The beginning of the end for the Mustang?

[Joe B.]

The Motor Trend interviews with CEO's usually focus on the vehicles. In the Nov. issue, Hackett was about getting cars out of quarantine quicker, opening the garage with FordPass app, and reducing paperwork on service orders. Huh?
Also, reading about the future of driving almost takes some of the bite out of being old.

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[IronG]

All I'm saying is that if you have computer driven cars driven a certain number of miles in certain conditions and you have N deaths vs. cars driven by people for the same distance in the same conditions and you end up with more than N deaths, that is the metric where they should be allowed. I think right now deaths for people are around one per hundred million miles; as you say, clearly we don't know enough about self driving cars yet. But nothing is ever going to be 100% safe, they just need to be safer than people in my view.

Ok so if there is a death per hundred million miles......I would say to put the resources to a better use. I think curing cancer would save many more lives and there is no doubt on how many would be saved. The huge unknown is how long it will take for self drivers to save more than humans kill. Also, the metric would need to be large and in thousands, maybe tens of thousands of scenarios. It will take a very long time to accumulate the data necessary unless us impatient humans jump the gun and just do it because we can. With that said, I am fairly certain some day it will come to pass unless we figure out a different way altogether how to travel and not need cars at all.

 

[Deleted member 35786]

Ok so if there is a death per hundred million miles......I would say to put the resources to a better use. I think curing cancer would save many more lives and there is no doubt on how many would be saved. The huge unknown is how long it will take for self drivers to save more than humans kill. Also, the metric would need to be large and in thousands, maybe tens of thousands of scenarios. It will take a very long time to accumulate the data necessary unless us impatient humans jump the gun and just do it because we can. With that said, I am fairly certain some day it will come to pass unless we figure out a different way altogether how to travel and not need cars at all.

Motor vehicle deaths are not even in the top 10.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm

Number of deaths for leading causes of death:
Heart disease: 647,457
Cancer: 599,108
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 169,936
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 160,201
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 146,383
Alzheimer’s disease: 121,404
Diabetes: 83,564
Influenza and Pneumonia: 55,672
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis: 50,633
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 47,173

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year

For 2016 specifically, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data shows 37,461 people were killed in 34,436 motor vehicle crashes, an average of 102 per day.[1]

 

[Daryl333]

This has to be the most ridiculous comment...

 

[Fetlock]

Ok so if there is a death per hundred million miles......I would say to put the resources to a better use. I think curing cancer would save many more lives and there is no doubt on how many would be saved. The huge unknown is how long it will take for self drivers to save more than humans kill. Also, the metric would need to be large and in thousands, maybe tens of thousands of scenarios. It will take a very long time to accumulate the data necessary unless us impatient humans jump the gun and just do it because we can. With that said, I am fairly certain some day it will come to pass unless we figure out a different way altogether how to travel and not need cars at all.

Well, it's not really a choice of curing cancer or developing self-driving cars. We live in a capitalist society, firms put their money on where they expect to get a return for the given risk. But I think it does solve some issues, my folks were pretty frightening drivers before they finally gave it up. The country is getting older as there are less kids; at least some in that older demographic is going to need some help getting around. The other thing it does is make car sharing much more sensible. I park at work and my car sits idle, if you have a pool of shared vehicles, they can go off doing other things, and avoid the need for a parking spot.

 

[EcoVert]

Self driving cars are alright but don't force me to have one and I don't want to share a car either I want to own my car.

 

[Erik427]

The Mustang will be different after this........

 

[Deleted member 35644]

Me, and most Gen Xers I know could not wait for the day they got their driver's license, and then a car. It was freedom. The prospect of car ownership was exciting. Millennials, and their children, seem less enthusiastic about the prospect. My own nephew (born 1992) and 2nd cousin (1994) were perfectly happy having their parents and grandparents drive them around. No rush to get that license, and couldn't have cared less if a car was in the picture. These are the folks that would be perfectly happy booking and riding in a self-driving car owned by someone else. Mustangs, and all they represent, are lost on these people. My nephew was given a Jeep at 15, and a Camaro at 18. My cousin was also given a Camaro at 18. Both are trashed beyond recognition, and are just pieces of furniture sitting in the driveway. Maintenance? LOL. I ask occasionally if the transmission fluid has been changed on these 2010 and 2011 Camaros. "Shrug" is what I get as an answer.

The automotive world is changing not only due to environmental concerns. Car makers are working to meet the wants and needs of these generations of car un-enthusiasts. Ford is trying to give them everything.....utility, and a false sense of heritage, which I don't think they even care about. Unfortunately, we car buffs now have to look at these monstrosities, and deal with their inept driving because they have no skill base.

 

[EcoVert]

Me, and most Gen Xers I know could not wait for the day they got their driver's license, and then a car. It was freedom. The prospect of car ownership was exciting. Millennials, and their children, seem less enthusiastic about the prospect. My own nephew (born 1992) and 2nd cousin (1994) were perfectly happy having their parents and grandparents drive them around. No rush to get that license, and couldn't have cared less if a car was in the picture. These are the folks that would be perfectly happy booking and riding in a self-driving car owned by someone else. Mustangs, and all they represent, are lost on these people. My nephew was given a Jeep at 15, and a Camaro at 18. My cousin was also given a Camaro at 18. Both are trashed beyond recognition, and are just pieces of furniture sitting in the driveway. Maintenance? LOL. I ask occasionally if the transmission fluid has been changed on these 2010 and 2011 Camaros. "Shrug" is what I get as an answer.

The automotive world is changing not only due to environmental concerns. Car makers are working to meet the wants and needs of these generations of car un-enthusiasts. Ford is trying to give them everything.....utility, and a false sense of heritage, which I don't think they even care about. Unfortunately, we car buffs now have to look at these monstrosities, and deal with their inept driving because they have no skill base.

Unfortunately this is becoming more common place than the exception. It to bad to because they will never know the trill or the satisfaction of driving a car to it's limits.

 

[Balr14]

Unfortunately this is becoming more common place than the exception. It to bad to because they will never know the trill or the satisfaction of driving a car to it's limits.

My youngest nephew would get stuck in parking spaces because he couldn't grasp the concept of having to turn the steering wheel while backing up.... seriously. I don't want him driving anywhere within 10 miles of me. Uber or self-driving cars are perfect for him. Sometimes I look at him and wonder who ties his shoes for him.

 

[GT Pony]

Also, its true that Ford is looking at being its own customer for fleets of self driving cars. I can see the possibility. Who will be emotionally attached to a self driving car? So, why own any car if they are all the same and the nearest parked self driving car can be at your door in minutes?

Glimpse into the future ...

 

[Deleted member 35786]

Glimpse into the future ...

Or this..

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Won't be so bad.

 

[LetItRide1978]

Hey guys. Let’s try not to think about the future too much and just appreciate what a great time it is to be alive in 2019 when we have this many performance options for the Mustang:

• EcoBoost High Performance Package & Handling Package
  
• GT PP1
• GT PP2
• Bullitt
• GT350
• GT350R
• GT500
• GT500 Track Package

I’m new to the Mustang and it seems crazy to me that one car has this many options. Even outside of the performance stuff you can get a convertible, premium trim, California Special, etc. The future may not look that great but let’s enjoy these cars now while we can!

 

[Rocket403]

Not sure how self driving cars will be able to solve driving on dirt roads and country roads, I'm thinking that self driving cars will have a better outlook for the big city and larger committees. I could see cities being setup for only self driving cars so that commuters have a ride share being driven in to work in, but other than that I don't see a future.

I work in the civil engineering field I'm a Civil Tech and have worked in this field since 91. I live in Ontario the road system in Canada is 3rd in the world behind US and China, we have 647 700 miles of roads and only 260000 miles are paved. So I do not see anything for self driving cars outside of large populations, add to that the winter road conditions would not be optimal for self driving cars.

The government of both Canada and US would need to spend a huge amount of money to bring up the road system to be able to do this.

As for the electric cars there will need to be huge infrastructure changes as well to accommodate the electric car, Hydro networks, power plants access to fast charging stations, battery disposal will need to be figured out as well.
Huge investments will need to be spent and by local municipalities as well as federal governments and private companies, so I ask who is going to pay?
I have been working on a 20km road rehab just to do the engineering and do the drawings is over a million that is before you put a shovel in the ground.

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