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GM Will Make an Autonomous Car Without Steering Wheel or Pedals By 2019 (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the next-up dept.

General Motors plans to mass-produce self-driving cars that lack traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals by 2019, the company announced today. From a report: It's a bold declaration for the future of driving from one of the country's Big Three automakers, and one that is sure to shake things up for the industry as the annual Detroit Auto Show kicks off next week. The car will be the fourth generation of its driverless, all-electric Chevy Bolts, which are currently being tested on public roads in San Francisco and Phoenix. And when they roll off the assembly line of GM's manufacturing plant in Orion, Michigan, they'll be deployed as ride-hailing vehicles in a number of cities. "It's a pretty exciting moment in the history of the path to wide scale [autonomous vehicle] deployment and having the first production car with no driver controls," GM President Dan Ammann told The Verge. "And it's an interesting thing to share with everybody."

8 of 232 comments (clear)

  1. I welcome this by gameboyhippo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Autoautomobiles will be a life changer for those with disabilities.

    1. Re:I welcome this by b0bby · · Score: 4, Insightful

      One of my kids' friends has eyesight which precludes her from driving without some pretty major corrections. I half jokingly said she should just wait 5 years for self driving cars and she half jokingly replied that she was going to move to California to get one sooner. People with disabilities and the elderly are going to be helped a lot, but all of us will be helped by the lower chance of getting in an accident, lower insurance and health care costs, increased productivity, etc. I'm not sure if traffic will improve or get worse though.

    2. Re:I welcome this by Pascal+Sartoretti · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Autoautomobiles will be a life changer for those with disabilities.

      And for those who can't drive anymore (eldery people).

      And for those who can't drive yet (children under 18).

      And for those who fail the licence exam.

      And when you are drunk.

      Etc...

      When you add all these niches, you have a market.

  2. Yeah, right by Shogun37 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What happens if the guidance system goes out? If the map the computer's using isn't fully up to date? If I need to move the car only a short distance, or park in a place without parking spaces? This is the same kind of thinking that removed guns from fighter aircraft because "dog fighting is obsolete." I haven't seen any self guiding car system that I would trust to act, with no ability to override. Build one that can handle New York or LA rush hour and I may change my mind.

    1. Re:Yeah, right by Known+Nutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What happens if I'm going someplace without mapped roads? Like my cabin.

      I'd like to take a Boeing 737 to my cabin. Guess what? That mode of transportation isn't available to my cabin. Maybe I'd like to go off-roading in a Corvette. There are probably better options.

      It seems that every time autonomous vehicles come up for discussion, every single possible use-case must be addressed. And when one oddly-specific use-case cannot be filled, the entire idea is garbage and without merit.

      It's pretty simple. You don't get to take your autonomous vehicle to your cabin in the woods. Not yet.

      --
      Beware of the Leopard.
    2. Re:Yeah, right by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The real game changer here is convenient car rentals. As in: book a car when you need it, have it pull up by itself 30 minutes later, use it, and send it on its way when you are done with it (instead of having to go to the depot for pickup and dropoff, and navigate 5 billion insurance options with the guy at the desk). So when you buy your next car, maybe you will select that smaller electric (self driving or otherwise) that covers 95% of your driving needs, and rent a truck, van, 4x4 or large sedan for the other 5%. Access to convenient rental cars could mean a lot of families owning fewer cars, or selecting more economical ones.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  3. Re:Within 2 years?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ARTICLE: "General Motors plans to mass-produce self-driving cars that lack traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals by 2019"
    ACTUAL ANNOUNCEMENT: "General Motors has plans to begin producing a self-driving car by 2019. There will be an option to order the model without pedals or steering wheels"
    ENGINEERING WRITE-UP: "By late 2019 GM will have a prototype of an autonomous, self-driving car ready for mass production. And yes, autonomous would mean it would not need a steering wheel or pedals although those would, of course, be included."
    WHAT THE ENGINEERS ACTUALLY SAID: "I think that by early 2020 we could have enough of the self driving prototypes produced and ready for testing."

  4. Re:Talk about a captive audience by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As opposed to now, where if something in the guidance system fails the car generally goes out of control and there are multiple injuries. See "I want to die like my grandfather, peacefully in my sleep while everyone else is screaming."

    Or just like any of a number of other major non-guidance systems failures on a current car, e.g. catastrophic radiator failure.