Google is doing it. Volvo is doing it. Ford is doing it. Tesla and numerous other carmakers are looking into it, and based on that, it sounds like almost the entire car industry is getting into self-driving vehicles, right? However if there is one carmaker that you can safely discount, it would be Porsche.
According to Porsche CEO Oliver Blume, this isn’t so much about the technology being useless or that there won’t be a demand for it. But rather Blume seems to believe that when their customers buy Porsches, it’s because they want to drive it themselves, and a self-driving Porsche would take away that experience.
In an interview with German regional newspaper Westfalen-Blatt, Blume was quoted as saying, “One wants to drive a Porsche by oneself. An iPhone belongs in your pocket, not on the road.” Of course there are many reasons why one would buy a sports car. It could truly be for the pleasure of driving such a powerful vehicle, or for some, it could simply be about looks and status.
Porsche is not alone in their thinking, however. Carmaker Lamborghini had expressed skepticism about the self-driving car concept. That being said, one does not need to own a Porsche or Lamborghini to enjoy the feel of driving a well-made car, but what do you guys think? Is Porsche and Lamborghini potentially missing out here?
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