Who is actually in control of the car?
03/27/2019
A few days ago, car magazines (and online) reported that automatic "speed limiters" are to be introduced in Europe. Using GPS data and a camera, cars are to be "slowed down" to the signaled maximum speed without the driver having to do anything, and this will happen as early as 2021 or 2022. If the car exceeds the local speed limit, the engine control system would simply take away the power and thus reduce the speed.
This naturally makes you wonder who is actually in control in a car. Even today, modern cars often take the lead, for example when they initiate emergency braking or influence the steering (via the lane departure warning system).
And it is precisely this paternalism in modern cars that makes rustic driving in classic cars so interesting and entertaining. Because when we steer, brake and change gears ourselves, it is not so much the speed but the sheer pleasure of driving that makes us enjoy it.
This is probably one of the reasons why modern classic cars may never become as popular as cars from the sixties or seventies are today, because classic car enthusiasts want to experience the full pleasure of driving, not just the part that the on-board electronics allow us to enjoy.
