In a short Atlantic article, Steven Levine explains why the major automakers are going to cede the race for autonomous cars to Tesla and Google. An excerpt:

“Versions of the technology itself are not new—in 1959, GM created a Cadillac Cyclone concept car (see photo above) with a radar-equipped hood. But the Cyclone was never produced, and Flores says that GM will wait for much better sensors based on radar and laser-based lidar. ‘It has to be bullet-proof because you are talking about people’s lives,’ he said. In Japan, Nissan says much the same.

What’s the problem here? Donald Hillebrand, director of transportation research at the US Argonne National Laboratory, cited America’s notorious litigiousness as the main reason why big carmakers are content to let upstarts such as Tesla and Google take the first step. An autonomous car will eventually crash, and it will not be immediately clear who should be sued.

‘They want someone to go and explore the legal landscape first. There needs to be some case law,’ Hillebrand said.”

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“With no help from the driver”: