I agree that automakers haven't been the greatest with consumer facing software/UI; I've yet to use a stock touchscreen interface in a car that doesn't cause bo

I agree that automakers haven't been the greatest with consumer facing software/UI; I've yet to use a stock touchscreen interface in a car that doesn't cause bouts of rage. However, automakers are probably up there with the best of the best when it comes to embedded "replace the consumer" software. Almost every aspect of a modern car is software controlled or software monitored in some way. I think that the fact that many people don't see their car as a network of computers, or recognize that it's pretty much all software is proof of that. Automakers have slowly been replacing the driver with software, and many people don't notice or think of it like that, because it just works, requires no input or interaction, and doesn't fail. Honestly I think that in the end, Google will probably end up with a better product, but today, there's probably no one better equipped than car companies to make autonomous vehicles that align with consumer expectations of what an autonomous vehicle should be, both in engineering and resources. Edited to add: Look at what's already been done as far as software controlled driving. Mercedes has a system that will stop your car if you're about to rear end someone/hit something. A bunch of manufacturers have systems that will warn you when you're drifting out of your lane. Maintaining speed to the car in front of you instead of just setting a fixed cruise control speed is getting pretty widespread too. All of these by themselves seem like simple iterations, but when you start putting them all in one package, its moving closer and closer to an autonomous car, and all of it works so well that many people don't even notice.