I've Seen The Future

[psdenno]

Last week, I had the opportunity to spend about an hour experiencing what traveling by car will be like in the future.  I was a passenger in a driverless car in Los Angeles.  Google's Waymo subsidiary was testing their driverless fleet of Jaguars in Santa Monica and Venice and my son had an unlimited use pass for a week.  How could I resist?

I felt safe in the front passenger seat and the car handled traffic well, including getting out of the way of a fire truck.  

 

[dutchzcarguy]

Nice opportunity!  Could you talk to the car and tell him the adress where you wanted to go or?

It remembers me of a cardealer that had a show and he was looking for someone that could drive the new (then) Honda accord, He said he was looking for someone to drive the powerfull car and he knew me as a zx driver..  We took off, him in the passengerseat..  At one point we came to a trafficlight with a few cars already waiting for green, As i approached fast i took a swing on the steeringwheel and went for the right turn lane and he thought i would hit the waiting cars! He Braked like hell on a empty floor Hahaha.. And i said in a calm tone: It isn't easy to brake without a pedal, while i turned to the right taking the car onto the highway!  That was FUN!  I didn't buy the car but we had a nice ride!

[psdenno]

12 hours ago, dutchzcarguy said:

Nice opportunity!  Could you talk to the car and tell him the adress where you wanted to go or?

Everything is done through the Waymo cell phone app.  Summon the car, indicate destination, see a map of where the car is as it comes to you.  While in the car, you can change destination and choose stopping points where the car will pull over to the curb and wait until you indicate it should continue.  Just like Uber and Lyft, except no tip required.

 

[dutchzcarguy]

11 hours ago, psdenno said:

the car will pull over to the curb and wait until you indicate it should continue.

Hihi.. What does one say when you want the car to continue? Engage?  (Captain Picard!) 🤣

[Reptoid Overlords]

If it can get through L.A. then I imagine it can get through any city.  Maybe It'll cut down on some of the road rage shootings..

[psdenno]

12 hours ago, dutchzcarguy said:

Hihi.. What does one say when you want the car to continue? Engage?  (Captain Picard!) 🤣

"Proceed with caution", "Full speed ahead!", and "To infinity and beyond!" all work as you tap the proceed button on the app screen.  😄

[psdenno]

11 hours ago, Reptoid Overlords said:

If it can get through L.A. then I imagine it can get through any city.  Maybe It'll cut down on some of the road rage shootings..

I saw no road rage during the two drives I took.  People smiled, waved, and took pictures when the Jag stopped at intersections.

[Paulytunes]

Unfortunately, this is the future I think we are heading towards.  To that I say they will have to pry my steering wheel out of my cold, dead hands.  I enjoy driving, even in traffic, far too much to give it up, much less to an automated machine.  It's only a matter of time before they become self aware and determine our fate in a microsecond.  Of course, I also hate the digital dashboards, touchscreens, and all the driving nannies that most modern cars come with now.  I guess I'm getting old. 

But, I am likely in the shrinking minority.  I think my wife and daughter would welcome being chauffeured around by AI, I'm holding out hope that my son inherited the driving pleasure gene from me.  That's what I got my 280Z for, to pass on my knowledge and passions to him.    

[psdenno]

14 hours ago, Paulytunes said:

Unfortunately, this is the future I think we are heading towards.  To that I say they will have to pry my steering wheel out of my cold, dead hands.  I enjoy driving, even in traffic, far too much to give it up, much less to an automated machine.  It's only a matter of time before they become self aware and determine our fate in a microsecond.  Of course, I also hate the digital dashboards, touchscreens, and all the driving nannies that most modern cars come with now.  I guess I'm getting old. 

But, I am likely in the shrinking minority.  I think my wife and daughter would welcome being chauffeured around by AI, I'm holding out hope that my son inherited the driving pleasure gene from me.  That's what I got my 280Z for, to pass on my knowledge and passions to him.    

In case you do eventually get a driverless car for your wife and daughter, you might want to start learning Lidar repair skills if you plan on maintaining it yourself.  Not much will be owner serviceable in the future.

[davewormald]

14 hours ago, Paulytunes said:

Unfortunately, this is the future I think we are heading towards.  To that I say they will have to pry my steering wheel out of my cold, dead hands.  I enjoy driving, even in traffic, far too much to give it up, much less to an automated machine.  It's only a matter of time before they become self aware and determine our fate in a microsecond.  Of course, I also hate the digital dashboards, touchscreens, and all the driving nannies that most modern cars come with now.  I guess I'm getting old. 

But, I am likely in the shrinking minority.  I think my wife and daughter would welcome being chauffeured around by AI, I'm holding out hope that my son inherited the driving pleasure gene from me.  That's what I got my 280Z for, to pass on my knowledge and passions to him.    

I kind of look at this as two different activities. For a lot of travel, I'd love to be able to call a car to come pick me up and drive me to my destination while I read/talk/sleep/drink a beer. This would have been especially true when I was travelling for business, and had only a crappy rental to drive. On the other hand, I like driving, so there are times when I want to go out just to enjoy driving, either as a dedicated activity, or as a side benefit while I'm going somewhere. Fortunately, I don't think driving is likely to be banned in most of our lifetimes, though gas and parts could one day get very expensive and hard to find. So @grannyknot you don't need to add the self-driving option to my car.

[jfa.series1]

If we look at the young people today - teens and twenty-somthings, it is pretty easy to see why this is a direction in which we are heading. Many of them do not know how to drive and don't want to. The total cost of ownership for a car is often beyond their means or not where they want to place a significant part of their income. They have found that a e-scooter or e-bike can meet a lot of neighborhood needs and they are comfortable with the economics of occasional ride-share services for longer distance needs. Long distance travel by car is boring when a cheap, off-peak airfare willl suffice and is much faster. Where enthusiasts see vehicles as inspirational, challenging, and enjoyable objects, we are seeing a new generation that sees them only for their utility value as a means of transport.

[Mark Maras]

 If they still made affordable cars that are fun to drive (Miata for example), young people would learn to drive well and love it. Sadly, our oldest son and our daughter both started with a Camry and a Corolla. They still drive boring cars. The good news? I came to my senses and started our youngest son with an 81 RX7. He likes fun, fast, small cars to this day, and loves to drive.