There is a strong push for self-driving autonomous cars sweeping the auto industry. It’s an interesting mix of competing companies merging with both the traditional car brands and the tech industry. The overriding assumption is that taking the driver out of the transportation equation is better for safety and the environment than human involvement in the operation of the vehicle.

Full disclosure right up front: I am not a fan of the idea of a car driving me rather than me driving the car. You see, the reason I fell in love with cars in the first place is rooted in the fact that I love to drive and want to stay connected to the road. And yes, I prefer a manual transmission over an automatic. The idea of climbing in a vehicle and telling HAL 9000 (reference from 2001: A Space Odyssey) where I want to go doesn’t have much appeal to me.

That said, I do like many of the technological advancements that are making self driving cars possible. They can contribute to both safety and efficiency. My favorite of those currently available is adaptive cruise control. With this technology the vehicle maintains a safe distance from the car or truck in front of you when the cruise control is activated. Most allow the driver to set the distance or buffer the car will follow. If you have the cruise control set on 65 and close on a semi that is doing 60 up a grade, the car will automatically slow to the speed of the truck in front of you. If you pull out to pass, your car will accelerate back up to the preset 65 mph speed if no other slower vehicles are ahead. Adaptive cruise control is becoming more and more common and works quite well.

Forward-facing radar is commonly used and sometimes laser and multiple video cameras as well to judge distance and closing speed. This technology can also safely bring the vehicle to a complete stop when approaching a stopped vehicle or other fixed obstruction. Automatic braking technology can be a life saver if a driver is distracted, falls asleep, or is otherwise incapacitated. And to think that is wasn’t all that long ago that antilock braking was the latest innovation, and now it is mainstream!

True autonomous cars, however, must have input from many other sources to know exactly what is happening all around the vehicle. Sensors to the side, for example, are used in modern lane detection and lane change anti-collision systems. These detect objects to the side of the vehicle and some read lane markings on the road. Most give an audible alert first to get the driver’s attention, but some will actually pulse the steering wheel if they think the situation is urgent. Vehicles currently use some of the same equipment to allow production vehicles to park with little driver input other than engaging the system.

A self-driving car needs to sense conditions 360 degrees around its perimeter. Multiple radars, sensors, lasers, GPS, and cameras must all work together for complete situational awareness. It’s a very complex business when you add in the ability to read traffic signals, watch for pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles, etc. Car-to-car communication is also a key element in making this all work together.

Naturally, this doesn’t come without additional complexity and expense. I look for a future with vehicles that will always have a steering wheel in front of me and at least two pedals at my feet, though three would be better.

I was changed by the 1990 introduction of the GM Impact electric car prototype at the Los Angeles Auto Show, then again by the amazing array of electric, hydrogen, and ‘green’ vehicles I witnessed at the 1991 Tokyo Motor Show. I knew that 'green' cars would be important. So, for 25 years now, this has been my focus at Green Car Journal and also at GreenCarJournal.com, plus an additional six years while feature editor at Motor Trend.

Covering this field for 25 years lends an invaluable perspective that’s important to understanding not only where we’ve been, but where we’re headed. There’s plenty of ‘green’ car news to share these days so it’s important to place it in context…and yes, that comes again with perspective and having been there while this all unfolded.

It has been enlightening to document the early research and development of the vehicles we take for granted today. While there is no crystal ball for predicting the automobile’s future, I’ve long been fascinated by researching patents for advanced and alternative fuel vehicle technologies because this does reveal what automakers and their technology suppliers have in mind for the years ahead.

Several decades ago, many of these vehicles and technologies were but ideas to potentially pursue, the subject of technology deep dives I attended, or opportunities that allowed driving advanced technology test mules on the track at automakers’ proving grounds.

Two of these experiences in the 1990s come readily to mind – driving a Japanese-market Toyota Crown sedan outfitted with an early gasoline-electric hybrid drive and a Geo Storm equipped with a prototype battery electric powertrain. These powerplants evolved to become the Hybrid Synergy Drive powering Toyota’s Prius and the electric drivetrain powering the GM EV1. The production versions were worlds better than the early prototype powertrains, lending the perspective to see just how far the technology had come.

Early developmental electric drive vehicles were often quirky and unexpectedly noisy in myriad ways, with high-pitched motor controller frequency noise and gear whine very apparent against a near-silent background devoid of internal combustion. The first natural gas vehicle prototypes often suffered from an annoying high-volume gaseous fuel injector clatter. Developmental hydrogen fuel cell vehicles sacrificed loads of space for large and cumbersome fuel cells and hydrogen storage. High efficiency diesel vehicles of decades past were unacceptably loud and emitted soot. Gasoline cars with high fuel economy were small, often lacking the creature comforts consumers expect and an illustration that sacrifice was required to achieve efficiency. Accomplishing extremely low tailpipe emissions often came at the expense of performance.

Drive an electric, natural gas, hydrogen fuel cell, high mpg gasoline, or high efficiency diesel personal-use vehicle today and they are quiet, usually quick, and ‘normal’ in all respects. A great many conventional internal combustion vehicles are now near-zero emission…not that you’d know it because they achieve this so seamlessly. We have great ‘green’ vehicles today because a lot has transpired over the past 25 years. Perspective.

I am confident that all of these vehicles, technologies, and fuels will play an important part in our motoring future. If the past 25 years are any indication, the vehicles we’ll be driving in the years ahead will be just amazing.

It’s the beginning of awards season in Hollywood as I write this and we are in the thick of making plans for our annual Pre-Oscar party.

It’s been almost 10 years since we launched the Global Green USA ‘Red Carpet, Green Cars’ campaign to help make hybrid and fuel-efficient cars fun and sexy. Once again, we will be highlighting the virtues of green cars at our Pre-Oscar event in Hollywood. And each year the audience is even more receptive and excited for change.

Ten years ago, many of us were the only ones on our blocks driving green cars. We received a lot of press attention back then for shuttling Hollywood influencers to the Academy Awards – in the first-generation Prius, among other green cars – and to the Emmy Awards in hybrid-electric buses.

Now, of course, we don’t really need to introduce the public to vehicles that are better for the environment. The Prius was named the best-selling car in California in 2012 and the third-best selling car in the world. And there’s not enough room in this column to list the actors, athletes, and other influencers who drive hybrid or electric cars.

The downturn in the economy certainly played a role in increasing the profile of green cars, as record-setting high gas prices convinced people to choose vehicles that are more fuel-efficient and wallet-friendly. Consumers have also naturally started making more environmentally friendly lifestyle choices in other areas of their lives – just take a look at the rise in organic food choices at mainstream grocery stores as an example.

Personal choices we make to curb greenhouse gas emissions are to be applauded, but they are not enough. Now, we need more action from elected leaders to make clean our roads.

Again, Hollywood – all of California, really – is leading the way with stricter emission standards for vehicles. California’s Advanced Clean Cars Program will impose very high emissions standards on cars powered by gasoline. We need other states to take California’s lead and make changes to make green cars the norm.

 

Matt Petersen is President and CEO of Global Green USA, the American arm of Green Cross International