Audi A8 – VW Technology Inches The Car Closer to Autonomy

    Cars weren't meant to drive themselves, or were they? I was appalled when a famous Beverly Hills plastic surgeon drove his Jeep off a cliff two months ago while tweeting about his collie. As drunk driving accidents decline, tragic stories involving driver distraction are piling up.
Laws to prevent drivers from texting or speaking on cellphones are likely to be futile. Rather, with the rise of wireless gadgetry including satellite radio and vehicle-based Internet, safety considerations dictate that cars will take over more and more tasks from the driver. Eventually engineering may be able, at a minimum, to prevent collisions entirely or minimize their danger. Audi's new A8 shows how seamless and clever some of this high-tech know-how may look.
On a 500-mile drive to northern Michigan and back, I used and paid special attention to the A8's "lane assist" feature. When enabled, a radar sensor determines that the car is drifting out of its lane and ever so slightly sends a vibration to the steering wheel, encouraging the driver to return to the lane. Adaptive cruise control allows the driver to set the car's speed and determine a distance to keep from any cars ahead. If the car closes too quickly, the brakes take over and slow it down. A blind spot indicator warns of a car passing on the left or right. These three features made it much easier for me to change the channel on the radio, take a telephone call or sip coffee without danger. I like doing those things while I drive, and I'm not giving them up.
Of course the A8 is a $90,000 car, in part reflecting the research and development costs for advanced safety devices. But just as stability control was once an advanced safety device and became standard, so will lane change and other technologies enter the automotive mainstream.