They must have hired a PR person to join the team :D there's some noticeable features missing. I would have loved to see a giant LCD screen showing me whatever I might want to know... but I think that would make people insinuate that google's going to use it to bombard them with ads.
Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
11–20 of 80 posts
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#12Cute? Personally, I think it is fugly.
Agreed, and that enormous thing on the roof just shouldn't be there. "Google plans to build 100 to 200 of these prototypes, and work towards safety approval by the end of the year. The future’s coming a lot faster than we thought." If this is the future I hope there will be time travel, so I can go back.
Seriously, your big problem with self driving cars is you think a giant laser on top is ugly?
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed, and that enormous thing on the roof just shouldn't be there. "Google plans to build 100 to 200 of these prototypes, and work towards safety approval by the end of the year. The future’s coming a lot faster than we thought." If this is the future I hope there will be time travel, so I can go back.
Seriously, your big problem with self driving cars is you think a giant laser on top is ugly?
I can kind of understand that. Cars are not only a motor on 4 wheels. Design is one of the most important aspects when man building and selling cars, so it is not strange that people think of the camera as something that doesn't fit.
Until Tesla came and showed an electrical car that actually DID attract car / driving fans, the majority of people wouldn't consider an electrical car because most of them were plain ugly, even if the technology underneath was plain neat.
Same thing with self driving cars. I know it's not top priority for now, but I think the real breakthrough will be achieved by a completely redesigned and appealing car.
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#14I actually think it's a pretty smart idea. You don't have to "own" one of these, so it's not like you'll care much about the design suiting your style. They will be used more like taxis or delivery cars. You don't have to like that all taxis are yellow and look the same.
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#15Maybe they're actually going after the Asian market, and not the US one?
It never ceases to amaze me how narrow minded much of the North American market is about the dichotomy between cute and cool/powerful. (You could quite easily make the case some markets are the extreme opposite). The console market has this too, which is one of the reasons the XBox brand has a sort of imposed low ceiling on success outside of the English speaking world.
For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PaPeRo They supposedly worked quite hard to balance cuteness, which was regarded as a necessity, with functionalism, and it's got enough echoes I wonder if the people behind this car had seen it.
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#16Cup-holders in a future car aren't the hallmark of timeless design. This makes me curious to know more about this inappropriate decision.
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#17Being a programmer, a sci-fi fan, and always excited by new developments even from a young age, I thought I'd never reach a time where I would find it difficult to accept new technology. Clones, immortality, interstellar travel, tech-enabled telepathy, bring it on.
I now realise that sitting in a self-driving car will cause me to press on the ghost brake pedal while sweating with anxiety every time it needs to slow down, while kids who will grow up with these things will not even raise their pulse by 1 beat per minute.
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#18Cute? Personally, I think it is fugly.
Agreed, but the point here is that it makes people more trusting towards it. I am guessing that if it looked more sleek (think: Ferrari) people would be more scared of getting in the vehicle. Big eyes, round shapes, smile without teeth... it doesn't look dangerous at all. That was also one of the points of this article (as I understood it).
I wonder how would it look if Apple made one too? I am sure it would be much more stylish.
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#19Being a programmer, a sci-fi fan, and always excited by new developments even from a young age, I thought I'd never reach a time where I would find it difficult to accept new technology. Clones, immortality, interstellar travel, tech-enabled telepathy, bring it on. I now realise that sitting in a self-driving car will cause me to press on the ghost brake pedal while sweating with anxiety every time it needs to slow d…
> I now realise that sitting in a self-driving car will cause me to press on the ghost brake pedal while sweating with anxiety
No it won't. :) In next versions you will probably not be facing the road anyway. Do you "ghost brake" when driving in the back of a limousine?
Re: Why Google Made Its Self-Driving Car So Darn Cute
#20Cup-holders in a future car aren't the hallmark of timeless design. This makes me curious to know more about this inappropriate decision.
Why are they out of place? Sports cars lack them because you're supposed to be focused on driving. If the you aren't driving, I would think cup holders would make more sense than ever.