Lexus Exec: Autonomous Vehicles Are Still Five Years Away
The driverless car revolution is still a long way down the road.
That’s according to Jeff Bracken, Group Vice President at Lexus, who told Cheddar that autonomous vehicles won’t take over the industry for another “five or 10 years.”
But when we get there, he said, there “will be huge safety benefits.”
His comments come in light of Uber’s fatal driverless car crash last week, which has left the industry reeling. Late Wednesday, a top exec at the company’s autonomous unit reportedly stepped down.
Meanwhile Lexus unveiled its new UX model at the New York International Auto Show earlier in the day. It will be the company’s first car fitted with Amazon’s Alexa system. Other features include a “predictive efficient driver.”
“This vehicle, from a technology standpoint, will get to know you,” explained Bracken.
“So if the vehicle recognizes it’s on a similar route and you’re going up a hill [for example], it will actually move into the electric motor mode so that it saves the gas.”
The carmaker hopes this model will attract millennials and is even considering offering a subscription-style financing model to do that.
Though still in planning phases, Bracken revealed that the subscription could include things like “maintenance on the vehicle.”
The new UX model is scheduled to hit dealerships in December.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/lexus-unveils-a-new-compact-crossover-for-the-urban-explorer).
Seth Schachner, Managing Director at StratAmericas, weighs in on Spotify earnings and why that headline-grabbing deal with Joe Rogan could be worth that $250 million.
Mitch Roschelle, Managing Director at Madison Ventures, shares why investors may be waiting longer than expected for those interest rate cuts, and why he’s watching tech, oil, and homebuilder stocks.
Amazon saw 24% growth in their Thursday Night Football audience in 2023. Subscribers will be rewarded with even more sports, but not without enduring more ads — unless they pay extra, of course.
Low unemployment + 350 thousand new jobs in January = ...more layoffs? A bunch of tech and retail companies have laid and are laying off employees after a nationwide hiring surge during the pandemic.
The most magical place on Earth wants a protective order to keep Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees from knowing how the magic happens. A federal judge dismissed a separate Disney lawsuit last week.
Just days before the 49ers and Chiefs play in Las Vegas, Joe Pompliano, Investor at Pomp Investments and author of the Huddle Up Newsletter, discusses why he thinks this could be the most-watched Super Bowl in history.
Chris Versace of Tematica Research LLC shares his thoughts on Jerome Powell's latest comments, the timing of those crucial rate cuts, and what semiconductor stocks he's watching closely.
We battle an onslaught of advertising every time we scroll through social media. Deinfluencers propose a less pricey, more honest approach to how we shop online. Could they convince us to spend less?
