Jim Farley says Level 3 Autonomous Driving in 2026

[burritoman]

FSD frankly SUCKS!!

It’s basically a parlor trick at this point. It can’t drive as well as a human driver, let alone better.

And that’s my bare minimum standard for FSD- it HAS to be better than a human driver.

If not, it’s just driver assistance (makes a human driver better, doesn’t replace the driver).

BC is driver assistance. There are things we do better (like see cars slamming on the brakes way ahead) and things it does better.

I may have FSD PTSD from my early usage of it in the Model 3. The phantom braking was terrible, I wouldn't dare use it if someone was behind me. I really couldn't trust it on highways either because of the phantom braking, so I just decided I'd wasted $6K on the feature and stopped using it altogether. It was always beta quality software, if that even, should not have been released in that state. Just before selling the car I tried out FSD v12 out of curiosity and noticed it was markedly improved. Even so, I've seen recent videos of it making dangerous mistakes. This is hard technology to get right and it'll be along time before I can truly trust any autonomous software to get me from point A to B safely.

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[Guss-E 2021]

Personally, I don't need the ability to look away from the road for extended periods of time. That's what, um, not being in my car is for. I'm fine with level 2 hands free so long as it is really solid level 2. Rural routes would be nice but just highways are fine. I like watching the road and traffic. How else will I spot ladies...er, other drivers admiring my car ?

 

[MBCook]

I fully expect it to match Mercedes. Pick a very confined but tractable problem that people would really like fixed and solve that.

So just like Mercedes: low speed traffic jams. Low speed makes things much easier. Traffic jams suck.

 

[Fixbear]

I got my drivers license 40 years ago. Please bring on the robot driving overlords. Humans are terrible terrible drivers. I’m willing to accept some automated driving fatalities. Zero is impossible and just an excuse for not doing anything. Can’t be worse than 40,000 deaths a year in the USA on the road caused by humans.

That count is down a lot from 40 years ago. Over 55,000 at one point before the crash safety standards. Would be interest to see the accident numbers from back then and now vs. death numbers.

 

[Fixbear]

The place they should test them is NJ. They have some of the most aggressive drivers I've experienced. And I've been at it for 60 years with CDL, Haz-Mat, and oversize. That or Tokyo.

 

[Jimrpa]

The place they should test them is NJ. They have some of the most aggressive drivers I've experienced. And I've been at it for 60 years with CDL, Haz-Mat, and oversize. That or Tokyo.

Places they should test any Level 3 system prior to certification:
1. Bangkok, Thailand
2. Mumbai, India
3. I-76 inbound to Philadelphia/outbound from Philadelphia during inclement weather (heavy snow and heavy rain).
4. Any roadway in New Jersey north of Princeton. Ideally Wayne and east.
5. The DC beltway between the two 95 intersections, on the west side. During inclement weather.
if fewer that 100 test vehicles are totaled after completing all 5 tests, then the system should be certified for limited use ???

 

[TheSteelRider]

I’m surprised nobody else has posted this yet?
Jim Farley Autonomous Driving by 2026

Hopefully "by 2026" doesn't mean the same thing as when "Brand T" says, "by the end of this/next year!"

 

[blkadr08]

Yet Ford couldn't manage to get me BC 1.2 during my free trial period (which, by the way, they ended six months early).

 

[phil]

Personally, I don't need the ability to look away from the road for extended periods of time. That's what, um, not being in my car is for. I'm fine with level 2 hands free so long as it is really solid level 2. Rural routes would be nice but just highways are fine. I like watching the road and traffic. How else will I spot ladies...er, other drivers admiring my car ?

Are you sure it's the car that they're admiring?

 

[AngryMan]

Don’t be silly. It’s not “soon”, it’s soon™.

Just cuz you got all cat nipped up one weekend and stumbled across the Magic Keyboard combination that produces the trade mark sign doesn't mean we all have .
Im just a human maaaaaaan .Cut me some slack .

 

[Guss-E 2021]

Are you sure it's the car that they're admiring?

Sadly I have no illusions. Definitely the car.

 

[Gene Bank]

Personally, I think self driving vehicles are going to be a disaster for a long time. Technology may get you to safely drive in 99% of situations but that 1% is the problem. Complex situations with a child running after a ball at the same time a car merging into your lane. Problems like this we all face once in a very great while. There are so many situations I can think of like this. The brain picking against 2 evils or 3 evils and deciding the best course of action. With tens of millions cars on the road that 1% or even if it is .1% will add up to a lot of deaths and injuries.

 

[Mach1E]

Personally, I think self driving vehicles are going to be a disaster for a long time. Technology may get you to safely drive in 99% of situations but that 1% is the problem. Complex situations with a child running after a ball at the same time a car merging into your lane. Problems like this we all face once in a very great while. There are so many situations I can think of like this. The brain picking against 2 evils or 3 evils and deciding the best course of action. With tens of millions cars on the road that 1% or even if it is .1% will add up to a lot of deaths and injuries.

Or even the simpler stuff.

When you’re driving and based on the way someone is coming up on you from behind, you just KNOW they’re about to cut you off. So you instinctually slow down.

No lvl 3 is going to anticipate that.

Same goes for when you can see 4 cars ahead that cars are slowing (brake lights) or stopped.

Add in crappy roads (bad lines, construction, pot holes, debris in the road, etc), crappy weather, changing light conditions, the list goes on.

The only way it would really work would be with smart roads and/or cars that communicate with each other. And I don’t see that happening anytime soon if ever.

The moral dilemma reminds me of this great scene-

 

[RVA1961]

I will never let the car totally take over without me watching - I'm to chicken shit.

I trust my BlueCruise and wish it would work while I nap on long drives. That would be the ultimate for me!

 

[RVA1961]

I’m surprised nobody else has posted this yet?
Jim Farley Autonomous Driving by 2026

This is exciting news and I was curious to fully understand the difference between the level of Autonomous driving and an article on JD Powers website that outlines the SAE guidelines on levels 0-5.

For me, level 4 is the game changer I am waiting for: allowing me to nap while going to a destination.

Check out the link below and Godspeed Jim Farley!

https://www.jdpower.com/cars/shopping-guides/levels-of-autonomous-driving-explained

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