When friendly hackers landed a Jeep Cherokee in a ditch last week, it sent a warning to BMW Group, Audi and Mercedes-Benz as Germany's luxury automakers compete increasingly on technology rather than just horsepower.Mercedes's E class will soon join the S class in being able to help steer itself, while Audi sent an unmanned RS7 down a track at race-car speeds and BMW's new 7 series responds to hand gestures and parks itself. All three already offer self-braking systems and highly automated cruise control that are slowly shifting driving responsibility away from the human and toward the machine.
Now the automakers must reassure consumers willing to spend upwards of 45,000 euros ($50,000) that it's safe to drive what has increasingly become a computer on wheels. All three companies say they have tools in place to thwart cyber-attacks, including encrypted connections and firewalls to shield safety and entertainment systems.
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