I think all this talk about whether a system is a profitable idea or not misses the point. Google's driverless Taxi program is not the end-game here, they are using it as a stepping stone with the goal of eventually having autonomous cars for everything commercial and private.
In all honesty, who would buy a driverless car for personal use? And by Google at that?
Come on, especially Americans, who - judging by many comments on the forum here - like to argue whether an EV needs 4.x seconds 0 to 60 performance - would give up driving themselves?
I can see the merits of something like Johnnycab (albeit not in the form shown in TR - even though I just love Bob Picardo), especially in megacities like NY, as well as autonomous driving on highways. But for everyday personal driving? Where's the fun in that?
And all this talk about young people not being interested in cars anymore? Perhaps, again, in (big) cities yes. But not in rural areas where a car is still a) a statement and b) often the only means of getting someplace independently.
That this car is friggin ugly imho isn't the main point. It's just a prototype after all and will surely improve in future iterations. But that it is made by Google, one of the greatest dangers to personal freedom in this day and age, sure gives me the creeps. Perhaps they would like to team up with FB to create the ultimate in "1984" style Orwellian horror. And people will still fall for it...:scared:
Hopefully Google will work closer with Tesla in the future. Implementing Chrome in Tesla is a good way to go. Google maps is already present. I think they both would benefint a lot from working together!
