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“From a G.M. perspective, we view this as much more of an opportunity than a threat” - G.M President Something you don't hear big corps talk so about start-ups

by j0e1 11y ago

“From a G.M. perspective, we view this as much more of an opportunity than a threat” - G.M President Something you don't hear big corps talk so about start-ups very often. It's promising.

x5n1 11y ago
GM is not in the taxi business and has never been in the taxi business. They see this as a way for manufacturers to get into the taxi business and perhaps one day dominate the taxi business. Cut out all the middle men.
- hiddencost 11y ago
  Surely it reduces the total number of cars, though? The vast majority of cars spend most of their time idle. With this model, you could supply the same total need with many fewer vehicles. Unless GM owns the whole fleet and Jacks up the price, losing that much demand strikes me as pretty rough.
  - rhino369 11y ago
    Better to capture the biggest share of the smaller pie than to ignore the sea change. Blockbuster ignored a similar shift bcause it wasn't as profitable. Plus the downshift won't be as great as some predict. You'll still need enough cars for long commutes. And cars lifespan are measured in miles not years. Autonomous cars might actually increase the number of miles driven (commute while sleeping, alternative to public transit, or driving instead of flying). A car sitting in a driveway will last longer than one doing stop and go traffic 23 hours a day.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
      A car sitting in a driveway will last longer than one doing stop and go traffic 23 hours a day The single most obvious point that everyone seems to be ignoring!
tonyedgecombe 11y ago
I can't see the opportunity for them, on the other hand I can see the threat, if autonomous cars become ubiquitous then why would you bother owning your own? Also if rental becomes the dominant model then customers aren't going to worry so much about those expensive extras where car manufacturers make their profits.
- coliveira 11y ago
  Even if all cars are self driving, these cars have to come from somewhere. The rental model may in the end provide more profits, because it has built-in repeated charges.
  - PantaloonFlames 11y ago
    > these cars have to come from somewhere. yes, but think how much the average car owner uses the non-self-driving car today. The car mostly sits idle in a garage or parking spot, and is used, maybe 75 minutes of each day. Multiplexing riders into a pool of shared cars is one way to drastically reduce the worldwide fleet of cars. a larger proportion of total cars will be moving at any one time to transport the same number of people, which means you need fewer cars overall. It will be attractive to today's car owners because it reduces costs. to the extent that self-driving cars enable shared pools of on-demand vehicles, the innovation represents a huge disruption for the auto manufacturers who've built a business model on selling everyone a car. > The rental model may in the end provide more profits, Sure there is a business opportunity, but the change is disruptive.
    - itchyouch 11y ago
      The next 5-10 years is the time to stock up on popular sports cars and garage them to sell them as highly prized, super rare, trackable luxuries.
- MajorLOL 11y ago
  >autonomous cars become ubiquitous then why would you bother owning your own? Anything requiring a truck (60% of new vehicle sales) will not be something that you use as a automated vehicle that is for rent. You really are ok with ordering up a driverless car that I will take off-road and load up with scrap materials from a house remodel and send off, driverless down the road with my trash hanging out the back? I really love the idea of driverless cars and I can see the stars in the tech worlds eyes. Be realistic about what your average American does with a vehicle though - it's not a daily commute up and down sandhill road to sit in a nice office.

by j0e1 11y ago

“From a G.M. perspective, we view this as much more of an opportunity than a threat” - G.M President Something you don't hear big corps talk so about start-ups very often. It's promising.

x5n1 11y ago

GM is not in the taxi business and has never been in the taxi business. They see this as a way for manufacturers to get into the taxi business and perhaps one day dominate the taxi business. Cut out all the middle men.

hiddencost 11y ago
Surely it reduces the total number of cars, though? The vast majority of cars spend most of their time idle. With this model, you could supply the same total need with many fewer vehicles. Unless GM owns the whole fleet and Jacks up the price, losing that much demand strikes me as pretty rough.
- rhino369 11y ago
  Better to capture the biggest share of the smaller pie than to ignore the sea change. Blockbuster ignored a similar shift bcause it wasn't as profitable. Plus the downshift won't be as great as some predict. You'll still need enough cars for long commutes. And cars lifespan are measured in miles not years. Autonomous cars might actually increase the number of miles driven (commute while sleeping, alternative to public transit, or driving instead of flying). A car sitting in a driveway will last longer than one doing stop and go traffic 23 hours a day.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
    A car sitting in a driveway will last longer than one doing stop and go traffic 23 hours a day The single most obvious point that everyone seems to be ignoring!

tonyedgecombe 11y ago

I can't see the opportunity for them, on the other hand I can see the threat, if autonomous cars become ubiquitous then why would you bother owning your own? Also if rental becomes the dominant model then customers aren't going to worry so much about those expensive extras where car manufacturers make their profits.

coliveira 11y ago
Even if all cars are self driving, these cars have to come from somewhere. The rental model may in the end provide more profits, because it has built-in repeated charges.
- PantaloonFlames 11y ago
  > these cars have to come from somewhere. yes, but think how much the average car owner uses the non-self-driving car today. The car mostly sits idle in a garage or parking spot, and is used, maybe 75 minutes of each day. Multiplexing riders into a pool of shared cars is one way to drastically reduce the worldwide fleet of cars. a larger proportion of total cars will be moving at any one time to transport the same number of people, which means you need fewer cars overall. It will be attractive to today's car owners because it reduces costs. to the extent that self-driving cars enable shared pools of on-demand vehicles, the innovation represents a huge disruption for the auto manufacturers who've built a business model on selling everyone a car. > The rental model may in the end provide more profits, Sure there is a business opportunity, but the change is disruptive.
  - itchyouch 11y ago
    The next 5-10 years is the time to stock up on popular sports cars and garage them to sell them as highly prized, super rare, trackable luxuries.
MajorLOL 11y ago
>autonomous cars become ubiquitous then why would you bother owning your own? Anything requiring a truck (60% of new vehicle sales) will not be something that you use as a automated vehicle that is for rent. You really are ok with ordering up a driverless car that I will take off-road and load up with scrap materials from a house remodel and send off, driverless down the road with my trash hanging out the back? I really love the idea of driverless cars and I can see the stars in the tech worlds eyes. Be realistic about what your average American does with a vehicle though - it's not a daily commute up and down sandhill road to sit in a nice office.