Google's Driverless Car 2.0: A Potential Gamechanger
Google has unveiled its next-generation driverless car, and it threatens to upend everything about car transportation. It has no steering wheel, no gas pedal, no brake pedal and no other driver controls. It is just a two seat passenger compartment on a very short wheelbase, about the size of a Mini. With a top speed of 25 mph, a range of 100 miles and an electric motor, it is not a replacement for the family sedan. There is no room for the family of five. Instead, it is a potential replacement for the urban taxi and Zipcar. The Googlecar (real name will vary) would be summoned by a smartphone app (like Uber), take its passengers to their destination, and drive off to the next pick-up.
In the 1950s, Detroit sold millions of cars to new suburbanites with the promise of power, freedom and adventure. Ads stoked a lust for acceleration and performance. Say goodbye to all that. A Googlecar would provide no thrills, no chills and no spine-tingling excitement. It will be a pure passenger delivery system, like a train or bus, but without the limitations of train tracks or pre-set bus routes.
The Googlecar, if it succeeds, will eliminate many of the current drawbacks of driving in an urban environment. There will be no more standing on the brakes while inching through stop-and-go traffic, because the car will drive itself. The trouble and expense of parking will be eliminated, because the car will arrive when needed and depart when the trip is completed. There will be no need to purchase automobile insurance or worry about joy riding car thieves.
Google is apparently ready to bet billions that at least young urban Americans are ready for small, communally-owned cars that provide perfect surveillance of their movements and city streets. Are Americans ready to give up the sense of power and independence that comes from climbing behind the wheel of a car? Are people willing to trust so deeply in technology that they will be their safety on the flawless functioning of a GPS-guided car? How will Google use the data that they would develop about users' daily travels? Who will have access to the camera-feeds from the Googlecars patrolling our streets? Will advertisers bid to target individuals while they are en route to the mall/grocery store/work?