<story><title>Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California</title><url>https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/09/mercedes_california_tesla/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>rcxdude</author><text>Self driving cars are much more likely to be public transport than individually owned. It&amp;#x27;s also extremely likely that it requires ride-sharing to be viable, which will substantially reduce traffic as well as car ownership (I suspect there may be enough cost pressure that most self-driving vehicles are more like minibuses than cars, which would also help a lot with pollution and congestion, but this may require regulatory pressure). Every conversation about the transition to EVs should be caveated with &amp;#x27;assuming car ownership stays the same because self-driving doesn&amp;#x27;t work (and that most of the world still does not manage to provide traditional public transport options good enough to replace cars)&amp;#x27;.&lt;p&gt;(And yes, all of this means that Tesla and most other traditional automotive company&amp;#x27;s stated commercial strategy for self driving makes little sense)</text></item><item><author>0xr0kk3r</author><text>&amp;gt; What do we want from self driving cars?&lt;p&gt;Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I want public transportation infrastructure and far, far, FAR fewer cars. I think the US should strive to reduce car ownership by 75% over the next 20 years, at least in cities over a certain population size. I don&amp;#x27;t want any more money invested in self-driving cars. But I&amp;#x27;m also a grown-up of a certain age and realize the bright-eyed 20-somethings don&amp;#x27;t understand the meaning of the word &amp;quot;consequences&amp;quot;.</text></item><item><author>worik</author><text>What do we want from self driving cars?&lt;p&gt;Naturally I wand a car I can summon from the pub that will drive me the 20km, over country roads,  to my house while I mix cocktails or have a nap.&lt;p&gt;That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it.&lt;p&gt;Then what?  Modern cruise control, that keeps my car a constant distance form the car in front (unless it roars off at a speed higher that what I am comfortable with) is great.  Helpful, especially in city driving.&lt;p&gt;I would appreciate &amp;quot;automated rumble strips&amp;quot; that warns me gently if I veer out of my lane.&lt;p&gt;Stopping at a parking spot, push a button, and park my car for me, less useful but still worth it.&lt;p&gt;But unless I have L5, and can turn my back on the road as I drink my vodka drink, (would that be L6?  The impossible dream....) I am not interested in anything that lets me take my hands off the when whilst driving on any road.  It seems too dangerous.&lt;p&gt;As a computer programmer I make my living building complex machines, and I have a very deep distrust of machines built by my comrades, at Tesla or Mercedes.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>PeterStuer</author><text>&amp;quot;Self driving cars are much more likely to be public transport than individually owened&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;ve only seen this as a &amp;#x27;just so&amp;#x27; greenwash pr story from the automotive industry to offset the projected 300% increase in total road miles driven anually. Please explain why peole would be compelled to ditch their multidude of private cars just because they now come with a 24&amp;#x2F;7 free driver included?</text></comment>
<story><title>Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California</title><url>https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/09/mercedes_california_tesla/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>rcxdude</author><text>Self driving cars are much more likely to be public transport than individually owned. It&amp;#x27;s also extremely likely that it requires ride-sharing to be viable, which will substantially reduce traffic as well as car ownership (I suspect there may be enough cost pressure that most self-driving vehicles are more like minibuses than cars, which would also help a lot with pollution and congestion, but this may require regulatory pressure). Every conversation about the transition to EVs should be caveated with &amp;#x27;assuming car ownership stays the same because self-driving doesn&amp;#x27;t work (and that most of the world still does not manage to provide traditional public transport options good enough to replace cars)&amp;#x27;.&lt;p&gt;(And yes, all of this means that Tesla and most other traditional automotive company&amp;#x27;s stated commercial strategy for self driving makes little sense)</text></item><item><author>0xr0kk3r</author><text>&amp;gt; What do we want from self driving cars?&lt;p&gt;Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I want public transportation infrastructure and far, far, FAR fewer cars. I think the US should strive to reduce car ownership by 75% over the next 20 years, at least in cities over a certain population size. I don&amp;#x27;t want any more money invested in self-driving cars. But I&amp;#x27;m also a grown-up of a certain age and realize the bright-eyed 20-somethings don&amp;#x27;t understand the meaning of the word &amp;quot;consequences&amp;quot;.</text></item><item><author>worik</author><text>What do we want from self driving cars?&lt;p&gt;Naturally I wand a car I can summon from the pub that will drive me the 20km, over country roads,  to my house while I mix cocktails or have a nap.&lt;p&gt;That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it.&lt;p&gt;Then what?  Modern cruise control, that keeps my car a constant distance form the car in front (unless it roars off at a speed higher that what I am comfortable with) is great.  Helpful, especially in city driving.&lt;p&gt;I would appreciate &amp;quot;automated rumble strips&amp;quot; that warns me gently if I veer out of my lane.&lt;p&gt;Stopping at a parking spot, push a button, and park my car for me, less useful but still worth it.&lt;p&gt;But unless I have L5, and can turn my back on the road as I drink my vodka drink, (would that be L6?  The impossible dream....) I am not interested in anything that lets me take my hands off the when whilst driving on any road.  It seems too dangerous.&lt;p&gt;As a computer programmer I make my living building complex machines, and I have a very deep distrust of machines built by my comrades, at Tesla or Mercedes.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nradov</author><text>Autonomous driving is just another safety and convenience feature, like cruise control or anti-lock brakes. It won&amp;#x27;t fundamentally change anything. I see no reason to give up owning my own cars even if they can drive themselves. The biggest reason is that I use my cars like a rolling storage locker or mobile base of operations when I&amp;#x27;m out doing stuff. There&amp;#x27;s no way I&amp;#x27;m going to deal with the hassle of shared vehicles.</text></comment>