Autonomous Cars at Disney World..

[GoofGoof]

I get lost on who said what on these posts.

I know an executive at GM and some others so I do have a pretty good idea of what is what there.

The biggest improvement has been getting rid of the dead product lines or non money making lines. They have gotten the unions under control another big problem,

BTW I shorted GM into BK. I also shorted Delphi into BK. I have a good knowledge on the auto industry and I trade on fact not happy feelings. I'm short Tesla right now, just put that on about a week ago. Tesla is ridiculously over valued, $80 a share I could see not 300 plus. That is a scary stock to play with, it has hit it's max and is going down as Tesla doesn't live up to the best case scenario. Their battery business, power wall etc. has failed by lack of demand. There are warehouses of battery packs that are unsold. Solar City was a bailout not a good buy. Solar City continues to lose money hand over fist and will continue like that for a while in the best case. Model 3 Tesla will sell hundred of thousands a year> LOL......LOL.

The auto industry is brutal. GM is so so at best. I do like the new CTS.

Solar City was a dog long before Musk bailed out his cousin and may never have positive cash flows. Terrible buy for Tesla, but those stocks don't trade on actual value but projected growth and Musk gets the celebrity CEO bump. I agree that Tesla is probably overvalued right now. I do like the potential, but that's a huge premium to pay to get on board now.

GM is investing in autonomous cars and electric vehicles and other non-core businesses with growth potential. As long as they are making minor investments and not going all in on these things it's probably an OK move. Half a billion dollars isn't going to bankrupt GM. I think Disney will also approach this in a similar way. They won't go all in and scrap all of their busses right away. A slow and steady roll out and test run of the technology will allow them to take advantage of the marketing opportunity without taking a huge financial risk. If things work out as they hope it's easy enough to expand.

 

[danlb_2000]

This is why manufactures have more autonomous features in some of their cars now- to prevent someone sleeping.. to make an adjustment...or to wake them up.
.

Yes, and that's fine for semi-autonomous cars, but it would significantly reduce people's interest in fully autonomous cars if they were required to be alert and have their "hands on the wheel" for the entire trip. My point is, to make the jump from semi-autonomous to full autonomous you need a system that can handle any situation and note require the driver to step in if there is a problem. This is why, like you, I think that wide spread use of autonomous vehicles is further off then some people believe.

 

[21stamps]

I get lost on who said what on these posts.

I know an executive at GM and some others so I do have a pretty good idea of what is what there.

The biggest improvement has been getting rid of the dead product lines or non money making lines. They have gotten the unions under control another big problem,

BTW I shorted GM into BK. I also shorted Delphi into BK. I have a good knowledge on the auto industry and I trade on fact not happy feelings. I'm short Tesla right now, just put that on about a week ago. Tesla is ridiculously over valued, $80 a share I could see not 300 plus. That is a scary stock to play with, it has hit it's max and is going down as Tesla doesn't live up to the best case scenario. Their battery business, power wall etc. has failed by lack of demand. There are warehouses of battery packs that are unsold. Solar City was a bailout not a good buy. Solar City continues to lose money hand over fist and will continue like that for a while in the best case. Model 3 Tesla will sell hundred of thousands a year> LOL......LOL.

The auto industry is brutal. GM is so so at best. I do like the new CTS.

Solar City was a dog long before Musk bailed out his cousin and may never have positive cash flows. Terrible buy for Tesla, but those stocks don't trade on actual value but projected growth and Musk gets the celebrity CEO bump. I agree that Tesla is probably overvalued right now. I do like the potential, but that's a huge premium to pay to get on board now.

GM is investing in autonomous cars and electric vehicles and other non-core businesses with growth potential. As long as they are making minor investments and not going all in on these things it's probably an OK move. Half a billion dollars isn't going to bankrupt GM. I think Disney will also approach this in a similar way. They won't go all in and scrap all of their busses right away. A slow and steady roll out and test run of the technology will allow them to take advantage of the marketing opportunity without taking a huge financial risk. If things work out as they hope it's easy enough to expand.

I am not some GM loyalist, or even close.. but I pay attention to the auto industry, and what they're doing is pretty cool right now. A few years ago I would have never equated GM with technology. 500 million is more than what most companies are investing, that was my point. They're at the top of the market in testing the autonomous arena.

Yes, and that's fine for semi-autonomous cars, but it would significantly reduce people's interest in fully autonomous cars if they were required to be alert and have their "hands on the wheel" for the entire trip. My point is, to make the jump from semi-autonomous to full autonomous you need a system that can handle any situation and note require the driver to step in if there is a problem. This is why, like you, I think that wide spread use of autonomous vehicles is further off then some people believe.

I agree. I think in the meantime companies need to continue with this semi autonomous technology and it will things safer for all on the road. A few years ago not all new cars had backup cameras and Bluetooth, now most do, even entry level models. Eventually the semi autonomous features will become more and more common and available on all trim levels..Honda has started that, where 2 years ago these features were top trims only. That kiind of safety is exciting to me.

 

[George]

I also suspect that by the time Autonomous cars become the norm, we will have far too much to do on our phones and tablets and interconnected devices to be bothered with actually driving... it is almost that way now...you cannot get through a stop light without having to honk to the driver in front of you who is lodst in a text conversation...I think this will only get worse as technology continues to tether us.

I'm already there. On my long boring commute through central Indiana corn fields I nap, surf, play video games...I know the route pretty well so I find that a right knee cap, firmly pressed against the bottom of the steering wheel works well enough. I'm able to turn by exerting a gentle force thanks to muscle memory. I do find that when the roads are icy, I nap just a bit less. I certainly don't need some semi autonomous vehicle "beep beeping" at me telling me to wake up etc. I might be on board with a fully automated vehicle if it had a toaster oven under the dash.

 

[Nemo14]

I'm already there. On my long boring commute through central Indiana corn fields I nap, surf, play video games...I know the route pretty well so I find that a right knee cap, firmly pressed against the bottom of the steering wheel works well enough. I'm able to turn by exerting a gentle force thanks to muscle memory. I do find that when the roads are icy, I nap just a bit less. I certainly don't need some semi autonomous vehicle "beep beeping" at me telling me to wake up etc. I might be on board with a fully automated vehicle if it had a toaster oven under the dash.

I suppose my car will be obsolete then...

 

[GoofGoof]

I am not some GM loyalist, or even close.. but I pay attention to the auto industry, and what they're doing is pretty cool right now. A few years ago I would have never equated GM with technology. 500 million is more than what most companies are investing, that was my point. They're at the top of the market in testing the autonomous arena.

Yes, the $500M is a big investment for the autonomous car industry. My point is that it's a very small investment for GM overall and pretty low risk for them. It makes sense for the legacy car manufacturers to invest in these new technologies but I don't see them going overboard with it which I think is the smart way to get involved. Let others spend on R&D and development and buy in when there is an actual product to take to the next stage. It lowers the overall risk.

 

[21stamps]

Yes, the $500M is a big investment for the autonomous car industry. My point is that it's a very small investment for GM overall and pretty low risk for them. It makes sense for the legacy car manufacturers to invest in these new technologies but I don't see them going overboard with it which I think is the smart way to get involved. Let others spend on R&D and development and buy in when there is an actual product to take to the next stage. It lowers the overall risk.

Totally agree.

 

[Laketravis]

Pfffft.......$500 million only gets you a new kiddie coaster, dark ride, and table service restaurant.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I suppose my car will be obsolete then...

More than obsolete... it's toast.

 

[FigmentFan3]

Don't know if it has been mentioned anywhere, but the unique white line style traffic lights on the bus lanes near the springs could probably be easily read by a sensor on an autonomous vehicle...

 

[21stamps]

Don't know if it has been mentioned anywhere, but the unique white line style traffic lights on the bus lanes near the springs could probably be easily read by a sensor on an autonomous vehicle...

Oh I didn't even know about those!

 

[FigmentFan3]

Oh I didn't even know about those!

They're super cool! Picture a regular traffic light with all three circles black. When lit stop shows a horizontal white line through the center of the circle, slow is a flashing horizontal line, and go is a vertical white line, or a slanted one for a turn.

 

[Laketravis]

Don't know if it has been mentioned anywhere, but the unique white line style traffic lights on the bus lanes near the springs could probably be easily read by a sensor on an autonomous vehicle...

I think it's more likely they would transmit status and pending changes rather than rely on visual cues.