Waymo subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet just announced it will be doing a self driving vehicle with Honda. That is perfect! But also announced it would be doing private vehicles as well. We know what this is, it will be an all electric Odyssey. This slots into its prior temporary choice (just ordered 62000 of them) for Chrysler Pacifica PHEVs and it tracks with Tesla on a micro bus and with Toyota Amazon on E-Pallet micro bus type units with Toyota. It is so exciting to Honda's hand tipped. I also like the nod to what Tesla is doing, Tesla right down to trying to integrate solar cells into the exterior of the Model 3 has always been about full pump hose cutting and that shows with its alignment with Panasonic. The captured media's take on Tesla and manufacturing always seemed so stupid because it would be like criticizing Panasonic on manufacturing or criticizing the top level people Tesla took from around the world. That narrative dies now. But there is also something very comforting here because we see a full US Japanese alliance that looks very serious and it will be the natural counter to China which taken as a full argument cuts out all incredibly stupid concessions to petrol fuel energy. This will happen. Also good to see Uber working with Waymo and as Alphabet through Waymo has signaled they are going to broadly partner and not simply build their own cars. Surely they have chosen their core partner in Honda but look at Google's timeline. Google with the purchase of 62K PHEVs from FCA and another order of 20 Tata BEVs from Jaguar is demonstrating it is moving now but its so crucial to see that Waymo and Google already in 2015 where the sponsored media thinks the industry might be in 5-7 years, and yet Google is also saying it will launch late this year with a commercial service. It has had no issues. I've noted again now the captured media trying to play up GM and cruise, which as far as I know has had nothing to show for its efforts. It won't go it alone like Tesla. They are trying to show a soft bank purchase as something but this is must more interlocking petrol game nonsense to box in the Tesla share price. GM was more willing to put money in its stock buy back besides being structurally bankrupt then to invest in its own self driving. I've said before that I think its just rents Waymo's stuff in the end. Also captured/bribe based media is putting out stuff trying to criticize Tesla self driving experience but let us keep in mind that Tesla is the only system that has logged coming up on 10 billion miles with the real world system on. There have been some hick-ups but let us again also remember that Tesla got the head Google Waymo guy after the system there had been completed. Tesla is the only full vertical competitor going more and more so but full electric vehicles were an opportunity to do that. And in the end if Tesla ultimately struggled with self driving surely it could link with Google and/or Intel for a period.
Opps left out Apple and Volkswagen. But what we see here is all the big firms driven to partnership over autonomy. Wonder if GM, Ford and BMW will try to link up they don't have anyone and the Cruise stuff still seems like BS.
Ought to work about as well as when Chrysler partnered with Daimler. Wonder if this is another Waymo pass through. GM can't do autonomy despite its blather and slights of hand so it partners with Honda which is partnered with Google to help hide the re-branding. So looking like Google might have GM, BMW, FCA and Honda in the bag. Honda is the only one that impresses me because its the only one of the group that still makes quality and hence possibly the official Google announcement with Honda.
