People looking ahead to the future of automobiles realize that car ownership might not work the same way in the near future as car ownership now. Cars with semi-autonomous features like emergency braking and adaptive cruise control are common, and autonomous cars and trucks will available to the public soon. You’ll just be hailing one before you buy one, at least if you want a car from General Motors.
Business Insider discussed the future of cars with GM President Dan Ammann. We know that GM is currently testing a self-driving version of the electric Chevy Bolt in Arizona, and plans to have self-driving taxis on the roads in partnership with Lyft, which it has invested in, by the middle of 2017.
Even if the cars are ready, though, that doesn’t mean that they’ll be available to the public, let alone a practical thing for most people to buy. “It’s very clear that the first application of autonomous vehicles is in a ride-sharing setting,” Ammann told Business Insider.
Even when self-driving car technology has improved and is more common, using them like taxis makes the most sense. People in their personal cars travel from city to city, while a taxi stays within a single city or metropolitan area most or all of the time.
GM’s president explains why buying a self-driving car at a dealership is still a long way off [Business Insider]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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