In the future self-driving (auton) capabilities are going to be part of any car for sale, same as any other creature-comfort feature now offered (i.e.: cruise control, variable speed wipers, USB ports, etc.) which are not needed for the car to get from point A to B, but manufacturers put them in to increase sales, and to keep-up with their competition.
Whether the vehicle is an EV (or not), what you drive will have the auton option. Whether you want to use it, is your choice (and yes, yes, ... so many in the past have already posted they do not want it, so pls don't repeat yourself). IMO for me, it is like cruise control: sometimes I may want it, sometimes not. But as I am at the latter part of my life and see my future ... (I could tell the car to drive me to the hospital, & later drive me home, etc.). So for some, auton is a chance to get your name in the headlines for trying to sue a car company, and for others it might be the occasional useful thing (and everything in-between). Why am I bringing this topic up now? In my daily EV-news searches, I came across: http://www.hybridcars.com/wheego-and-valeo-issued-california-self-driving-permits/ Wheego and Valeo Issued California Self-Driving Permits October 12, 2016 The company's website says it now builds electric vehicles designed “for a global market” and focuses on the benefits of connected tech in making vehicles ... A quick search on Wheego's auton efforts gave: http://wheego.net/more/ Wheego’s Self-Racing Car AUGUST 12, 2016 Wheego and comma.ai participate in the Self-Racing Cars Event at the Autonomous Vehicles Track Day in May ... Some may remember Wheego as that China-made nEV company, but their LiFe model is highway capable: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheego_Electric_Cars#Wheego_LiFe The Wheego LiFe is a highway-capable version with a lithium iron phosphate battery pack ... is a small sized car sourced from China, with electric drivetrain and batteries installed in California. Its 30-kilowatt-hour lithium battery pack is coupled to a 60-horsepower electric motor. Top speed is 65 mph. It’s a commuter car, priced at $32,995 ... So, which companies have CA permits to put auton cars on the road? Here is a list: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/autonomous/testing Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program As of October 11, 2016, DMV has issued Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permits to the following entities: Volkswagen Group of America Mercedes Benz Google Delphi Automotive Tesla Motors Bosch Nissan GM Cruise LLC BMW Honda Ford Zoox, Inc. [linkedin.com/company/zoox-inc zoox.com Privately Held Silicon_Valley-CA 51-200 employees] Drive.ai, Inc. [linkedin.com/company/drive.ai drive.ai Privately Held Silicon_Valley-CA 11-50 employees] Faraday & Future Inc. Baidu USA LLC [linkedin.com/company/baidu-usa usa.baidu.com Public Silicon_Valley-CA 51-200 employees] Wheego Electric Cars Inc. Valeo North America, Inc. NextEV USA, Inc. [linkedin.com/company/nextev nextev.com Partnership China 1001-5000 employees] So, if you come visit Silicon_Valley-CA, it isn't going to be just those little Google (bubble, noddy-car) nEVs that you will see in front of you with the words Self-Driving Car emblazoned on them. Yup, ... these auton cars are coming folks. For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.0catch.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Want-it-or-not-it-s-happening-who-has-CA-auton-permits-tp4684062.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
