AutoNation CEO Says Car Industry 'Over Promised' Autonomous Driving to Consumers

The car industry “over promised” a personal-use autonomous driving system “that under delivers,” said AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson at the National Automobile Dealers Association/J.D. Power 2017 Automotive Forum in New York Tuesday. “The idea that I’m supposed to sit back and enjoy that this autonomous system is driving the car, and on the other hand I’ve got to be paying attention every single second, ready to intervene before the thing crashes … are you kidding me?” said Jackson. “I’d rather do it myself,” he said, anticipating the response of the average driver. Jackson sees a place for “guardian angel” use cases, where autonomous driving technology helps drivers avoid accidents and “in certain cases” can take over driving in low-speed situations, under 25 mph, he said. Jackson sees autonomous vehicles fitting into the market where their cost is justified by replacing a professional driver for ride-hailing, taxi and trucking applications. The cost of a truly autonomous, Level 5 vehicle today is “probably $200,000” and that might come down to $100,000 in a few years, Jackson said, but “unless you’re replacing a professional driver, you can’t make an economic justification for it.” That's about five years in the future, he said.