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E_SolSi

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i called it ... its on its way :(

http://news.yahoo.com/video/tech-15749651/test-driving-the-google-car-22403930

http://news.yahoo.com/video/tech-15749651/test-driving-the-google-car-22406387



and this goes right along with what i have been saying for YEARS
it is in the not to distant future that we will no longer be able to drive our cars, they will drive themselves
it will first be a convienience thing
then it will be a safety thing
then people will no longer have control of their vehicles, because we will be viewed as an "unsafe variable" or some such shit

it has been heading this way for a while now... but the technology is getting closer to allowing it to happen
cruise control systems can now tell when you are getting close to slower traffic and adjust your speed accordingly
perimiter sensors can tell when you are in danger of hitting anything when backing up or parallel parking
GPS can pinpoint your location within 10 feet or so
newer GPS systems (like the ones in the new hondas) have voice recognition and will give you driving directions to virtually any location
so basicly all they need to make available to the public is a system that will steer the car
then its just a matter of perfecting it and making it "safe"

it will be a sad day :(

it will be worked in slowly
first it will be an option on higher priced vehicles, then it will filter down to pretty much every other car (just like every other option does)
it will start out as a convienience feature that can be disabled at will (kinda like in iRobot)
as it is proven safer and safer, you will start seeing insurance going down for auto drive cars and going up for manual drive cars
then certain roads will become restricted to auto drive only (kinda like HOV lanes)
gradually more and more roads will become auto drive only, making it very inconvienient to not have an auto drive car
then it will become a game of accident statistics
as the ratio of auto drive car accidents : manual drive car accidents changes it will become rediculously expensive to drive a car yourself due to insurance, taxes, etc
slowly you will see manual drive cars phased out

and the saddest thing is that most people will welcome this, for multiple reasons:
some because they are just fucking lazy and dont like driving any way
some will love the convienience of being able to do other shit durring their comute, like read, watch TV, take a nap, eat, talk on the phone, etc without having to focus on driving
some because they will love the "added safety"
some for the reduction in gridlocked traffic, cars that are driving themselves in a network connected to the other cars around them (kinda like train cars) can drive faster and closer together, meaning more cars in the same space, and lowered travel times
some will love the fact that they can go to the bar and get SHIT FACED and they have a bult in designated driver

people opposed to this will be in the minority, and will be pretty much ignored
eventually it will be such a normal part of life that it will simply be accepted by default, because people wont know any different, the idea of driving your own car will seem as odd as people making their own clothes, or living without electricity

yayy!!! remove even more of the joys of learning the techniques of REAL driving by letting a computer do it for you :(

why learn to launch? just use launch control
why learn threshold breaking? just use ABS
why learn proper cornering technique? just use ASC
why learn to properly modulate the throttle? just get traction control
why learn to rev match? just let the computer do it
why pay attention and avoid running into the car in front of you? just get the car that automatically slams on the brakes for you
why learn to back up or parallel park? just get a car that does it for you

and in a few years... why bother driving? just let the car do it for you

i fucking hate that driving is becoming as bland and automated as the rest of our lives :(

i know... i think the thing that bothers me the most is that no one cares about the enthusiast... well not many companies do anyway...

for the most part they just keep automating more and more every chance they get... and people just keep eating it up

i already know how this is going to end up... ive said it before... someone will invent a car that has an auto drive mode... it will be Mercedes or Volvo that most likely comes out with it... it will be kind of like cruise control is now, in that if there is any contrary input from the driver the system will be immediately disengaged and the driver will be back in control... people will be a bit sketchy about it at first... but as time goes by it will prove itself as being safe, at least as safe as manually driving... it will spread across more brands and more and more cars on the road will have it... eventually there will be limited access lanes on the highways designed for auto drive only, kinda like the car pool lanes... those lanes will prove to have a lower instance of traffic accidents... more lanes will be designated to auto drive... fast forward several years... eventually people will be deemed to unpredictable and inconsistent, too risky, too dangerous, and it will become a ticketable offense to drive on the highway manually... then it will start to trickle down to regular roads... in the mean time the auto drive system is now the default setting for cars... and if the car senses that you are diving in a matter that may be dangerous, it will take back the control from you, you know to keep you and those around you safe... as more and more people become accustomed to simply riding in a car, instead of driving it, cars will no longer have the option of manually driving them... and then the roads will essentially be little more than conveyor belts that deliver us to our destination in the shortest, quickest, most direct route possible...
and thats the end of it... a car will simply be another appliance... joy riding will be a thing of the past... as will be the joy of driving... the automotive spirit will be dead
 
You spent WAY too much time on that post for a topic that's last weeks news :D


How we feel about driving/internal combustion engines is the same way old folks feel about muscle cars, carburetors, and all that jazz. it's just natural evolution of things. Doesn't mean we have to submit to it.... there will be plenty of cars that DON'T drive them selves well into the end of our lifetimes.
 
The first time one of these driverless cars has a break down and kills a family that will be all she wrote.
 
The first time one of these driverless cars has a break down and kills a family that will be all she wrote.
People don't take care of their cars now. You think this system would work with no upkeep and abuse?
 
I dunno. Plenty of cars driven by people have killed people. They haven't done away with that yet.
 
No, that's what I am saying. The first time a driverless car kills somebody it will be all but a dream of the past.
That's like saying if someone's brakes ever fail, they'll have to outlaw brakes. Or if someones steering column/drive by wire fails, they'll outlaw those. Or if someones tire goes flat, we'll have to use solid tires.

The only difference is that all of those were invented before our bullshit court system allowed idiots to sue over everything instead of accepting the responsibilities and risks that come with every facet of life.
Thank you, U.S. Justice System, for making progress impossible, and absolving our citizens of all personal responsibility, your efforts will do more to cripple this country than anything else.
 
It also will not be a system where you sit down and tell the car to drive you home. It's a glorified cruise control that requires an attentive operator at all times. Will people abuse it? Sure, just like cruise control, some asshole will set his car to autopilot and fall asleep. And when the car crashes, will he be absolved of responsibility? No. He decided to use a system for something it was not designed for, he bears the blame for the consequences.
 
i would love to have a self driving car. party all i want and not get a dui.
It will never happen. Nobody will design a system that takes the operator completely out of the equation. Too much liability.
 
It will never happen. Nobody will design a system that takes the operator completely out of the equation. Too much liability.

the only way it could happen is if 100% of cars were like this. however, this is what cabs are for. $30 is far cheaper than a night in jail.
 
I was just like everyone here, loved cars, blew my money on them constantly, went to the track, sat in parking lots, talked to grease monkeys about which bolts they were going to turn next, etc., however no longer having to drive has been one of the most freeing things ive ever experienced.

Ill never buy another car until I absolutely have to... and if/when I do i'd love it if it did the driving for me.

Automate away, just dont track where I go and how often I go there...

...fuck. :ph34r:
 
talk about stress relief. i take the bus to work. and i hate hate hate public transpo. but man, not dealing with traffic, paying for parking, gas, etc. it's been a huge relief.
 
talk about stress relief. i take the bus to work. and i hate hate hate public transpo. but man, not dealing with traffic, paying for parking, gas, etc. it's been a huge relief.

Subway > Bus.

We need moar subways.

Especially teh footlongz.

Everybody loves a footlong!
 
That's like saying if someone's brakes ever fail, they'll have to outlaw brakes. Or if someones steering column/drive by wire fails, they'll outlaw those. Or if someones tire goes flat, we'll have to use solid tires.

Maybe, but I see a fundamental difference between a component of a car breaking with a driver interacting, and a car driving itself malfunctioning. This isn't just a single part failing, and I know I wouldn't want to trust my life in a vehicle that a thinking person isn't in control of.
 
Even the cars in iRobot could be manually driven . . .
 
Maybe, but I see a fundamental difference between a component of a car breaking with a driver interacting, and a car driving itself malfunctioning. This isn't just a single part failing, and I know I wouldn't want to trust my life in a vehicle that a thinking person isn't in control of.
That's the thing, nobody is going to market a "car that driving itself". That would mean they would accept liability when it fails.
 
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