Cadillac vs. Mercedes

Cadillac has announced that in 2017 it will begin selling truly “hands-free” cars that can steer themselves and control their own speeds to avoid collisions. While other manufacturers, including Acura, Infiniti, and Mercedes, most manufacturers have simply provided lane keep assist, which warns drivers when they drift out of a lane.

The new thing in Cadillac announcement is the inclusion of vehicle-to-vehicle communications. The Antiplanner thinks building such systems into cars is unnecessary because they are already inherent in many smart-phone apps, and since consumers replace smart phones more frequently than cars, they will be assured of having the latest technology at all times.
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Perhaps more significant is Daimler’s announcement that it has bought MyTaxi, a competitor of Uber. Mercedes obviously believes that car sharing and smart-phone apps will play an important role in the future of the cars it manufactures.

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About The Antiplanner

The Antiplanner is a forester and economist with more than fifty years of experience critiquing government land-use and transportation plans.

7 Responses to Cadillac vs. Mercedes

  1. lbh says:

    AP why are you opposed to V2V and V2I communication? In the former, if two cars are close enough the car in front can obstruct, at least partially, the view of the car behind. Wouldn’t it be useful to make up for that by having the lead car share information with the trailing one? For the latter, some road hazards might be difficult to detect, and cars might smash over the same pothole over and over. Wouldn’t it be useful if the road could issue a warning? Or if instead of slowing down for intersections with low visibility wouldn’t it be useful if the road could have cars stagger their speeds slightly to minimize delay for all drivers? Maybe it’s not useful until ubiquitous, but isn’t that a reason to start installing the equipment?

  2. Fred_Z says:

    If we get V2V etc. installed by the automakers it will cost thousands per vehicle, will be updated very slowly and poorly, at huge cost.

    If we could trust the automakers to have something like a chip port or compartment where a V2V brain could be easily and cheaply swapped out I’d say OK. But we cannot trust them. It would take 3 technicians, an appointment at a dealership and a lot of money to do what a 12 year old can and does do right now.

    Aren’t the automakers right now trying to prevent us from using our smartphones inside a car for GPS navigation? And all so they can force us to buy built in GPS navvies at $2K a pop. Because Safety. Or something.

  3. Frank says:

    Fred makes excellent points. Car companies are full of tech gimmics, including GM’s new in-vehicle 4G. Given the aging fleet and the rapid advance of tech, in just a few years, having 4G may be like having a 56K modem and dialing in to AOL. Or like the tape deck in my early 2000s vehicle. Read: obsolete.

  4. metrosucks says:

    Frank,

    the real point is probably to charge 1,000 bucks for it, no other reason.

  5. gilfoil says:

    Transit agencies should consider buying either a Cadillac or Mercedes for each poor person that needs one, along with a smart phone to steer it. This would be cheaper than the extravagant fleet of buses and light rail trains that run with no one abord in many cities.

  6. Iced Borscht says:

    Transit agencies should consider buying either a Cadillac or Mercedes for each poor person that needs one, along with a smart phone to steer it. This would be cheaper than the extravagant fleet of buses and light rail trains that run with no one abord in many cities.

    Too funny LOL, Gilfoil is a comedy porcupine with those sharp quills of laffter

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