the car to drive itself all the time? For the same reason that I don’t always follow the GPS directions… sometimes the stuff it wants to do is stupid or dangerous and I can do the job better myself.
> do the job better myself
That’s an interesting question, though. Like Google Maps will send me down routes that can objectively get me to a destination faster than I would if I used my usual routes. But it’s not always just about time. I actively avoid unprotected left turns, for example, which Google Maps doesn’t mind. I’ll usually drive an extra half mile down a straight street rather than take a bazillion little side streets to save 1 minute. And there are some streets where I live where truck traffic has destroyed the asphalt beyond recognition, with potholes the size of a small country and loose gravel etc. I actively avoid those roads because my tush and tires are important to me. Google Maps gives no hoots about my tires or comfort and happily sends me through those apocalyptic streets.
Google Maps and presumably a self-driving car’s directions are like your annoying uncle Frank who knows all the shortcuts and always gives you the most obnoxiously unclear and complicated routes known to man to save 37 seconds.
You nailed it. Google maps can definitely be “like your annoying uncle Frank who knows all the shortcuts and always gives you the most obnoxiously unclear and complicated routes known to man to save 37 seconds.”
Another thing Google Maps doesn’t account for… scenery. Sometimes I’ll take a route that might take longer, but it will have much more pleasant scenery.
Or another factor… Let’s say I’m hungry and on the way to somewhere. But I’m not sure what I feel like. So I’ll take a ‘slower’ route off the highway that will take me through an area that has more interesting restaurants than the typical chains you get along major highways.
I see little place in my life, or in the life of people commuting, to be paying less attention to driving.
HOWEVER, I’m very much hoping that true FSD eventually becomes a reality for a specific use case that will eventually impact most of us.
When reaching a certain age, may of us are no longer capable of driving. Or at least doing so safely. Some lose track of where they are going and get lost.
America has become incredibly car-dependent, as spread out as it is, with dreadful and / or non-existent safe, affordable public transit in the suburbs and rural areas. Homes tend to be distant from doctors, grocery stores, and general shopping for necessities as well as for entertainment. Given this, the aged become highly isolated. They become highly dependent upon others.
Now imagine have a car that will take you to the doctor, or to the grocery store, or g-d forbid, to urgent care or even to the hospital. One that will pull up to you and let you back in when you are ready to return. Your own personal taxi, so to speak. Or even one that can take over in case the driver experiences a medical event in the car.
Fuck no.
https://www.wired.com/story/gm-cruise-self-driving-car-launch-2019/
I always think of this image for my ideal of the driverless car experience. No steering wheel. Pick a destination, and catch up on some Zs. Whatever happens, happens.
But, of course, the amount of engineering, theory, revision, improvement, etc. needed for driverless to exist with human-driven cars is so massive and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. But one can hope.
If I hit traffic? Then yes. But in day-to-day driving? No! I enjoy it too much. 🙂
Absolutely not. How else will I experience the raw thrill of the Jatco Xtronic CVT unless I drive it myself?
I don’t have a Jatco Xtronic CVT of my own to enjoy, but when I need that thrill I will drag a chair in to my kitchen and sit in front of the dishwasher.
Doesn’t really matter if it’s on.
fair point, Jatco’s rarely run as well.
Never, ever do I want a self driving car. All I wanted to do since I was six years old was drive. At 70, I still feel the same way. I dread the day someone tells me I can’t drive anymore. That will be the end of me.
I only want my car to drive itself when I’m in the middle of nowhere driving and I have a Gatorade bottle for that specific purpose, cause I want that ETA to be close as HECK!
We’re 90 minutes from the nearest small (not private) airport. Going to dinner that is not one of our four restaurants is a chore. If I could have a self-driving ride that could handle interstates it would change my life.
Had a car one that would occasionally accelerate by itself. Usually in parking lots. That’s about as close as I’ll ever get to owning a self-driving car. Not interested.
Is it a creme Pontiac Aztek?
Not based on current technology, no. I’m open to the future, though.