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Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

theregister.com

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Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#531

Post by afarrell »

vermilingua wrote: post #456
afarrell wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According to labor union association AFL-CIO, the highest CEO compensation in 2021 was $835 million[1], less than a tenth the cost of the $10 billion estimate for the North-South connector. Also, I would expect at least a few cost overruns. [1] https://aflcio.org/paywatch/highest-paid-ceos

Yeah, the highest paid single individual person on that list gets only a measly 8% of the total estimate per year , therefore we shouldn't tax the rich. The extreme mental gymnastics some people will go to to rationalize the current state of the world absolutely blows my mind.

If you want to change the world positively, the first step is accepting the current state of the world is what it is.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#532

Post by Thorrez »

capableweb wrote: post #454
AussieWog93 wrote: post #412

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Recently I was reading that in Europe, most cars sold don't even have automatic transmission, yet the drivers there are much safer than than people in the US or Australia. There was some speculation that because they shift gears manually, they have to pay more attention to the road and can't do things like drink coffees while driving. They also enjoy driving a lot more than we do. I wonder if other technology would h…

> Recently I was reading that in Europe, most cars sold don't even have automatic transmission I don't have any numbers regarding sales, but after renting 10s of cars in Europe during the last decade, it seems like they almost never have any manual cars anymore. In some countries, the entire fleet doesn't even include any manual ones anymore, I was told the last time I wanted to rent a car.

Even in Italy?

Just now I went to Avis.com , set pick up in Rome tomorrow, drop off in Rome the day after, and it said there are 6 types of cars available, and 5 of those types have manual transmissions.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#533

Post by canadianfella »

gearsandbeers wrote: post #525
dvt wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This ship sailed like 60 years ago (blame your parents, speaking of consequences). At this point, autonomous driving is the best we can do in places like Los Angeles or San Diego.

The ship hasn't sailed, it will just take a very long time to come back to port

[dead]

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#534

Post by genocidicbunny »

ericmcer wrote: post #416
worik wrote: post #367

What do we want from self driving cars? 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. That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it. 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) i…

If you live in a high traffic area having your car drive you through the stop and go is currently possible and a huge quality of life increase. Stop and go traffic is 100% the worst experience when driving, having that automated is awesome.

You reminded me of the biggest annoyance I have with the systems that work in stop-and-go traffic that I've tried -- they often leave too much space before they 'go' and where I live, that's just an invitation to have someone from the next lane over jump in. So the car waits too long, takes off quickly to fill the gap, and then has to brake suddenly because someone else already took that gap. You end up being yanked around, and if the driver behind you is a bit of a leadfoot can result in you getting rear ended. I've seen it happen a few times when I still commuted.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#535

Post by voytec »

worik wrote: post #367

What do we want from self driving cars? 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. That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it. 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) i…

> What do we want from self driving cars?

Security, by not making human mistakes. But this won't happen for a long time and probably never with people like Musk leading the way.

Autonomous vehicles are a poor substitute for long-promised flying cars anyway.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#536

Post by ajmurmann »

ves wrote: post #475
lost_tourist wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't what we need. I don't want to depend on the government for my primary means of travel or be limited by it.

Good thing all those roads aren’t planned, built, and maintained by the government!

The "Libertarians are like house cats" meme comes to mind

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#537

Post by gtop3 »

atyppo wrote: post #497
0xr0kk3r wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What do we want from self driving cars? 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't want any more money invested in self-driving cars. But I'm also a grown-up of a certain age and realize the bright-eyed 20-something…

As someone who feels the same way, I’ve lost all hope for the US in this regard. SUV/truck sales have continued increasing with absolutely zero mainstream discussion about preventing pedestrian deaths. It’s legal to have push bars and tow hitches (thus inhibiting crumple zones) with no purpose other than “protecting” your vehicle at the expense of lives. Even ostensibly pedestrian friendly cities don’t have sufficien…

Excuse me, tow hitches are commonly used for practical purposes. I'm really interested in the case for making tow hitches illegal.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#538

Post by 878654Tom »

voytec wrote: post #535
worik wrote: post #367

What do we want from self driving cars? 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. That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it. 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) i…

> What do we want from self driving cars? Security, by not making human mistakes. But this won't happen for a long time and probably never with people like Musk leading the way. Autonomous vehicles are a poor substitute for long-promised flying cars anyway.

Flying cars already exist, they are called helicopters.

What you really want is the TCO of a car in a helicopter.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#539

Post by sgc »

rcxdude wrote: post #464
0xr0kk3r wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What do we want from self driving cars? 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't want any more money invested in self-driving cars. But I'm also a grown-up of a certain age and realize the bright-eyed 20-something…

Self driving cars are much more likely to be public transport than individually owned. It'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 regul…

Self driving fleets will be driving around to avoid parking while staying in the high use areas, and contributing a lot to traffic, perhaps more than if everyone just had their own car.

Re: Mercedes beats Tesla to autonomous driving in California

#540

Post by mym1990 »

0xr0kk3r wrote: post #431
worik wrote: post #367

What do we want from self driving cars? 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. That may never happen, current technology does not seem up to it. 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) i…

> What do we want from self driving cars? 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't want any more money invested in self-driving cars. But I'm also a grown-up of a certain age and realize the bright-eyed 20-something…

Just off the cuff saying things like this makes it seem you are the one that doesn’t understand consequences. The American economy is unfortunately driven by car ownership. So unless you also have a way to change almost every facet of American life in the next 20 years, you’re just blowing smoke.

That being said, I would love it if car reliance was drastically reduced. But it’s not going to happen.

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