[drexplode]

As long as I have the option to turn it on and off then I'm ok with semi/fully autonomous functionality; however, I do not want a transportation vessel to which I have no direct control.

[JRobUSC]

You people are complaining as if the car will ONLY be autonomous, and won't have the ability to be driven by you. You'll be able to drive it when you want, or let it drive you when you don't. Why is that a problem exactly? Especially since every competitor will be offering the same thing. How successful do you think BMW will be if Audi, Lexus, and Benz are offering cars you can drive or drive themselves, and BMW is the only one not offering it? You're basically championing BMW going out of business.

All the car companies are going to have to adapt. BMW isn't Ferrari. They're not even Porsche (who, incidentally, will also have autonomous cars). Is the 2021 M4 GTS going to offer Level 5 autonomous driving? I doubt it. But the core models? Absolutely. It would be asinine not to. It's a good thing the guys running BMW are less short sighted than the keyboard warriors complaining about them on blogs.

[sirdaft1]

Originally Posted by coolguy_y

Better yet, imagine a car you drive to a party, and after you are wasted, drives you back home safely and keeps others safe on the road.

Imagine an electrical car that drives you to the airport and returns back home safely and restores its charge. If the home is powered by renewal sources, your environmental footprint would be minimal. Now scale this to 6 billion people.

Imagine a car that avoids all the potholes on its own.

The possibilities are truly amazing ...

For pedestrian drivers who spend more time texting than paying attention to the road, I'm all for using this tech to get them out of the drivers seat.

But I can't help but feel that this is some big power grab that will inevitably lead to banning enthusiasts like us from being able to drive our own cars on the road (they'll claim it's for insurance purposes or some other bogus reason).

[Zach335i]

I want my self driving m5 to be able to race other vehicles off the line at red lights for me so I can truly sit back and enjoy the show

[steve090619]

Originally Posted by Flying Ace

oh I have no doubt in my mind car will be technically capable by 2021. The issue is, society, government and legal might not be ready.

No way is the government going to be ready. We are still arguing about MPG Guidelines.

[M2PDX]

AHA!

I've been so distraught, dismayed, dazed and confused.

Now I understand it!

Many of us (and most of the automotive press too) have wondered and whined and wrung our hands about why BMW seemed to have lost its way on steering and steering feel.

But wait. It now becomes CLEAR! Now we know their Machiavellian plan:

No one will actually need to steer their cars by 2021, so why bother designing cars that have steering systems that give any useful feedback or feel to their drivers. Just eliminate drivers! If no one has their hands on the wheel, we don't need to have responsive and predictable steering in our BMWs!

The Ultimate Computer Driving Machines!

Thrilling.....

[midwest 340xi 6sp]

At first I thought this was the dumbest thing ever. I'd find myself getting more and more po'ed about it as I read it in every car rag and automotive/business site.

Then I thought about it a little bit more:

There's a lot of bad drivers out there. Or think about the # of dumb-asses texting and driving or driving stoned/drunk? Or the # of 83 year olds who don't have their faculties anymore? Or 16 year olds who have their licenses but really arent ready to drive yet?

If this technology can alleviate some of those dangers, and still allow me to drive and have fun doing so? I think thats a step in the right direction.

But I do also see a day when the differentiation between brands is going to be more difficult with this technology. And that is what would scare me if I worked in that industry.

Being driven by a chevy or a bmw? its still being driven by something else vs experiencing it yourself.

[Bosozoku]

I wonder how many people will be killed by Uber self-driving cars by 2021.
Good luck with that, Travis.

[Bosozoku]

Originally Posted by Midwest 535i

... If this technology can alleviate some of those dangers, and still allow me to drive and have fun doing so? I think thats a step in the right direction. ...

A few more steps in that direction and manually driving a car will be illegal.
But only if and when self-driving cars are statistically safer than human-driven cars.

Originally Posted by Midwest 535i

... Being driven by a chevy or a bmw? its still being driven by something else vs experiencing it yourself.

Exactly.
I doubt many people will buy their own self-driving cars, except for ultra-luxe models.
The masses will probably go with on-demand self-driving car services.

[mfstrby]

I will try to avoid this tech as much as I can, and when it is mandatory, probably I will be too old to drive anyways

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

My F30 already is equipped with Level 1 automation (Active Cruise Control). A major reason I'm not in an M3 is because BMW (unlike Porsche) doesn't deem ACC worthy of a car that is designed with intentions of track time. Maybe this will change soon and I can avoid squeezing a Porsche into my future?

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by sirdaft1

For pedestrian drivers who spend more time texting than paying attention to the road, I'm all for using this tech to get them out of the drivers seat.

But I can't help but feel that this is some big power grab that will inevitably lead to banning enthusiasts like us from being able to drive our own cars on the road (they'll claim it's for insurance purposes or some other bogus reason).

Bingo. "Think of the children!" If not the law then insurance rates. But do we need insurance companies?

The main point is why would I want brand x or why when it's just a box that drives me? Performance ? Doesn't matter. Looks? Doesn't matter. Handling? Doesn't matter. I really don't care about which scissors I use they just need to cut. BMW? Who cares? That which defines it will be moot. As will any other brand value. So what's the new value prop when I can buy a self driving box cheaper elsewhere?

I see a role for this in driving hell like the San Francisco Bay Area. In less urban/dense areas where one can actually drive there's less need. Some of us enjoy driving, shooting, fishing, skydiving, scuba diving, good whiskey. All things that are "dangerous". A world that's foam padded and totally safe is boring as hell and sounds like being imprisoned in an asylum to me. That's not a world I look forward too.

[steve090619]

Originally Posted by colonel_bagshot

I will try to avoid this tech as much as I can, and when it is mandatory, probably I will be too old to drive anyways

And that is when you buy a Self Driving Car. You just answered the Million Dollar Question. When you are Too Old to Drive, you will want this technology. That is why BMW is working so hard on it. Will you buy a chevy or bmw, most people stick with the brand they are most comfortable in. You will buy a BMW. $$$$

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by steve090619

And that is when you buy a Self Driving Car. You just answered the Million Dollar Question. When you are Too Old to Drive, you will want this technology. That is why BMW is working so hard on it. Will you buy a chevy or bmw, most people stick with the brand they are most comfortable in. You will buy a BMW. $$$$

I disagree. On a fixed income I'd buy the cheapest self driving box. Or, better yet, have Uber serve one up if and only when I need it. Why own what I'd use infrequently at that point in my life? Why pay to store a depreciating asset?

[raysspl]

As a software & product engineer, I am kinda bum'd like most folks here about raw driving days being numbered but the upside still outweighs the downside. You generally would have less accidents with autonomous driving - less drunk driving, less senior citizen accidents, etc.

Autonomous driving will still be an option so no need to fret.

[Germanauto]

As a mainstream luxury manufacturer this is something BMW has to do to retain clients and stay in business. Fact is that the overwhelming majority of BMW customers don't give a shyt about driving dynamics, something that's only gotten worse since the rise of global markets like China and India (where luxury cars are status symbols purely). This blows big time for BMW loyalists like us but BMW has made it clear since the release of the E89 and every subsequent redesign since that they don't care for us.

Porsche said they have no plans to make an autonomous vehicle which is delightful. But I wonder how they will fare given how a lot of Cayenne and Panamera customers don't care about driving dynamics either.

[Agni]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

As a mainstream luxury manufacturer this is something BMW has to do to retain clients and stay in business. Fact is that the overwhelming majority of BMW customers don't give a shyt about driving dynamics, something that's only gotten worse since the rise of global markets like China and India (where luxury cars are status symbols purely). This blows big time for BMW loyalists like us but BMW has made it clear since the release of the E89 and every subsequent redesign since that they don't care for us.

Porsche said they have no plans to make an autonomous vehicle which is delightful. But I wonder how they will fare given how a lot of Cayenne and Panamera customers don't care about driving dynamics either.

Well said. But hopefully BMW won't completely forget about us and give us cars too..like the M2.

They can make all the self driving status symbal long wheel base cars for china as they want. As long as they also give us some nice cars.

[MalibuBimmer]

I'm 72. I made my father stop driving two years ago (when he was 97). I want to be able to get around on my own in my BMW when I'm his age. So autonomous driving will be ok.

What's interesting to note is how autonomy has arrived. Not so long ago we thought it would come through centralized control and cars communicating with each other. Two incredibly complicated things to accomplish, especially when not all cars are autonomous. Now the car is being made "self aware" in a 360 degrees sort of way, with the computer brain replacing the fallible nut behind the wheel.

One day it will all be autonomous and the pleasure will come from going to a race track and driving your 150 year old ICE dinosaur.

While I still want to drive on my own, I will embrace autonomy when it means I can still be independent.

[vinny84]

Mtominous

When you don't feel like driving around the track yourself

[hatepotholez]

Wouldn't mind having a car similar to the the movie I,Robot. Drive my car when I want to and let it take over when I want it to. The actual robots are another story.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by Mo@BMWofFairfax

Autonomous tech is the future. The systems are able to help avoid accidents and take the stress off of the driver.

Fast food was the future too. Easier. Faster. Cheaper. That doesn't mean it's "better".

Is it possible this tech can improve things? Sure. But I reject the idea that it's automatically better because it's new. Or that we should jump on the sales/marketing bandwagon because it's new. New isn't the only destination. Leonardo DaVinci's works aren't new. Nor are Picasso's. Nor is the Jaguar E-Type. But that doesn't mean they are obsolete, irrelevant, or "worse" than new things.

New can be better. New can be worse. The assumption new is always better is consumerism, marketing, and sales 101. Not a promise or guarantee of "better".

[IB M]

Initially when these become common on the road, and before self driving is illegal, there will be a period of time where it will be so easy to cut off and blow by every autonomous vehicle programmed to go the speed limit and leave a safe gap. I can not wait to exploit this opportunity to the fullest.

The Autonomous vehicles need to stay the F out of the left lane.