This year I bought a new used car. It’s a 2025 GMC with what GM calls hands-free driving. After living with it for a while, I have concluded that “self-driving” is entirely the wrong description.
What I really bought was a second back-seat driver.
I already have one. My wife has been providing driving assistance for years, and I have occasionally threatened to buy her a toy steering wheel and brake pedal so she can participate more fully. She does not entirely trust the GMC’s assisted-driving system, although she trusts my driving even less.
The two systems have different user interfaces. The GMC beeps, flashes LEDs on the steering wheel and vibrates my ass when it thinks I am doing something wrong. My wife does none of those things. She explains the correct way to turn a corner, the shorter way to get someplace and, when circumstances seem to warrant it, hisses sharply and grabs the dashboard.
On the highway, the GMC is remarkably good. It maintains speed, keeps a safe distance from the car ahead and holds the center of the lane more precisely than I do. It will pass slower traffic and then settle back into the lane without all those little corrections that make a long drive tiring.
Unfortunately, it apparently refuses to discuss my travel plans with the navigation system. When my exit comes up, it will sail happily past unless I take over. So I have a chauffeur who is excellent at interstate driving but refuses to read the directions.
And despite the term “hands-free,” the car has no intention of letting me relax. There is a camera watching my face to make sure I am watching the road.