# Would you buy a Google-driven car? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834 "2014-08-05T00:39:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/1 "2014-08-05T00:39:36Z")
If they were otherwise the same as a regular car (similar in price, options, etc.) but you could optionally sit back and let Google drive you to your destination, would you go for it? The caveat is that, well, Google can control your car. They’ll probably always be listening to everything that goes on it, they’ll know everywhere you go, etc. And the software won’t be perfect and might kill a few people now and then, but far less than human drivers. Would you be an early adopter? An eventual one? Staying as far away as you could? ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/2 "2014-08-05T00:55:15Z")
I hate driving, but I’d be pretty hesitant to trust an automated car. If they became popular, maybe I’d get one after the kinks were worked out. Google listening to me talk or whatever is of no concern. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/3 "2014-08-05T00:56:22Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > If they were otherwise the same as a regular car (similar in price, options, etc.) but you could optionally sit back and let Google drive you to your destination, would you go for it? > > The caveat is that, well, Google can control your car. They’ll probably always be listening to everything that goes on it, they’ll know everywhere you go, etc. And the software won’t be perfect and might kill a few people now and then, but far less than human drivers. > > Would you be an early adopter? An eventual one? Staying as far away as you could? If you could actually have it drive you all over I would love having one. My understanding is that as impressive as the demos of current technology are, they’re a bit misleading because they basically modeled a digital Mountain View to help the car get around. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/4 "2014-08-05T00:58:28Z")
Hell yeah says this unapologetic lush. Being able to get hammered and not have to bother with taxis would be heaven for me. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/5 "2014-08-05T01:02:41Z")
Assuming it was safe and I could afford it, in a second. I hate driving. I even did a thread about it some time back. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/6 "2014-08-05T01:27:22Z")
Hell no! It’s a cool concept, & it’ll work in a controlled environment like their campus but there are too many things that don’t interact with it to make it seem safe to me: older cars, bikes, pedestrians, a stray mattress that came out of someone pickup bed besides the fact that _people_ blindly following their directions have been known to turn into rivers, buildings, etc. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/7 "2014-08-05T01:34:06Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > My understanding is that as impressive as the demos of current technology are, they’re a bit misleading because they basically modeled a digital Mountain View to help the car get around. You know about Google Street View, right? We saw an exhibit on self-driving cars at the Computer History Museum recently. I think it’s a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/8 "2014-08-05T01:36:49Z")
No. Because it makes much more sense to rent one. Self driving cars don’t just have to sit in a parking lot while you’re not using it, they can go off and perform other useful work. Chartering one only when you need it makes far more sense than owning one. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/9 "2014-08-05T01:47:38Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Hell yeah says this unapologetic lush. > > Being able to get hammered and not have to bother with taxis would be heaven for me. I’m curious how this would work out legally. I would imagine most governments would be hesitant to allow automated cars to drive people home who are too drunk to take control in an emergency/system failure. It might be fun to have/rent one as long as the navigation system isn’t as obnoxious as Google Now is. Look, I know you’re trying to be helpful, but just because I Googled information about the civic center doesn’t mean I want to go there right this very instant. My biggest concern is that Google has pretty iffy map coverage in my town and I don’t know how the system would handle the incredibly narrow streets, like the large number of one lane and yet still inexplicably two way streets all over downtown. Also, the primary places I need a car to get to are field sites out in the mountains, I suspect a Google Car would not be able to handle that. I’m not really concerned about Google listening to me in my car or watching where I go. If they want to hear my singing and watch me go to the home center or wherever, they are welcome to it. They can recommend me all the voice training lessons and gardening supplies they want. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/10 "2014-08-05T01:55:23Z")
No. I _enjoy_ driving, and I mistrust automation “Welcome to JohnnyCab!” ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/11 "2014-08-05T02:46:59Z")
I enjoy _most_ driving, but there are some situations where I think a driverless car would be nice. Unfortunately, the kind of drives I would most like to be automated are the ones that are least likely to be automated. I hate slowly creeping around corners and having to back up a hundred meters or more in order to find a spot to pull off every time I meet a car or truck going in the opposite direction. I would love to have an autopilot that could do all that mess for me, but I doubt that’s happening anytime soon. Likewise, in heavy stop-and-go traffic it would be nice to be able to just turn on the autopilot and let the car deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/12 "2014-08-05T03:14:22Z")
No. I don’t even use Google +! ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/13 "2014-08-05T03:36:15Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > No. Because it makes much more sense to rent one. > > Self driving cars don’t just have to sit in a parking lot while you’re not using it, they can go off and perform other useful work. Chartering one only when you need it makes far more sense than owning one. See, I believe that if automated cars become common place, I think “owning” a car would become a thing of the past. I think transportation needs will be handled much like cell phones are today. (only except, you wouldn’t keep the car. You’d just order it as needed.) For instance you could get 150 miles for $65 a month from “Google Drive inc.” ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/14 "2014-08-05T05:06:44Z")
I enjoy driving, but assuming that a) They were safe b) they really wouldn’t get lost I’d buy one in an instant. To be able to read a book, get work done, sleep or watch a show instead of staring at a red light - count me in ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/15 "2014-08-05T05:24:19Z")
If all, or most, cars were automated, driving like that would be pleasant and safe-ish. Until that point I’d hesitate and probably choose not to participate. Full disclosure: I don’t drive anyway, I’ve never learned. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/16 "2014-08-05T05:41:46Z")
I think this question is in keeping with the OP: Given time to stake out infrastructure, in 25 years will these cars be common in urban areas? ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/17 "2014-08-05T16:22:14Z")
> [@MacTech](#): > > “Welcome to JohnnyCab!” I’d think the taxi industry would be the ideal early adopter, and for added cool make them all electric. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/18 "2014-08-05T16:26:19Z")
Sure. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/19 "2014-08-05T16:38:25Z")
I would be concerned that instead of taking me where I ask to go, and want to go, it would take me to where it thinks people that it thinks are like me would want to go. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834/20 "2014-08-05T16:49:01Z")
(Amazing how many need to fight the hypothetical.) Same cost, at least marginally safer, same sorts of accoutrements … No brainer. I am already committed that my next car will be one that mostly drives itself. I am expecting to have this car last me another 15 to 20 years. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-buy-a-google-driven-car/694834.md?page=2)