Quote:
Originally Posted by HemiEd
Just have to share: After spending a few days this last week with my PHd, 50 year old, Scientist daughter, she told me she hopes to able to purchase a self driving car for her next vehicle.  Change is going to happen whether I like it or not. |
At this point, I don't really even think that's a straightforward statement. We've learned in the past 10 years or so that "self-driving" is a spectrum, not a definition. I would imagine that a majority of mid-tier or higher cars sold today have at least adaptive cruise control and/or lane control. That's all my 2021 Rav4 Prime has, but it certainly can drive itself on the highway if the rules are "stay in lane and don't hit the car in front of you."
Teslas add a few additional steps to that - more advanced versions of the above, change lanes with just the push of the turn signal, stopping at stop lights/signs, etc.
Beyond that, there really aren't any options that are truly ready for prime time, and it seems like the growth curve has been flattening out in terms of tangible progress. Everything that's out there is really only able to adapt to a specific geographic area, and the ones that can do more than that (Tesla's FSD) still can't handle a lot of fringe scenarios (weird road construction markings, for example).
I do think things will get there, but it's going to take longer than everyone was thinking a few years ago. So for the forseeable future, the question is going to be what self-driving features a car has rather than whether it is "self-driving."