The problem with Adaptive Cruise (which I love on two lane highways) is on the interstate somebody passes you, pulls in front of you and slows down, if you’re not paying attention all of a sudden you’re going 60mph in a 70mph zone and you’re wondering why the hell you slowed down?
Unfortunately, my plow vehicle isn't highway worthy at the moment. Strictly driveway plowing duties.
Hi, current thought is that Scout will have adaptive cruise and auto steer but not what Tesla advertises as “FSD”. I don’t know if you’ve ever driven with FSD but reality is underwhelming…hands stay on yoke, interior camera tracks eyes (and is a PITA about you looking at center console). The adaptive cruise/autosteer “Autopilot” (level 2) in Tesla world…is more than sufficient. Attempting to get to Level 3 or better (as defined by SAE International) is very, very expensive. In 15 years Tesla hasn’t accomplished this after billions and billions invested…and a lot of disappointed owners who’ve had broken promises since at least 2016. Personally, I feel this is a situation where it’s better to be a fast follower than invest too much time into trying to achieve Level 3. Level 2 is awfully good…I feel perfectly relaxed after a long drive. I’m fine having no interior camera or being screamed at every thirty seconds. Whatever you decide to buy be very suspicious of level 3 promises. If it doesn’t exist the day you buy it don’t have expectations of it magically working in near term. Best of luck finding your perfect fit!
It keeps me alert. That and the fact that there are no brakes at all. Makes things interesting, especially since part of where I plow at the end of my driveway requires me to back out into the road several times. I have to look twice each way to make sure no cars are coming.
No brakes! I can see the need for alertness.
Autosteer is really nice. It’s weird how much energy staying between the lines takes.
Yeah, it alternates between the plastic sheeting and a personal flotation device cushion from a boat. Customization. If you zoom in you can see it here.
Level 2+ is basically what I'm talking about. I don't want to have to touch the steering wheel. Which is what they're going to have in the scout. I just thought it would be really interesting for something like open pilot because it can advance on its own outside of the manufacturer.
What type of steering rack? Steer-by-wire?(if its that then I’m not sure ill be buying) or Electric Steering Rack? Hydraulic Steering Rack?
Most vehicles are electric steering these days. There may be a direct linkage to the steering wheel but it's all electronic motor assist and not power steering hydraulic assist.
I agree on this but it is a large SUV, not a mini cooper or Bimmer
. I think a system that gives the feel needed to “be a driver” but lightens it a little does reduce a little arm wear and tear on longer trips that aren’t linear interstates.
stories.rivian.com
It's definitely interesting. I still think that they should be open to using a third party. Especially something that's being developed constantly. They can have their own engineering teams approve things and test things if they want to. I met a guy that has a Tesla, Rivian and a VW ID4. He also has a scout order in. He said that the self-driving in Tesla is amazing and he misses it because he drives his rivian most of the time his wife has now taken over the tesla. He said the VW ID4 was not that great and the lesser of all of them, but it was cheap. He said he really likes the rivian but the self-driving or assisted driving is not good especially compared to Tesla. A lot of people are using Comma 3x devices with the Rivian because it's so much better. It watches your eyes so you can't fall asleep, it will stop the vehicle. It recognizes stop signs and reacts to them as well as red lights. It's the second driver assists 2+ behind Tesla. From all the YouTube videos that I've seen it does a great job. I'll be receiving my unit tomorrow so I can give more feedback on it later. It also allows you to fully control what you want it took control. Turn on and off certain features. Everything's basically a la carte if you want. Much more control than any OEM. But I think companies should start looking at third parties. Just like Android Auto and Apple Carplay. There's no reason to put navigation in the vehicle now. Everybody uses Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Just make your infotainment system do wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. Saves a ton of money, time and just works better. Driver assistance for full self driving should be exactly the same. Why waste the money. You can have a team review stuff, allow certain aspects or restrict certain aspects if you choose but why waste all that time and money developing it yourself. I think it's all going to go third party eventually anyway. It makes sense to have someone that's really good at doing one thing taking care of all that. So we'll see what happens. But if I was a leader of Scout or VW or Rivian. I would definitely be open and looking to have conversations about this. And would reach out to you people in the field developing these things. The future of these things will definitely be interesting.I posted this back in January:
Scout's plans seem perfectly reasonable to me. The only time I really take advantage of my Driver+ System in my Gen1 Rivian is on longer HWY drives, and it requires mapped roads at present. It is a much more relaxed driving experience over long distances, and if you are going longer distances, you may encounter less traffic and longer, straighter, more boring sections of road. You are really going from point A to pont B, in many cases, so there may not be a great deal of "driving experience" that you are missing.
Inclement weather coupled with bad infrastructure is a major consideration, and any level of autonomy will want YOU to take control of the vehicle. Road conditions can change, cameras and sensors can be blocked and other vehicles around you may do completely unpredictable things bc of those conditions.
At the end of the day, there is tech that may be perceived by some as "dangerous" and there are human drivers that are definitely dangerous - either texting and driving, drinking or just falling asleep at the wheel or having a medical emergency.
Personally, and given the relationships that are in place with the SW stack, I would guess that the new Scout will implement something like this, which could be a HUGE advantage for Scout coming to market based on the required development effort for this type of driving experience:
This update was part of the most recent OTA SW release for the Gen2 vehicles:
New Software: Unlocking More Capability in R1 - Rivian Stories
Learn about our newest software features that make driving your electric vehicle even easier, enhancing your EVs performance and autonomy capabilities
All of this is just speculation on my part based on what Rivian and Scout have already discussed, but we know that cameras and some of the HW required to support the SW will already be part of production, so this just makes good sense to help accelerate production: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/30/scout-motors-evs-will-use-rivian-vw-software-and-architecture/
It's interesting tech that also looks like a ambulance chaser's wet dream. Automakers already get sued for ridiculous things. There are legions of lawyers champing at the bit for full self-driving cases. I see no reason to rush to level 4 or 5 autonomy, even if they're theoretically safer than human drivers. I have no problem with highway driving systems like Super Cruise or BlueCruise, but I'm also not interested in paying thousands for the privilege either. My preference would be for all Scouts to be built Level 2 capable with the ability to activate the system in the future for those who wish to add it.
FWIW The F250 has had EPAS (Electronic Assisted Power Steering) for a few years now.I agree on this but it is a large SUV, not a mini cooper or Bimmer
