Quote:
Originally Posted by ubersteuer
We are absolutely in a 1% minority as enthusiasts. It's a blessing in disguise as driving a car as we know it today will only be done by people who truly want to drive. Everyone else can be whisked around in their iRobot cars while those of us who actually enjoy driving will have the roads to ourselves.
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haha, that's just one vision, the complete opposite can also happen in which irobot cars and lanes will dominate the avialable space, the people operated cars and available lanes will have minimum space in today's urban areas.
IMO, I think complete automation will not happen in our lifetimes. Mostly b/c of the liablity issues, not the technology. Passenegers have to sign away liability for a computer program that decides it's in the best interest to kill one occupant over another in an unavoidable collision.
In our liftimes, we're probably moving towards pure EV ownership and semi-autonomous lanes to manage congestion and emissions. And the only fossil fuel cars remaining would be 100% fossil fueled-sports cars (b/c it's impossible to replace the experience, similar to what horseback riding is today), commerical trucks and PHEV for the rural suburban populations.