Two Sides to Every Coin

We often talk about the advancements in autonomous driving and the improvements that are being made that will bring self-driving cars to the forefront in a way that sounds as if it’s the next best thing for driving. There are reasons to be cautious about the thought that a car could drive itself, especially if you understand that doing this requires a great deal of automation and technology to allow the car to make its way to where it needs to go without a human driver. Here are some reasons that carmakers fear self-driving cars:

Liability – Insurance plays a huge part in what we have for the driving we need to do on a daily basis. Right now the liability of your vehicle and its controls sits squarely in your lap, but if you’re in a car that’s driving itself there could be a question of system failures as part of the liability of an accident. This is a serious concern for automakers and one that is also a concern for the insurance industry as we move forward. Certainly, as these cars come to be sold publicly, there will have to be some regulations put into place.

First Crashes – We’ve already seen some of the headlines when a semi-autonomous system was involved, even though all the warnings were in place. With full autonomy, the warnings are gone and we’re in the hands of the machines which we won’t cut any slack. Programming will need to be precise because the first few crashes in these self-driving cars could mean this is a short-lived experiment that is too deadly to be used, even though all signs point to these cars being much better at driving on the roads than we are as humans.

Brand Imaging – Those brands that sell high powered sports cars could become a thing of the past as you don’t get the same joy from not being able to drive these cars any longer. Much like the toaster or microwave in your kitchen, you’ll see your car as an appliance that gets you to and from where you need to go on a daily basis. This will give you more time, but where will brands end up as autonomy makes its way to the forefront. Will we see Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, and McLaren turn heels and head to becoming racing only brands with this technology?

No More Love – Will you spend more for performance or for the feel on the road when the car is driving itself? Probably not, instead, there will be a love lost of the driving that has been a romantic part of our nature ever since we unhitched the horses for the ride. Instead of the driving aspects that make cars better, we might lean more toward the luxury and comfort feeling with a large screen TV inside the vehicle or a cabin that you can stretch out in but still have the safety restraints needed to keep you safe in the event of a crash.

Fewer Car Sales – This is the true seismic shift. Right now if you own a car, you typically don’t share it and most of the time its parked in your garage or driveway. As we move forward, you might become part of a ride-sharing club with five or six cars that can pick you up and take you where you need to go for a small monthly fee that negates the need for a car payment or car insurance. This means fewer sales in the future and a lot less money for automakers.