Throwing this in here despite the fact that it could go in the EV thread (since most of the leaders for autonomy are EV companies) or into the Sporty Car thread (b/c it drives directly at whether we'd still want "sporty cars" after autonomy)...
But can you indulge me in a little thought experiment?
Let's say that we solve autonomous driving. Cars no longer need or have steering wheels and pedals. You get in, tell it where you want to go, and it takes you. And I'm going full scale here. You don't need a license to "drive" one, you don't need to be sober, and you're not legally responsible for any mistakes the car makes. It's *truly* autonomous.
The question is this: How does that change what you value in a car purchase?
The reason I ask is that many of us on this board are to an extent "car people". I.e. I think we tend to think about the driving experience of a vehicle because we're going to be the ones driving it.
That means things like horsepower, and how well it handles, etc. When I was thinking about the Mach-E, I wasn't thinking about any model but the GT. I have a lead foot and 700hp sounded like a LOT of fun lol. Hell, as you all know, I prefer manual transmission vehicles. My last two daily drivers haven't been manual, but I still have a 6 speed Jeep and every vehicle (including the motorcycle) that I'd purchased before the Jeep has been a manual. There's a certain tactile enjoyment I get out of driving a stick that an automatic can't replace. The only previous automatic vehicle I've had was when I was in college and my grandma failed her drivers test enough times that she gave up, and I started driving her Chrysler LeBaron Turbo.
So... I'm kind of a "car guy". Even the Ford Flex, I preferred to most of the SUVs of the time, because it was low-slung and honestly drove like a car. It wasn't exactly a drivers' car, but I picked the best driving vehicle I could find/afford given that I was looking for 7-seater fat pig vehicles.
And yet... If I didn't have to drive it, would I care about the horsepower and handling? Would I care about anything except the comfort, the ride quality, and perhaps the functionality (i.e. cargo room / etc)? I honestly don't think I would.
What do you guys think? Is something like autonomy going to completely change what people care about when purchasing cars? And thinking it through, what does that mean for the actual carmaker market when they're no longer competing on things like horsepower, handling, and how a car feels to drive?
(For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume that these are still owner-purchased vehicles. The transition to "vehicle as a service" is a different thought experiment.)
