Hot Rods Autonomous Cars and the future (banning of drivers)

Hi all
I'm super aware of the future and the introduction of autonomous cars.

With the expenential curve towards AI (artificial intelligence) I wonder how much longer it will be till our cars are not allowed on the roads, but instead can only be driven at closed events.

Here in Australia, a top notch rod / custom can be 50k plus. If you can't drive that on the road soon, what will its resale be worth?

Some will say, that's a long way away, but it will happen in my lifetime, and unfortunately sooner than I think, next 10 years maybe?

Keen to hear your thoughts?


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I can't see it in ten years. Maybe 20....but then again, it will be a tough sell in many places in the world, for different reasons.

 

No....it won't get that bad that soon. There are number of reasons why this won't happen as it is being hyped.
It will probably get limited acceptance and in some driving circumstances, but certainly not be universally accepted.
All just my opinions/beliefs of course........but I see no reason to be alarmed in a decade time frame and beyond.

Ray

 

i'm still waiting for those flying cars we were promised in the 50's

 

^^ I'm with that guy...

 

The capitalist wont let this happen anytime soon.
Maybe the libs here in the US want it but not going to happen.
Alot of libs are crazy about old cars....like Biden (has a 60 something Vette).

 

And me. But we better keep politics out of it.

 

First line of defense: research whom you vote for. That's how we'll keep that from happening - or delay it as long as we can.

 

That would be a sad time for sure. I certainly don't see it happening anytime real soon. 20 years is a long time; technology advances very quickly, and a safe and proven fleet of autonomous cars is likely to be on our roads by then but I'm not sure they will have displaced cars with drivers. I get a lot of pleasure from driving (it's therapeutic as well), I know I'm far from alone and I don't think the masses will allow it to happen so quickly. Keep a good thought anyway.

 

Well, I also see it, with "green" lawmakers coming on strong, don't bet on it not happening. The reason all this technical crap is coming, cars that stop automatically, park themselves, trucks that back up trailers without your help, teslas that crash into white walls cause they can't see them, they're here now. The human being is the curve ball that creates crashes, and soon as the lawmakers can legislate car makers into removing the driver, you'll see it happen in a big way.
Electric cars are coming on big, maybe if you live in bumfuck nowhere, you may delay it, but in the cities, they are becoming common. Don't kid yourself, people like us can be legislated out of existence pretty fast.

 

Wait for the uproar when 50(mph) is 50 or 25.
And what a field day we will have when pedestrians, teenagers, and dogs relize they can just step in front of a vehicle at any time, two or three can even hold a vehicle hostage.

 

I'm concerned as I stated before as I'm in Australia.

I'm building a 34 pickup and have a few old Harley's that I would love to leave to my son ( he's three years old currently) and at current prices, that's around 100k

Will he be able to use them, probably not on the road, he might not even need to learn to drive or ride a motorcycle or car, so I'm watching carefully, and when the time is close ( i believe it will be in the next 10 years) I will offload them before they loose their value.

It's sad to put a dollar figure to our hobby, but I have to be a realist


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Hopefully I'll be dead before it happens.....

Wait..... I shoulda said I hope it doesn't happen till after I'm dead!

 

As you get older and live in the most liberal state in the USA you can help to think that all the things (recreation) I like, can easily be removed from my life. Like many of the guys here my fun has turn $$$ into noise...but not all of it.
The salt on Bonneville is not near the condition it was when I started racing on it in 1975 and the BLM I'm sure wishes the SCTA would leave their precious desert dry lake. I've always liked cars and the independence they brought to us in the 50's and with it came my buying what is now obsolete scrap iron, aluminum, and racing tires, stacked in my garage. I have grand children 22 yrs old with no drivers licenses and see no reason for one.
If what was stated above happens I could cut up my LSR roadster and throw it away as it owes me nothing but the time I have remembering building and driving it.
Others are not that lucky and have way more invested in their dreams and hoped for some return. I'll drive my 56 as long as I can and enjoy it and then ride in an electric cart off into the sunset...

 

LOL! without politics involved..... And like another saying .......Better' pry em' out of my cold dead hands.....
After reading the above posts............ This will sink real quick!

 

I could see the self driving cars and all that crap being the norm in the cities. That sort of thing works for the city folk. Us 'hillbillies' that live out in the sticks will still be driving our internal combustion rides until the government sends the storm troopers out to stop us. lol

 

I don't see it happening any time soon. The people that push autonomous cars are not car people..theyre computer people. Since they are computer people they ignore mechanical and other realities. I'll just list a few...the human brain is still better than a computer. When you're driving down the road you are looking sometimes miles ahead...taking many things into account. Will a computer spot a herd of animals off to the side of the freeway where there is no fence? How about a piece of trash or huge tumbleweed blowing onto the freeway? What about fog or being in a canyon where there is no cell or internet connection? The human brain takes way more data into account than a computer. The people designing the computers cannot possibly input every single variation of driving conditions...because some haven't happened yet. There was an autonomous car test recently by GM and the car was stuck behind a taco truck that was parked. It couldn't distinguish between a standing or parked car and slow traffic.

Next, how about mechanical or computer failures? Do these computer types know cars like we do? Doubt it. I've driven a car for over 200 miles with a bad alternator that was super overcharging the battery. I simply turned on ever single accessory my truck had...would a computer do that? Nope. We 'll not even mention the computer crashing or being hacked. How about mechanical failures? If you take a human driver out of the mix....how will you know when your car is driving funny? The computer will tell you? People are already ignorant enough about these super heavy things they pilot. We know when our cars SOUND differently...when the steering pulls or wanders...will the computer know that? Don't think so.

More, people pushing autonomous cars assume an automobile is an appliance like anything else. It's not...it is way more complicated....it has mechanical failures. Bearings go out...cars overheat...tires blow....the assumption that the driver of a car is just driving it, is nuts. It's like letting your child steer while he sits on your lap. Is he driving? The ignorance of those pushing this computer crap on a complicated machine makes me wonder. I mean every single new thing we buy that has computers works perfectly right? Then add a 70 mph, 3000 lb missile to it.

Sorry for the rant...I know it's Sunday...but I had to get it off my chest. I feel better already...and with the deep knowledge that it won't happen anytime soon. There is also the liability question...when the cars fail...and they inevitably will...people will sue Google, Tesla...whichever entity made the car or programmed it. The autonomous cars' transfers liability of its operation to the maker....do they understand that? There will be no driver error. By definition it'll be someone else's fault every time.

 

They do exist.

 

BLACK PANTHER...........well thought out and so stated....

Ray

 

Ray...thanks buddy...Ron

 

Regarding the promised flying cars from the 50's. Yes, there are some cars that can be transformed to fly, but I don't think they're particularly good at being either a car or an airplane. I don't think they're getting much acceptance either. They're kind of like an answer to a question that no one is asking...well, almost no one.

I think self-driving cars would currently have a limited interest, other than that of curiosity. It'll probably grow, but I'm 65 and hope they don't become the norm during my lifetime.

Lynn

 

The USA and Australia, up 'til now, have had a love affair with the automobile. There are more 3 car-plus than 1 car families. By contrast, the rail systems in Europe are part of the culture while in the USA rail tracks are dilapidated and frequently torn up to be turned into nature trails. Asia is similar to Europe with the majority walking, biking and using public transport. In the USA, the majority of people don't live downtown where they work. They live in new housing developments miles away in another town or county and drive 45 minutes to an hour one way. Americans buy way more pickups and SUVs than city cars and scooters. Australia has a lot more in common with the USA (North America) than those other continents and autonomous vehicles are going to be a tough sell not only for both of us, but pretty much everywhere.

At most, I can maybe foresee very limited infrastructure actually being built any time soon. Maybe something like the couple mile long HOV (high vehicle occupancy) lanes on the main artery expressways in a few of the largest cities. The other half, the other side of the coin would probably be something like the hybrids and electric niche cars we have now could gradually be built and sold with the autonomous, drone systems. But the niche percentage isn't going to be much greater for a long while unless something drastic happens. Keep in mind, this isn't as simple as making all those "bike lanes" we have now with no bikes using them. Our politicians may have the will for it but our citizens don't yet. And even politicians have to sweat a little at the thought of what a huge boondoggle it could be.

I could be way off with my time line, but that's how my crystal ball sees it.

 

I want a self-driving car like I want a self-eating pizza.

 

If you live in a heavily urban area with reasonable weather, I can see these arriving in not too many years. In fact, I can see a day when a human-operated vehicle may be banned in some areas. London is restricting automobile traffic as we speak, I can see this being adopted in multiple places. But rural areas are another story; get far enough out in the brush and the much larger variations in possible road conditions will prove impossible for self driving vehicles.

The real elephant in the room is the electrical power to run all this stuff. To support an all-electric fleet nationwide, generating capacity will have to be doubled plus all the infrastructure to distribute it to replace the current levels of gasoline power. The current miniscule electric fleet consumes about 9% of current capacity... This isn't happening anytime soon; if you covered the entire lower 48 states in solar cells, you'd still have a shortfall.

 

I don't want to sound like a doom-sayer but the only reason self driving cars are even being thought about is because the insurance companies want them. Think about most of the safety features on cars. Yes , they are supposed to keep the occupants safe in an accident but I've always thought is was more about insurance companies having to pay out less in an accident. They're the ones pressuring the car makers. It will get to the point where if you're not in a driverless car you won't be able to afford the insurance premiums for a driven car.
In some ways it will be funny watching one of these tailgating loonies getting even more pissed off because their driverless car will refuse to travel close to the car in front.

 

I am a "computer person".

I drive a 1960 Falcon, ride a 1965 R69s, and am building a 6-71 blown 354 Hemi powered 1929 Model A pickup.

Where do you people get the idea that " computer people" are some monolithic block of like thinkers, marching in lock step?

That's a bunch of crap.

I am routinely in the parking lots of these tech companies. I see rods, customs, supercars, and heavily modded modern cars.

Huge turbos, big intercoolers, fat rubber, box flares, wings. All go, and show.

One of my former coworkers has a legitimately alarming 1000-hp Corvette, and another has a 770-hp widebody Cadillac CTS-V wagon.

Tons of them drift, drag race both cars and motorcycles, track race cars and motorcycles, and do autocross.

 

I don't see full autonomous driving working for a few reasons: It isn't going to work to well north of the mason-Dixie line from Nov-March; not every one lives in the city and has access to the roads that this will work on, farmers, ranchers, utility workers etc...; I think people will be kind of weary about an autonomous car that could be hacked into.

 

A little over a hundred years ago, folks thought that no one could/would ever fly, and nothing could/would ever replace the horse and buggy. Many of you posting on this thread could/would never have imagined that you'd be using a computer or smart phone, just twenty five years ago.
Progress happens. You are not going to stop it from happening. Sorry ....

 

I hope it never happens, but just think- If a driverless car hits a schoolbus and takes out a dozen squirts, who will be running away the fastest- the manufacturer, the software designer, the owner....? I reckon the driverless car will be the lawyer's best friend.

 

It's just my opinion but when I listen to people and manufacturers who build cars and they say that within the next 10 years if you purchase a New Car or a truck it will be an electric power I find it scary but I do believe it is coming and fast.

What all this means for the collector car market, drag racing and other forms of motor racing only time will tell what happens and how they deal with it.

Each day it seems another old drag strip is getting out and selling off their property and in many cases it is because of noise restrictions and has crazy has it sounds I must admit maybe electric cars may help with the noise requirements.

Jimbo