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).
Angie Hicks, Co-Founder at Angi, gives tips to avoid blowing your fuse while decking the halls, plus, winterization preparations you may have forgotten!
Matt Durot, Senior Reporter at Forbes, joins Cheddar to unpack all things Elon Musk including his soaring wealth, relationship to Trump and if he has a will.
David McKillips, President and CEO of CEC Entertainment, discusses the ongoing Chuck E. Cheese brand refresh, new locations, updated play spaces and more.
Lila MacLellan, Senior Writer at Fortune, discusses how the healthcare industry is reacting to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Watch!
Matt Hougan from Bitwise Asset Management joins Cheddar to discuss how and why Bitcoin is continuing to rise and what the future holds for the cryptocurrency.