Reduced to Being a Copilot

Why did you post this on TUSCL? Facebook, twitter, instagram, LinkedIn would have been better. This isn't even general interest.

I recently purchased a new Benz as well and all of those features you mentioned are pretty cool but the only difference between my new and old versions of the same vehicle has been the insurance increased since the additional features made the vehicle cost substantially more

rhb, copilot is a misnomer here. You are instead a MP. (Monitoring pilot) Because you are (or at least should be) monitoring what the wonderful automated stuff is doing vs physically handling the steering wheel and gas pedal. If you set speed too fast, YOU, not the cars computer will be the one that gets the speeding ticket. If you run off the road because the computer went haywire, YOU will get the ticket, and the insurance company will send an increased renewal bill to YOU, not the cars computer/NAV system.

Lastly, am I correctly understanding that your new car is fully automated from, say, the local grocery store to your residence ? One car I was considering getting as a late model pre-owned, the Cadillac CT6 only has that automated capability on major interstates, and metro loops/beltways. (2018 and later option, I think).

@minnow - I’m not sure how to respond to some of your questions. The whole thing is new to me. I was not expecting this level of driver assistance sophistication when I bought the car.

The speed limit monitoring works on major roads as well as on backstreets and in my neighborhood. Based on the car’s behavior it seems to visually read the speed limit signs. The speed adjustments are perfectly coincident with.when we pass a speed limit sign.

As I was exploring and fiddling with the settings this morning in my driveway one of the options was whether or not I wanted the car to read traffic lights.

I don’t know yet if that really works much less if I would trust it.

I picked up my 2021 BMW convertible a week ago. It monitors the speed limit and displays the limit and your speed on the bottom of the windshield. It also has a great navigation system. But it's not self-driving. The point of this car is to drive it yourself.

tuscl.net

This car is a chick magnet. Or it would be if I were under 60-years-old.

This is my chick magnet.

tuscl.net

none of your cars measure up to my bad ass prius (for the money)! lol

I want to have control over my car, not the other way around. I've never even bought a car with automatic transmission. GLE 350? Thanks for the info. If I spot one on the road I'll be sure to give an extra-wide berth in case the car "seems confused" about where the lanes are.

Very cool. I had no idea they've come so far.

All this Gee Whiz stuff is kind of taking the fun out of driving. I did switch to a 10 speed automatic on my 2018 Mustang GT after having the 6 speed manual in my previous 2. Atlanta traffic was killing me and as it turned out the automatic is faster than the manual. After 19K miles I still have not used the cruise control and I don't use the voice commands either. I don't even remember how to use most of them. No need! I do have my cell phone connected and it has been great the 3 or 4 times that I have used it.

Sounds like a bummer. Wanna trade for a 99 Camry. Very reliable, car of the year in '99.

I could have about 5 cars for the cost of a new off the lot GLE 350

@shadowcat. I think a manual transmission is a carjacking deterrent. Imaging getting carjacked by a jackass that can't drive a manual! I currently have a 6 speed manual V8 and love it.

You may want to watch this ( jalopnik.com ) before trusting your new car's "self driving" capabilities especially with your kids in the car. Or maybe not since you already shelled out the money for the car.

@mike710

Lol - good point. Every so often I see a story about a car thief who gives up because he can't drive stick. Too funny.

These are all clever, useful technologies but cars won’t be self driving until they are 100% reliable in 100% of situations. We are at least 20 years away from that. The first 50% is easy. The first 90% is doable. A lot of cars are there now. But that last 2%, considering things like construction zones, bad weather, and wrong way drivers, is damn near impossible to code.

@Mark94

I agree that it’ll be a long time before self driving cars or as good as a human driver at his or her best.

However, most human drivers are often not at their best when they are behind the wheel.

A self driving car will never get drunk, be distracted, sleepy, or angry.

I don’t think we’re very far away from the day when self driving cars will have a better overall driving record than humans.

I already received my adjusted insurance statement covering my new car.

I’m getting a partial refund on my prepaid insurance premiums.

Even though I have an impeccable driving record, my insurance company evidently thinks I will be even safer behind the wheel with this new car that kinda-sorta drives itself.

@Reverend

Wish you the best of luck with it. However, I doubt your insurance company thinks "you" will be safer. In their world it's all about overall statistics. There are lots of terrible drivers out there that probably should be banned from getting behind the wheel forever, but they're still causing mayhem on the roads. Those morons may be better off with this technology, statistically speaking. On the other hand, careful, sensible drivers like you and me are unlikely to have an accident that's our fault, and at least somewhat less likely to be a victim of careless drivers. I feel like I have a sixth sense about bad or impaired drivers and I do whatever necessary to put distance between us, especially when I'm on a motorcycle. Bottom line is insurance companies don't care about "you" or "me" they only care about the statistical reduction of claim pay-outs. A few good drivers getting banged up because of malfunctioning technology doesn't mean shit if their overall costs are reduced. No thank you. I'll put my trust in myself rather than statistics.

I'm all for features that may compensate for certain driver faults, like warnings of slowed traffic ahead, sensors that detect whether the driver is falling asleep, blind spot warnings, etc. But I have to draw the line at cars that actually take over the driving.

“ I'm all for features that may compensate for certain driver faults, like warnings of slowed traffic ahead, sensors that detect whether the driver is falling asleep, blind spot warnings, etc. But I have to draw the line at cars that actually take over the driving.”

For now. People said the same thing about antilock brakes 30 years ago. All the Road and Track readers believed they could outperform the computer. It’s technology. It’ll keep getting better, and at an exponential rate.

^ that’s correct and the auto sensors are able to warn you of highway traffic abruptly slowing even if you have a much larger vehicle that is obscuring your forward view, the blind spot sensors work great my vehicle is a coupe and is fun to drive, the technology enhances the driving experience not takes aw from it from heads up display to 360 view cameras I feel more comfortable and it makes getting to where I’m going much more comfortable

I don't want a car that is stuck in the middle. Either I want it to be good enough to do the job completely autonomously or I want it to stay out of the way. I bought a new vehicle myself recently and I made damned sure that it excluded most of that crap. There is nothing more dangerous than a less than perfect system substituting its judgment for your own. Two chefs trying to stir the same pot is not generally a good thing.

@Gamma, if there's 4 things that guys love talking to each other about no matter where they're at (but not to their spouse due to the costs involved), it's cars, guitars, guns, and PCs.

... and as a bonus, strippers.

I have the land change warning (chime and light), rear cross traffic warning and park sense such that it stops my SUV if I'm about to hit something. That's about all the tech I wanted and would trust at this point. Problem with more is that it can't account for stupid (other drivers) as someone else alluded to.

My previous 2015 Tahoe was probably the most self aware car I've ever driven. It couldn't drive itself (are there any SUVs that can? ), but it definitely warned me about every other little thing; lane departure, blind spots, sudden slowing traffic ahead (the alert used to scare the shit out of me). I miss that car a lot.

Every time someone tells me about the self driving features in their car, they sound completely fascinated.

@ Eve - Love to talk about all those subjects although I would have to leave the guitar part out and substitute / add, golf / football.... especially strippers; that's why we're all here isn't it?

@rhb

Did you purchase the Benz, or was it a lease?

I've always had "practical cars" that are easy/cheap to fix; and I tend to keep my cars a good # of years - today's cars are very complex and likely much more expensive to fix, and why I'd personally be hesitant to own one out-of-warranty and why if I got a nice (expensive) car I was thinking a lease would work for me in the sense that I don't wanna get stuck with an expensive-to-fix out-of-warranty car.

A case of over-dependence on car-technology (person had the Tesla on auto-pilot):

youtube.com

^^ Papi

The funniest part of it is that even after two wrecks, no one stops until they physically can't maneuver around. It's like they're ALL on auto-pilot and the computer has no feelings for injured people! Lol

@rhb

Pics and Vids or it didn’t happen.

:D

I got a notice from my insurance company today.

I’m getting a refund on my prepaid annual insurance bill. My premiums are lower than they were when I still had my 2013 Mercedes.

My old and new Mercedes are very similar in size, weight, engine, body style and price. The biggest differences relate to the safety features.

At this point I’m sure the safety features of the new model account for the lower insurance premiums.

^ Could be. Maybe you just passed a certain age bracket.

God is my co- pilot

I bought new cars in 2011, 2015 & 2018 and got new car discounts for the first 2 years. Now my age, 78 and HP460 are working against me. I did manage to save $462/yr last month by switching to AARP/Hartford.

@25- A WW2 fighter pilot ace authored a book with the same title. Can you name him off the top of your head ? (no search engines, Amazon Books search, or trip to library).

@shadowcat- Good for you, screw Geico and their annoyingly obtrusive ads.

@minnow I remeber the movie, an old one in black and white I think his name might have been Col. Roger Scott but not sure.

None of the aforementioned are autopilot nor autonomous driving solutions. They are sub level 3 ADAS (advanced driver assistance system features). You are still responsible for monitoring the road and may be ticketed for texting and/or using your phone with non hands-free features. True level 4 or 5 autonomy is probably 10+ years away and will be outside the budget of nearly all consumers. It's initial implementation will be for fleets and public transport. Enjoy your ADAS equipped vehicle, but remember that you are still responsible for its resulting actions.

^^ Yeah, but those features make it inevitable that drivers WON'T be monitoring as closely as if they were fully driving the car. Plus even if they are, they are now in a reactive position if the computer or sensors fail and make a sudden unexpected lane shift.

On the other hand the check engine light has a completely different meaning now