• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You've Never Heard Of
  • Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3
  • Overlanding is the New Hotness
  • New Vehicle Sales Increase in September
  • Are EVs Affordable? Only if You’re a Luxury Buyer
  • Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue
  • Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023
  • Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support
  • Ford Halts $3.5B MI Battery Plant; Fain Slams Company
  • An Electric Acura NSX Could Be Coming
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Buick Encore GX Sport Touring AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Three of Four Drivers Want Autonomous Vehicles

        Three of Four Drivers Want Autonomous Vehicles

        AlixPartners believes autonomous vehicles will save $325 billion.

        Michael Strong
        Michael Strong , Managing Editor
        June 30, 2016
        Google continues to expand its ongoing testing program for self-driving vehicles and its recognition as the leading autonomous vehicle company in the U.S.

        As many as 73% of American drivers are willing to slide behind the wheel, or big red button, of an autonomous vehicle, according to a new survey by AlixPartners, marking a significant uptick in the level of acceptance of the self-drivers.

        Not only are more U.S. motorists ready, they’re willing to pay for it. In fact, 80% of those surveyed said they’d pay more for one. In fact, 10% claimed they would shell out an additional $5,000 for a self-driving vehicle that they would use in all facets of their lives.

        Autonomous News!

        On the surface, this level of acceptance appears to be a striking shift in attitudes about level of trust drivers are willing to place in autonomous vehicles, despite the fact that 96% of drivers surveyed have no experience with these vehicles. However, Mark Wakefield, head of AlixPartners automotive practice, noted that difference was in the questions. He noted that as part of the process, the respondents were given specifics about autonomous vehicles and then asked questions about that information.

        “No one’s experienced these vehicles yet,” said Mark Wakefield, managing director at AlixPartners Enterprise Improvement practice. “It’s difficult to imagine how these cars work and will work in the right way.”

        In short, it’s not that American’s are necessarily against autonomous vehicles, as many previous studies have suggested, it’s that they’re in favor of a specific type of self-driver: one that will perform reliably and predictably on it’s own unless the owner wants to take over. That type of autonomous vehicle got a 90% buy-in in the study.

        (Automakers enter “gray zone” as they roll out semi-autonomous technologies. For more, Click Here.)

        Tesla has the second-best recognition value among companies producing autonomous vehicles.

        “They want a car where ‘I can grab control at anytime,” Wakefield said. “That seems to be the sweet spot.”

        However, there was a big information bombshell lurking in all the information: Google is the autonomous vehicle leader, according to John Q. Public. Wakefield noted that 42% of all respondents knew that Google had an autonomous vehicle. Tesla had the second-best result at 23%. He said that nine other automakers accounted for just 17% total. In fact, if you count every vehicle maker, they still fall short of the recognition that Google has.

        “Google is clearly winning the war of public perception,” he noted, adding that Google’s advantage is reminiscent of the battle between PCs and operating systems in the 1990s. “The auto industry has to produce a vehicle that’s better than the high-tech industry’s car. Not as good as, better.”

        Although keen to adapt new technology, Americans want to buy self-driving cars from traditional automakers rather than upstart tech firms from Silicon Valley. The survey showed that 27% preferred their vehicles come from a Detroit-based maker, while Japanese companies were just a shade behind at 25%.

        Non-automotive tech companies were third at 24%, but the surprise was that European automakers were significantly behind those three groups at just 12%. Wakefield chalked up the poor result as a hangover from the Volkswagen scandal and some well-documented problems with German infotainment systems.

        (Infiniti may add semi-autonomous technology to most new models. For more, Click Here.)

        The study showed that respondents also felt that Detroit makers would produce the autonomous vehicle that was easiest to use and provided the best value with Japan’s automakers close behind on both counts.

        However, there two significant areas where Silicon Valley clearly has America’s trust … or at least more so than automakers: programming and privacy. Motorists surveyed wanted the tech companies to do the programming of the software for the cars and felt they would be the most trustworthy when it came to handling any data collected from autonomous vehicles.

        Wakefield notes that there is a level of comfort and familiarity with Google and other high-tech companies when it comes to sensitive information that automakers don’t engender.

        Conventional wisdom holds that 2025 is when the U.S. will see an influx of self-drivers; however, AlixPartners contends that 2020 is the inflexion point when Level 5 drivers will begin to infiltrate the market in significant numbers.

        (New study sees 21 million autonomous vehicles on the road by 2035. Click Here for the latest.)

        During the course of the next five years, the level of vehicle autonomy and sales of vehicles with some form of the technology are going to rise steadily, the company predicts. AlixPartners suggests the market for autonomous vehicle-related components will exceed $20 billion. They also claim that in the U.S., self-drivers can save $325 billion by reducing fuel consumption and accidents.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You’ve Never Heard Of

        Today

        Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3

        Yesterday

        Overlanding is the New Hotness

        Yesterday

        One response to “Three of Four Drivers Want Autonomous Vehicles”

        1. DAVE TUULA says:
          July 1, 2016 at 8:35 am

          NOTE TO SELF: SEE ARTICLE ABOUT TESLA CRASH IN AUTO PILOT MODE WHERE DRIVER WAS KILLED.
          3 OF THE 4 PEOPLE SURVEYED MUST HAVE BEEN PEOPLE LOOKING FOR A RIDE HOME FROM A BAR. THIS WHOLE ARTICLE IS A CROCK, THE TECHNOLOGY OR INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOT NEAR GOOD ENOUGH TO EVEN MAKE STATEMENTS AS TO PEOPLE WANTING THIS. 🙁

          Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: