Autonomous Smontonomous, Ford Promises Driver-less Car.

Ford has announced that they are moving aggressively in the development of an autonomous car with an eye on affordability for the masses. Daimler and Tesla are expected to have driver-less cars on the market within the next five years.

Now I was OK with Daimler and Tesla, they’re more or less specialty or luxury marks here in the US. But Ford? That’s bread and butter man.

When I heard that Ford planned on bringing the affordable driver-less car to the US it made me uneasy, but I wasn’t sure why. Adaptive cruise control, self-parking, proximity warning; these are all old hat now. We have been moving toward driver-less cars since the 1950’s. It’s not like I didn’t know it was coming. So what is that’s been gnawing at me since I heard about Ford’s commitment to the autonomous car?

It took a couple days but I think I’ve figured out what’s bugging me. Let’s start with a little history (you remember history right?).

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile. Automobiles had been around for a while before old Henry started selling his Model T. The Model T was designed to be an affordable car for the masses. This was the car that someone making an average American salary could afford. And it changed America.

More than ever before, Americans had the freedom to move around the country. But that’s who we were as Americans. We wanted the ability to control our destinies and we wanted the controls in our hands when we did it. Up through the 1950’s America built cars that were bigger and faster and flashier so we could get where we wanted to go faster and in more comfort and style.

Somewhere along the way we picked up automatic transmissions and power steering to make cars easier to drive. Then there was cruise control and still it was OK. I don’t think it really started to fall apart until GPS was installed in your dashboard. Let someone else look at the map and tell me the quickest interstate route. The destination is now more important than the journey. This was the step that really cemented the fact that we as a nation don’t care to be in control anymore.

Does the average American want to drive or do they want to put coordinates in their smart phone and stare at their I-Pad until they get where they're going? This isn’t just how Americans travel; it’s how we live our lives. We used to build things and fix things and appreciate our work and our play. Now we just buy things that someone else builds, replace them when a new thing comes along and bitch about them while we have them. We don’t seem to take pleasure in the journey or the destination.

I don’t know if this move toward an autonomous life in the US is good or bad. Most folks seem pretty content watching some miniature screen or another, letting someone else do the work and complaining about the result. Me, I’ll drive my own car. And change my own oil, but that’s a rant for another day.

So. am I off base here? Am i too old, out of the loop? Let me know. I can take it.