…And So Much For All That

I remember people welcoming the advent of driverless cars with exclamations of: “I can take a nap!” or “I can catch up on my work!” or “I can play online games!” or “I can go out and get plastered and not worry about breathalyzers!”, all while being driven to the office / home / airport etc.

Sadly, as with so many things, it’s all bullshit because of Nanny Government:

Drivers of self-steering cars such as Teslas will be ordered not to take their hands off the wheel for more than a minute.
The new regulations from the UK government will target drivers who let go of the steering wheel thanks to lane steering, cruise control or emergency braking features.
Motorists who break the new rules will face points on their licence, a potential £1,000 fine and even prison.
It comes after legislation requiring cars manufacturers to install a feature to alert drivers when they have not touched the wheel for 15 seconds.

So the attraction of driverless cars is… what, exactly? Forgive me while I snort with derision.

Ahhhh, let’s forget about all that driverless crap and gaze upon a car which absolutely mandates self-driving, a 1957 Maserati 3500 GT:

None of that no-drive nonsense here: the 3500 line features a six-cylinder 3.5-liter engine driven with a four- or five-speed manual transmission, and it was in production for eight years (a long time for Maserati, in those days), attesting to its popularity. And if that pic wasn’t enough to persuade you, here’s the convertible version:

Those of you wanting one can form a line behind me.

5 comments

  1. So the attraction of driverless cars is… what, exactly?

    Power of course. Driverless cars will be more easily controlled by our would-be Lords and Masters. Not to mention the potential for tracking our every move remotely.

    Less attraction for the buyers of course, at least in light of the Nanny State nonsense you cite above. But since when do the citizens matter?

  2. To be fair here, the law seems to be targeting drivers of steering-assisted vehicles, not true driverless cars. If all the car is doing is trying to keep between the lines, I’d want the driver’s hands on the wheel as well.

  3. The big question…which will be more of a mechanical headache? A 1960 Maserati or a 1960 Jaguar?

  4. The best of the 3500’s was its last iteration, the Mistral in ’66-’67; it was even more gorgeous (and very very rare) as a Spyder.

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