Driving Automation

I agree. Back in 1993 the wife wanted a Cherokee and just to get cruise control and a rear cargo light required “up charging” 2 trim levels. So we bought a Mercury Cougar XR7 with a whole lot more amenities as standard equipment for a much lower price. HO 302, 4 wheel antilock disc brakes, LSD differential, 6 way power seats, memory remotes for 2x drivers, premium sound.

If we coulda got the rear cargo light and cruise for line item add-ons we woulda done it in a flash.

Interesting , But to be fair you went from one of the most in demand 4X4 SUV's , (Hopefully) , to a personal luxury coupe . I would expect it to cheaper.
Of course it's crappy you couldn't get cruise without a package !
 
When I ordered my 1983 GMC T-15 4X4 pickup I was able to Line Item most of the RPO's , what I couldn't get was 4.10 R&P with the 2.8 V-6 . The 3.73 were the lowest ratio T could get , ( 3.42 were standard ) . However , everything else I wanted , I could get item by item . What's crazy is the things that would cost a lot to change later were cheap. $57.00 ratio change option ! on a 4X4 . All said and done my new truck was $ 9555.15

You should have been able to get your 4.10s - but it was considerably better even in the 80s than it is now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ColoJeep
Of course it's crappy you couldn't get cruise without a package !
That's pretty typical - but that's what Rostra is for!

I may have told this story before: In the mid 90s sometime, I went to Ford, Dodge, and Chevy and told them all the same thing. "I want your 3/4 ton Diesel truck with a manual. I want heavy duty everything (cooling, suspension, etc). I want air conditioning, and I want cruise control, and I don't want power windows, seats, or locks. If it has a nice stereo, that's fine. If it does not, that's fine too - I'll aftermarket it. Ditto for a sliding rear window. I also want your best, most supportive seat. Can you sell me a truck like this?".

This was in the days before the leather nonsense had found its way to trucks, and it went without saying that it would be a single cab with an 8 foot bed.

Ford and Chevy both promptly said "No.", but Dodge (which was my first pick anyway) said "Yes, with the caveat that you'll end up with a tilt steering wheel."

But I ended up buying a used '87 F-250 6.9 with a Banks turbo. It was perfect. No power garbage, it was exactly what I wanted with the exception of no cruise, which I fixed by adding a Rostra. The truck had actually started life as a complete stripper, it also had an aftermarket A/C. I'd still be driving it today, but we got out of RV-ing.
 
I'm looking forward to owning a self driving car someday. Statistically, crashes per mile are way less than with regular cars. I think it'd the only answer to distracted driving. I also believe a self driving car would be able to take evasive action far quicker than a human, resulting in crash avoidance from others. My new Ford Ranger has a lot of nanny stuff but there is a hardware/software upgrade I can do to it to make it "almost" self driving on the major highways, like Ford's "BlueCruise". I'm planning to do it, people who have report much nicer driving experiences on long trips and they don't arrive all tired from driving. That would be perfect for our trips out to the coast.

The world is far too crowded to keep going with old school stuff, we need this IMO. "Embrace the technology", you'll never be able to fight it. ;)

Ford's BlueCuise:

https://www.google.com/search?q=wha...AgiwAgHxBbSU47ofaZ4i&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
 
I'm looking forward to owning a self driving car someday.

That's great for you and me, especially if you're a lazy and inattentive driver.

I think it'd the only answer to distracted driving.

No, I couldn't disagree more....but maybe something as simple as paying attention when behind the wheel is. If you can't be bothered, take public transportation.

Everything you reference is a compensation for the inability of an adult human to pay attention while preforming relatively basic tasks. People make mistakes and accidents happen, but these things also happen when technology is left to run the show as well, tech is not a cure-all. Putting your fate in the hands of something created by humans isn't that far removed from directly interacting with humans.

Cars today are built with designed-in distractions and they also go to great lengths to isolate the driver from the sensations of driving. That's definitely part of the problem. If you want people to pay attention to driving, you don't fill the damn interior with light shows and entertainment systems in what amounts to a rolling "outside world" sensory deprivation chamber.

We sure as hell do not teach people how to operate motor vehicles. Training and licensing amounts to a joke. We teach people how to sit in a relatively comfy chair and play with a steering wheel and controls at certain times while "driving". No real understanding of what they are doing and why, and definitely no understanding of what the vehicle is doing and how to actually control the thing based on that understanding. Anyone here do skid pad, spin testing or ice driving for their license? Yeah, didn't think so.

With modern tech, you don't need too much of anything for ability. You can be as stupid as you like with most cars and the electronics will sort things out, most of the time. And when it doesn't, well, it will do its best to save your dumb ass from death with airbags, pyrotechnic belt tensioners, etc.

Check those blind spot before changing lanes? Why bother, the little sensor in the mirror will let me know, I'll just go (and without bothering to indicate, typically), Check those mirrors when backing up? Nah, I've got a backup camera (and I still can't fecking park it properly)...

The world is far too crowded to keep going with old school stuff

I agree with the first part and there are solutions to that, the second part makes no sense. Never bought into the "old stuff bad, new stuff good", mostly because it's complete horseshit, unless you cherry pick examples supporting either case. Good design and engineering is timeless, age has nothing to do with soundness.

we need this IMO.

No, WE don't. Maybe YOU do.

"Embrace the technology", you'll never be able to fight it.

"Embrace the British, you'll never be able to fight them" -some slacker colonist circa 1775 :sneaky:

Fight it, I will. And I know I'm not alone.
 
My wife’s Tacoma has a basic version of self driving, it simply keeps you in the lane, start and stop. I don’t fully rely on it but it is convenient on the highway for roadtrips.
 
  • Face Palm
  • Like
Reactions: 1o1proof and Zorba
I fail to see what the endgame is in all of this bullshit. So within a couple more years AI will be doing all the thinking jobs, robots & 3D printers all the doing jobs, driverless cars doing all the toting us around, just what the fuck are humans supposed to do, sit around in our government issued pods wearing Zuckerberg approved virtual headsets jerking each other off in cyberspace?

When we, once useful but rendered useless idiots, are all out of work there will be no economy, no tax base, no nothing, I see bleakness & horror on the path we seem hell bent on going down.
 
My wife’s Tacoma has a basic version of self driving, it simply keeps you in the lane, start and stop. I don’t fully rely on it but it is convenient on the highway for roadtrips.

Driven several different versions of the self driving. It's weird to be cruising along not touching the steering wheel and your turn signal comes on for a pass.

Even weirder when it does it without issue and no interaction by the driver.
 
Driven several different versions of the self driving. It's weird to be cruising along not touching the steering wheel and your turn signal comes on for a pass.

Even weirder when it does it without issue and no interaction by the driver.

I've had times when my TJ thought it knew how to drive itself ..... ;)
 
I fail to see what the endgame is in all of this bullshit. So within a couple more years AI will be doing all the thinking jobs, robots & 3D printers all the doing jobs, driverless cars doing all the toting us around, just what the fuck are humans supposed to do, sit around in our government issued pods wearing Zuckerberg approved virtual headsets jerking each other off in cyberspace?

When we, once useful but rendered useless idiots, are all out of work there will be no economy, no tax base, no nothing, I see bleakness & horror on the path we seem hell bent on going down.
In the Year 2525 (Exordium & Terminus)
*
Zager and Evans ‧ 1969

"In the year 2525, if man is still alive
If woman can survive, they may find..." :cautious:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izQB2-Kmiic
 
  • Like
Reactions: Squatch
No, I couldn't disagree more....but maybe something as simple as paying attention when behind the wheel is. If you can't be bothered, take public transportation.

Oh I agree with you but realistically do you think that's ever going to happen? Too many people out there will never be good drivers yet they will still drive, we've gone too far to fix that. Plus we don't have the enforcement we used to have, and the percentage of law breakers and poor drivers has increased exponentially. Where I live we don't even have traffic enforcement, it's a free for all. I don't see that changing either.

Meanwhile self driving cars and even those with basic crash avoidance systems will compensate and reduce crashes, even protecting the good drivers from the unexpected. That's my prediction. Statistics will bear this out, mark my words.

Regardless, it's happening whether we like it or not.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1o1proof
We need to consider that there is also a big difference between fully autonomous systems and the "autopilot" systems that are currently available on most new cars.

Here's some food for thought:
Pilots are well trained and fly under the strictest rules and conditions, yet pilot error contributes to the majority of aviation crashes. Meanwhile, autopilot has significantly reduced that.
 
Last edited:
I fail to see what the endgame is in all of this bullshit. So within a couple more years AI will be doing all the thinking jobs, robots & 3D printers all the doing jobs, driverless cars doing all the toting us around, just what the fuck are humans supposed to do, sit around in our government issued pods wearing Zuckerberg approved virtual headsets jerking each other off in cyberspace?

When we, once useful but rendered useless idiots, are all out of work there will be no economy, no tax base, no nothing, I see bleakness & horror on the path we seem hell bent on going down.

People are lazy, they take the easy route. For one, that removes the satisfaction of learning a skill or becoming a capable individual. 2, a lot of modern tech is addictive, and designed to be. All goes back to the dollar and control. If you can have cars driving for people, they can be distracted with their phone or laptop, generating ad engagement, etc. And control, the companies now have the ability to track your vehicle and soon be able to brick them. Tesla already has done that with cybertrucks in Russia.

It's genuinely mind boggling at the stupidity of the average person nowadays. I'm 20 now, but one of the largest annoyances I had in school was teachers treating high schoolers like little kids or handing out assignments with gay little cartoon characters. Me, being 17 at the time, doing a frame off resto on a vehicle, working a remote CAD/CAM job from school, and had done a lot of the plumbing on the boiler system and structural welding when the school was renovated, is being treated like a little boy. It pissed me off, and it still does. No wonder people are so brain dead. 12 year olds back in the day used to build cabins and live by themselves, now the average 23 year old doesn't know jack all about basic electrical or home-building skills.


Cars today are built with designed-in distractions and they also go to great lengths to isolate the driver from the sensations of driving. That's definitely part of the problem. If you want people to pay attention to driving, you don't fill the damn interior with light shows and entertainment systems in what amounts to a rolling "outside world" sensory deprivation chamber.

We sure as hell do not teach people how to operate motor vehicles. Training and licensing amounts to a joke. We teach people how to sit in a relatively comfy chair and play with a steering wheel and controls at certain times while "driving". No real understanding of what they are doing and why, and definitely no understanding of what the vehicle is doing and how to actually control the thing based on that understanding. Anyone here do skid pad, spin testing or ice driving for their license? Yeah, didn't think so.

With modern tech, you don't need too much of anything for ability. You can be as stupid as you like with most cars and the electronics will sort things out, most of the time. And when it doesn't, well, it will do its best to save your dumb ass from death with airbags, pyrotechnic belt tensioners, etc.

Check those blind spot before changing lanes? Why bother, the little sensor in the mirror will let me know, I'll just go (and without bothering to indicate, typically), Check those mirrors when backing up? Nah, I've got a backup camera (and I still can't fecking park it properly)...

The inability to drive is a serious issue up in Canada now. Don't even get me started. As tech becomes smarter, society becomes dumber.

The only upside I can say is it gives you a better opportunity to build your skillset and get further ahead in todays world. I hate the way things are going, but there's not much I can do to change that and getting upset only puts me in a bad mood. Best option for me is to grind and give myself financial freedom.
 
Oh I agree with you but realistically do you think that's ever going to happen? Too many people out there will never be good drivers yet they will still drive, we've gone too far to fix that. Plus we don't have the enforcement we used to have, and the percentage of law breakers and poor drivers has increased exponentially. Where I live we don't even have traffic enforcement, it's a free for all. I don't see that changing either.

Meanwhile self driving cars and even those with basic crash avoidance systems will compensate and reduce crashes, even protecting the good drivers from the unexpected. That's my prediction. Statistics will bear this out, mark my words.

Regardless, it's happening whether we like it or not.

So what you're saying is yet MORE technology to solve a problem that technology created in the first place. And the technological nirvana just never seems to materialize. Wow, think of that.

"Happening whether we like it or not." - true enough, but that doesn't mean people don't have to participate.
 
but realistically do you think that's ever going to happen?

Nope, not as long as people are willing to accept low standards in just about every aspect of their lives.

Too many people out there will never be good drivers yet they will still drive, we've gone too far to fix that.

we don't have the enforcement we used to have, and the percentage of law breakers and poor drivers has increased exponentially.

Where I live we don't even have traffic enforcement, it's a free for all. I don't see that changing either.

All cases in point.

So you think the solution to all this is autonomous vehicles? I think maybe electing actual leaders, actually charging and punishing criminals commensurate to the offense(s) committed and not defunding law enforcement might be a better start to solving some of those items. Or we can just attempt to use tech to compensate...

If we want smarter, more responsible, accountable people in our society, we need to grow them. Enable young people, don't coddle. We have the oldest damn kids here in the western world, it's absurd. Make sure you're the best parent you can be to your children (because it fecking matters, it effects everyone else if you raise and release a blight), and maybe don't let morons commandeer the education system that teaches your offspring when you aren't there. Or we can just legislate every last damn thing "because the unwashed, ignorant masses just won't behave" and force unnecessary tech on everyone "for the greater good" (as well as the thick layer of control and surveillance that goes with it).

I'm not particularly interested in a society that panders to the lowest common denominator, it's getting old. I was raised by people who got shit done and encouraged doing for and taking care of yourself (then helping others) and not burdening family or society. I'm responsible, accountable and I don't now feel nor have I ever felt a particular need to be led, I do alright on my own. Besides, there's never been a rotten soul within the I495 beltway qualified morally, ethically or intellectually to lead me. I hold my leaders to a much higher standard. But I digress... 🙂

Here's some food for thought:
Pilots are well trained and fly under the strictest rules and conditions, yet pilot error contributes to the majority of aviation crashes. Meanwhile, autopilot has significantly reduced that.

That's not entirely true. I think you'll find that either reliance on an automated system, and/or lack of familiarity with an automated system has lead to plenty of aviation crashes, and autopilots are an offender. Also many accidents occur during the takeoff and landing phases of flight, I think you'll find that while the systems are capable, most pilots still hand fly the aircraft during these phases. Now why would that be if it can be done with the flick of a switch? You are giving the systems too much credit.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kHa3WNerjU

Regardless, it's happening whether we like it or not.

Point being, it doesn't have to. See above. It's all about what you're wiling to accept and how much you're will to give (and give up). I see very little giving and a lot of giving up....so yeah, you're correct, it probably will happen. But I sport different colors, apparently...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zorba
So what you're saying is yet MORE technology to solve a problem that technology created in the first place. And the technological nirvana just never seems to materialize. Wow, think of that.

"Happening whether we like it or not." - true enough, but that doesn't mean people don't have to participate.

You could say we've been creating more technology to solve problems that existing technology causes from the beginning of the age of sail.
 
No wonder people are so brain dead. 12 year olds back in the day used to build cabins and live by themselves, now the average 23 year old doesn't know jack all about basic electrical or home-building skills.
Oh, TOTALLY this. Reminds me of a story. My last employer, a year or two before I retired, suddenly banned people from changing fluorescent lite bulbs, which I had been doing for years. Had a yak with the safety officer, who told me that I "wasn't electrically qualified"...

I absolutely EXPLODED. I informed this jackass that 1) I started doing electrical work when I was about 12 - before he was even born, and 2) Who the Hell designed the 1,600 volts PDU and control system for a certain piece of equipment (me), and that 3) I'll give "them" one chance to come change my damn tubes, otherwise I'm doing it myself and we can discuss this bullshit in the HR office. I never heard anything else about it, and I will say that "they" came and changed my bulbs pronto each time I called. Whatever!
 
You could say we've been creating more technology to solve problems that existing technology causes from the beginning of the age of sail.

No - up until recently, new tech was created to do something better. Now its just a knee jerk reaction to problems CAUSED by tech.

When I was in college electronics, I was taught that cheap microprocessors would save the world. Now all I see are bullshit problems, the processors are cheap to the companies that build these gadgets, but the cost savings hasn't been passed on to the consumers but the problems sure have. Of course, exhibit A is the PHOOOOOONNE. Without boring everyone with yet another rant on THAT subject, I'll only say that the entire smartphone "thing" has come to deeply, and literally DISGUST me. The trickle down effect of this one device is horrid - that was pointed out to me while I was overseas in a country that hasn't YET been completely ruined by the things.