Automakers Fear That Self Driving Cars Are Not Going To Be Big Profit Makers

I don't want to alarm the luddites in this forum, but you'll note that the smart money is thinking when, not if.

The Technology NOW exists for your car to be controlled by the actual Speed limit signs on the road - plus conditions for merging onto a highway - no longer need to PASS anyone - they will all be doing the same speed - they will be limited in how close together they will be - acceleration will also be limited - so eventually ALL cars will only be able to do the SAME things regarding driving - the difference will be interiors and size. THat being the case - and IT WILL BE ENFORCED - I cannot imagine politicians not doing those eventually to save more people on the road - and the desire to have self driving cars will increase simply because driving will no longer be any fun.

I'm sure there will still be opportunities to drive for fun. The big plus is that commutes will be way less burdensome with the ability to nap, work, or be entertained. The cost of transportation is also going to go way, way down. Take out the driver from an Uber and the cost would be one quarter what it is today.

If the "performance" of a car is restricted to what the Politicians set as Limits - what FUN is that? If you cannot take a corner at speed - or accelerate faster than your mother (mine is 98) - then the ONLY way to have fun driving a car will be on either VERY back roads that are not equipped with the electronic gadgets YET - or seriously OFF road driving where a 4x4 will be needed.

If you really believe that the Government will not set these limits - you forget that they will be doing so to prevent accidents - reduce or eliminate fatalities - and make driving "safer". How could anyone in the population NOT WANT those things? Or - to be closer to the truth - the "general population of voters" - who are not car enthusiasts.

The cost maybe high and the profit quite low, but without autonomous driving offerings, some automakers who fail to provide autonomous vehicles could potentially fail to exist because their products can't keep up.

If someone could purchase an autonomous vehicle from a competitor that is far safer and not to mention frees up hours of time for the driver to do other things, companies that fail to provide autonomous vehicles could very likely fail.

It might be a while until we get fully autonomous cars on the road, but make no mistake that once that day arrives, if companies don't have something to offer, I wouldn't expect consumers to keep buying their cars.

Makes you wonder what will happen to the performance brands in the future - Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin. Will they survive if people no longer drive? Will they turn their model to luxury?

I really think there always will be drivers. Not everyone is a good-for-nothing pile of crap wanting to be lazy.

Will driving video games drive them selves too? Can't wait for future versions of PlayStation Gran Turismo.

"I really think there always will be drivers. Not everyone is a good-for-nothing pile of crap wanting to be lazy."

There are also people still riding horses, but mostly on dude ranches or doing tours of Central Park.

Well, not to post about Tesla again, but they are charging a very pretty penny to upgrade Model 3's to autonomous operation. Key here is what will the take rate be on an Audi A8 or The S-Class for the automated driving option? And when will the legal system catch up to technology and allow your car to "take" you to work? I will say I would like to see how laser guided cruise control works on a 1hr+ crawl home on the 400 series HWY's in Toronto. I think that feature plus lane guidance and emergency stopping are the winning autonomous bundle most would pay for. Turn by turn will be too pricey (and too buggy) for most to trust with their family in the car.

Once you are a passenger you quit being a driver and loose all the connectivity to your machine. It is at this point it stops being automotive product and becomes an appliance. Peeps will shell out bucu bucks for cars -not so much for appliances.

Yes indeed - that was MY point. Anther would be - once you have muchmore limited control of the car than you once had - making your car act like ALL the others on the road - why spend for anything other than a great interior - acceleration is only useful when you have control of the pedal.

Even into the future I would suspect cars to be able to be both a "driver" and an appliance that is remotely controlled in HWY situations with smart road technologies. Once you are away from the major cities and roadways, any car will need to be able to have "manual" control by the driver as these smart systems may take decades to be implemented in any large way.