GM unveils autonomous Bolt EV without steering wheel or pedal, aims to bring it to market next year

electrkek.com ^ | Jan. 12th 2018 | Fred Lambert

[equaviator]

I don’t want to see people getting too hopped up over these driver-less vehicles because they take the fun out of driving and I think there are millions of car owners who would agree. If the technology is supposed to be yet another one of those things that saves us from ourselves then I’m not interested. Driving a car is fun. Being driven in a car isn’t unless you’ve been invited to join in a limo party.

[adorno]

To a lot of people, perhaps most, driving is not fun, not after the initial few years of driving and after the novelty wears off.

Cars and trucks are just transportation, though there will be many who enjoy driving themselves.

I’m pretty sure that, if driverless vehicles prove to be safe and less expensive, and gives people a lot more free time to do other things, that eventually, nobody will miss the driver-involved vehicles. Even those that enjoy driving, will move on.

But, perhaps there will be a future for people-driven cars, where they can enjoy themselves, but on tracks and areas that are specifically set up for that kind of enjoyment.

If airplanes had been designed from the beginning to be easy to operate as everyday transportation, and if had also been affordable, that people would find that very difficult to give up too. But, the regular Joe and Jane out there don’t miss that at all, just like we don’t miss horseback riding or the horse-and-buggy. If we were to take away the horse-and-buggy from the Amish, they would be adversely affected, but they too will be taken off the roads, or the roads will be modified to give them their own lanes.

In any case, I’m pretty sure that as time passes, driverless vehicles will become the norm.

[equaviator]

“as time passes, driverless vehicles will become the norm.

No offense but I hope you’re wrong. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

[UCANSEE2]

Then it's not a drone. It's a manned octocopter.

True. I was at fault for not addressing that earlier. I just jumped from the Drone idea to the Flying Car idea without shame.

[adorno]

No offense but I hope you’re wrong. You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

There are some things which need to be gone. Accidents which kill many thousands in the U.S. alone, need to be gone. Paying $35,000 or more for vehicles, needs to be gone. Paying taxes for vehicle purchases, needs to be gone. Paying high prices for automobile insurance, needs to be gone. Paying good money for maintenance and repairs, needs to be gone. Paying for parking spaces, needs to be gone. Paying to maintain garages in homes, needs to be gone. Paying for fuel and then paying high-taxes for fuels/electricity, needs to be gone.

Worrying about dying in auto accidents, needs to be gone. Getting hit by drunk or impaired drivers, needs to be gone. Worrying about staying awake at the wheel, needs to be gone.

Having the extra time in a vehicle to work or do pleasurable things, is a very welcome change.

As far as I'm concerned, the advantages of driverless vehicles far outweigh the measly number of what some see as pleasurable activities.

[equaviator]

Where does it end? Are airliners next? Where are my crash-free airplanes?...my banana peel-free sidewalks? There is no such thing as a risk-free America and there never will be.

[adorno]

Where does it end?

There is no end. Technology is taking over. Have you ever heard of robots and computers? And lately, have you heard of the "home assistants" like Alexa and Google Home, and the numerous home-automation gadgets which will be assisting you in the "smart home"?

Are airliners next?

Haven't you heard of the private Uber and Lyft planes? They're under development as we speak.



Where are my crash-free airplanes?

Not possible until gravity is gotten rid of. Even the smart planes and smart vehicles, will still have to obey the laws of nature, meaning that, unless someone figures out a way around gravity, there will be "mishaps".

...my banana peel-free sidewalks?

Now you're getting ridiculous, but, even that might not be a problem in the future, when robots might be doing the peeling of bananas and then discarding the peels for you and won't be dropping them anywhere for people to slip and fall.

There is no such thing as a risk-free America and there never will be.

Nobody has ever claimed that there won't be any risks. What there will be a lot fewer risks with a lot better technological future.

BTW, why did you feel that you had to get away from the subject at hand, which was EVs and autonomous vehicles?

[equaviator]

No, I was just egging you on to see how far you were willing to go in answering a series of strictly rhetorical questions.

[adorno]

No, I was just egging you on to see how far you were willing to go in answering a series of strictly rhetorical questions.

Actually, in the context of today's advanced and advancing technology, those questions are real, and many people will ask them and expect answers.

I'm glad to have helped. ;)

[equaviator]

If you’re happy, I’m happy.

[adorno]

Like I said, glad to have helped.

Now, glad to have made you happy. ;)