"Many of us may not see the day when the press of a couple buttons will drive you toward your destination, but you can be sure that each year the automobile will move closer to that reality."

Nonsense. This won't happen anytime soon, if for no other reason than product liability. You think that Ford's going to rush to offer a car that drives itself when they're getting sued for roofs that meet NHTSA crush standards? Getting sued is the last vehicular control they'll offer us; and from the manufacturer's standpoint, that encompasses most of the driving experience.

It is further proof that Maximum Bob's arteries up top continue to harden.

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That was a serious pile of horseshit, Bob, from a company whose favorite child is the Hummer.

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This sounds like the same crap from those old news reel clips from the GM Autorama shows of the 50's. "In the future cars will drive themselves safely to the desired destination". With the little models of the cars all moving along on tracks.

By the time this technology is worked out GM and Ford will either be out of business or a division of Toyota or Hyundai.

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Hey, give Bob some credit for the reasonably well constructed speech. Though I'm relatively certain he didn't pen it himself, I usually cringe when I read or hear one of his quotes. His open mouth, insert foot habit is well documented. As for the specific content, there didn't seem to be many spectacular revelations.

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If the cars are going to be so automated, what is the point of having individual cars. Just invest the money that you spend developing this stuff on mass transit. The people that actually want this sort of technology in their cars shouldn't be driving a car anyway, they should taking a bus or train. This would be better for the environment,and free up a lot of space on the roads for real drivers.

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Hmmm.... Just another way GM can push millions more cars on the road. The whole reason they want to do this is so cars can driver closer together on the freeways, which will need rebuilt to accomadate these cars, and GM and it's lobby of "highway users" can get more funding and build more highways, resulting in more money for oil companies, tire companies and whoever else is on board. Yeah, thanks Bob.

http://www.newday.com/films/Taken_for_a_Ride.html

Go watch this movie, you'll see what GM's all about.

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Something else I forgot in the previous post. A lot of this stuff is already out there and a lot more is coming in the next few years. Bmw already has active front steering on the latest 3 and 5 series. Several manufacturers are now offering active cruise control. Opel is incorporating these and a bunch of other technologies in the next gen epsilon 2 platform which is the basis for the vectra, saab 9-3, chevy malibu and pontiac g6.

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I think Hollywood understands the future better than Detroit. Just watch films such as "I, Robot" or "Minority report", or shows such as Star Trek for a glimpse of potential futures. Then notice how many of science fiction innovations have lead to things which havent big-brothered us at all.

Automated highways on the surface seem anathema to all we cherish on the road. But thats far from the whole story. What narrow-minded individuals like Lutz fail to see is how specialists and enthusiasts always manage to create niches and opportunities where generalists see none. Im not certain who outlined the future in 2053 in Spielberg's "Minority Report" but there clearly 2 types of driving and car usage there; First is city commuting on automated highways, Second is personal driving on country backroads.

It is short sighted to view automated highways as a bleak future. If anything it means that all the people who tend towards Camrys, Minivans or SUVS -- people who use their vehicles for utility 99% of the time will have a safer and more efficient means to lead their automotive lives. Removing these vehicles from roads which are less a direct route from A-to-B means more space for enthusiasts to "free drive."

Automation is in our future, but it will always be our choice to use it. Assuming the worst as the leader of an automotive empire is disheartening and shallow. Perhaps it is time for Lutz to find a successor worthy of his committment to product, but with a greater understanding of both the positives and negatives of new technology.

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He wants to make the "gleaming alloy air-cars" from Rush's "Red Barchetta."

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On the one hand, I'd hate for someone to take my ability to drive like a maniac out of my hands. On the other hand, I would mind getting an extra hour of sleep each day while my car drives me to work. If you think about all of the by wire technologies, active cruise control, and lane departure systems in place, the only thing really lacking from making this concept a reality is probably the roads themselves.

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:: smiles mischievously and applauds softly for #9's appropriate Rush reference ::

To see clearly what Bob's driving at (heh), may I humbly refer you to another Rush composition: 'Driven.'

Play loudly.

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