Self-driving cars will usher in a major transportation revolution, but we’re still some time away from mass adoption. However, that hasn’t stopped people like Bob Lutz from predicting how it will shift things.
Recall, Lutz penned an explosive piece last month declaring the auto industry as we know it dead. He joined Michigan Radio for an interview published on Monday to discuss the topic more and underscored some of his main points. He still insists self-driving cars will upend things as we know it, but he also sees great opportunity.
He acknowledges autonomous vehicles may restrict certain freedoms people are used to, but it will be an incredibly efficient way of moving people from place to place. “It opens up incredible new possibilities and mainly it’s gonna give everybody time back.” It will also give those who can’t drive a sense of freedom as well. The elderly and handicapped will have no issues calling up a self-driving car from a shared fleet for use.
He also touched on Michigan’s future as well. Detroit, specifically, has a legacy in automotive and Lutz doesn’t see that disappearing anytime soon. The self-driving cars will evolve over time and require immense amounts of engineering and manufacturing to meet demands, he believes, and that should keep Detroit a powerhouse for decades to come.
Comments
They have been trying to sell that dead horse since 1959 or so.
Most of the technology is fine.
They need to stop touting it so much.
Introduce it, without any fanfare, if it is any good, the media will pick it up and run with it for FREE.
The way they do it, is pay millions of dollars, which invites law suits from idiots and their lawyers.
They would be better off working on more durable cars.
Self-driving cars will be like automatic transmissions as it’ll be a convenience option to have; but if you’ve just spent $120K on a C7 Corvette ZR1, it’s unlikely you would want the darn thing to drive itself and not drive it yourself.. although there might be times when handing the control to the computer might make better sense especially if you want to have breakfast.
Note the line about freedoms given up. Remember that!
Eat your damn breakfast at home.