
G.M. Wants to Drive the Future of Cars That Drive Themselves - my_first_acct
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/04/business/general-motors-self-driving-cars-mary-barra.html
======
djsumdog
I really think we're a lot further away from self driving car tech than people
think. The fact that every company is building totally closed proprietary
systems should also be of great concern. What if Waymo implements a critical
safety feature and patents the software/algorithm? Are we going to see Here or
GM touting that their algorithms are safer in their adverts? Are we going to
have mini-DARPA challenges for each manufacturer, similar to crash safety
testing?

I also just feels like it's a lot of wasted money. GM killed the Streetcar in
America and we've been left with a country without any rail infrastructure.
Self driving cars make sense in Europe where they could solve last mile
problems, but in the US, it's not going to solve any of the major
transportation issues: namely congestion and gridlock. There is no way a fleet
of self-driving cars, no matter how advanced, can even hope to match the
carrying capacity of a tram or train:

[http://penguindreams.org/blog/self-driving-cars-will-not-
sol...](http://penguindreams.org/blog/self-driving-cars-will-not-solve-the-
transportation-problem/)

~~~
imron
There is even a reasonable argument to be made that self driving cards will
increase traffic and deadlock.

For example, imagine driving in to the city for some business meeting and then
rather than worry about the hassle of finding a parking spot you just let the
car drive about by itself for a couple of hours. Now multiply that by however
many hundred (or thousand) people have the same idea.

~~~
hilyen
Why not just tell the car to find a spot to park and you can call it when
you're ready?

~~~
imron
Petrol is cheaper than parking.

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kolbe
That's such a useless article. I, too, want be the leader in driverless cars.
And much like GM, I'm not even close to being the one who will do it! Though,
in all fairness, GM is a lot further along than I am.

~~~
flyingprogram
But GM isn't that much further along than yourself.

~~~
billylindeman
I don't understand the negativity for GM/Ford on HN. I'd say with cruise /
lyft partnership / sidecar acquisition they're way further along than anyone
here seems to give them credit for.

~~~
Judgmentality
People in the Bay Area (and many people on HN fit this demographic culturally,
if not literally) tend to be ethnocentric. I have met so many people that
won't take a company seriously unless it is headquartered locally, including
at least 2 people who didn't believe me that Amazon was based in Seattle.
There is a huge misunderstanding of the auto industry and since people do not
understand it they tend to discredit it. This hubris is largely why Google and
Apple attempted to build their own cars, and after failing decided to pursue
other routes (Waymo partnering with Chrysler and Apple doing who knows what).
There is an incredible arrogance in the Bay Area, and denizens tend to think
they are smarter and able to disrupt the rest of the world (much like this
[https://xkcd.com/1831/](https://xkcd.com/1831/)).

As HN becomes more popular it inevitably becomes more cliquish. While I
commend dang on his typically excellent moderation, it is inevitable that with
more people and a voting system that a hivemind effect will develop.

Since I'm sure people will criticize me for being new here, this is not my
original account and I have been here for a while.

~~~
magicalist
> _why Google and Apple attempted to build their own cars_

not sure when you think either attempted this...

~~~
Judgmentality
[http://jalopnik.com/apple-gives-up-on-building-its-own-
car-b...](http://jalopnik.com/apple-gives-up-on-building-its-own-car-because-
the-enti-1787875242)

[http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/technology/a24274/googl...](http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/technology/a24274/google-
wont-build-own-self-driving-car/)

~~~
magicalist
"would it be feasible to build our own car manufacturer" to "no it's not
feasible" isn't exactly attempting it.

~~~
Judgmentality
Well they hired people and then fired them, so whatever you want to call that.
I have a friend that was at Google and a friend that was at Apple, each was
laid off because they no longer want to manufacture cars, which is why they
were hired. Also Google actually did manufacture those weird small cars that
they've been using for some time, and decided they don't want to mass
manufacture them.

------
nebabyte
_Everyone_ in the auto+tech industry "Wants to Drive the Future of Cars That
Drive Themselves".

"Wants to" doesn't win pennants.

------
atomical
I thought google has a head start with self driving cars. Do they? Has GM
caught up?

~~~
pj_mukh
With articles like these, the PR submarine always comes to mind.

[http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html)

~~~
atomical
Who upvoted this? It has nothing to do with my comment.

~~~
pj_mukh
I should've been more descriptive. In general, it's hard to know who's "ahead"
as neither of them has launched anything. However, Google has spent more
capital over a longer time on it. This piece though seems mostly to be PR
covered up as journalism (aka the submarine).

------
chadwilken
I quit buying American cars because they are always a "me too", this seems
like another case. Every American made car that I have boughten in the last 10
years has crapped out way before any Japanese car of similar value. The one
caveat I have is Tesla, I would gladly buy one of those.

~~~
jryan49
I was under the impression that Tesla's also have low reliability and even
worse, notorious wait times for parts?

[http://www.consumerreports.org/cars-tesla-reliability-
doesnt...](http://www.consumerreports.org/cars-tesla-reliability-doesnt-match-
its-high-performance/)

[https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/07/repairing-my-
tesla...](https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/07/repairing-my-tesla-model-
s-has-been-an-utter-night.aspx)

~~~
dkbrk
Tesla appears to be working on improving the speed of repairs:
[https://electrek.co/2017/03/10/tesla-body-shops-
network/](https://electrek.co/2017/03/10/tesla-body-shops-network/)

I understand that quality control, including fit and finish, has been steadily
improving.

An electric car such as the Model S has some intrinsic advantages over ICE
cars in reliability in that the drive system is small and relatively
uncomplicated. I think there is likely some bias in the perception of Tesla's
reliability in that there is a great deal of attention on the company so
problems, no matter how small, are more likely to be reported and commented
upon than with more established car makers.

There are a few specific examples that I'm aware of. For example the Model S
pop-out door handle was redesigned and has been steadily replaced, and the
Model X doors had no end of problems until they apparently sorted them out.

