GM Says Driverless Cars Will Be Ready By 2018

Gregor Stipicic writes "Cars that drive themselves — even parking at their destination — could be ready for sale within a decade, General Motors Corp. executives say. 'This is not science fiction,' Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and development, said in a recent interview. GM plans to use an inexpensive computer chip and an antenna to link vehicles equipped with driverless technologies. The first use likely would be on highways; people would have the option to choose a driverless mode while they still would control the vehicle on local streets, Burns said. He said the company plans to test driverless car technology by 2015 and have cars on the road around 2018."

Comments

Re:Good

[Rei]

How exactly is driving for fun equal to racing?

The only difference is the speed. It's still not the intent of our transportation budget. See the above list? Where are the bowling alleys, the video game systems, the parasailing, etc? Society has generally judged entertainment to be a *personal* mandate, not something that justifies taxing everybody for and implementing communally. There are exceptions, of course, mostly focused around children (say, community parks and pools) and for purposes that have very broad appeal, can't work in the small scale, and especially if they have a "conservation" aspect (such as national parks). But they're the exceptions, not the rule.

I enjoy driving not necessarily for speed thrills. Enjoyment can be had with interesting roads, beautiful vistas, mastering the art of double-clutching and downshifting, hearing the exhaust in a tunnel, listening to music, etc, etc.

Then you don't lose a darn thing, all except the double clutching and downshifting, which you can do to your heart's content elsewhere. What, you think this also involves blacking out your windows, destroying all tunnels, and ripping the music player from your car?

I know it seems crazy/insane/unbelievable, but some people would rather drive themselves rather than being transported by boring government controlled transport pods.

I know it seems crazy/insane/unbelievable, but the vast majority of people in this country don't want the government funding things with taxpayer dollars merely for the entertainment of "some people". Especially when doing so eliminates a laundry list of benefits to the country at large.