Mercedes-Benz becomes first automaker to sell Level 3 autonomous vehicles in the US

[midian182]

In brief: Mercedes-Benz has become the first automaker to sell vehicles with Level 3 autonomous driving technology directly to US consumers. The EQS and S-Class sedans come with a Drive Pilot feature that doesn't require users to keep their eyes on the road, unlike Tesla's Full Self-Driving beta.

Mercedes' Level 3-enabled cars went on sale in December, though they are only able to be legally sold in California and Nevada, writes Fortune. The two states' DMV gave approval for the cars to go on sale last year, making it the sole automaker approved by the government to sell the technology to the US public.

Drive Pilot, which requires a $2,500 per year subscription, can be only activated in certain situations and areas, including during the daytime when the weather is clear, in heavy traffic jams, on specific California and Nevada freeways, and when the car is traveling less than 40 mph. It doesn't work on roads that haven't been preapproved by Mercedes and cannot be used in construction zones.

Users can take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel while Drive Pilot is engaged, but they aren't allowed to take naps or move seats, something we've seen people do in Teslas. The vehicles are equipped with a monitoring camera in the driver's display to ensure the person behind the wheel is ready to respond to a takeover request.

Also see: The Six Levels of Self-Driving Systems

Activating the feature unlocks activities on the central display so the driver can play games, watch videos, or take advantage of in-car entertainment features.

Road users in California and Nevada will be able to spot a Mercedes using its autonomous driving capabilities by the turquoise-colored lights on the vehicles' rearview mirrors, headlights, and taillights. The same color lights appear in the cabin to let drivers know the system is activated.

Waymo and GM's Cruise operate robotaxis with Level 4 autonomous driving tech, though they aren't available for the public to buy. They're also far from infallible; Cruise suspended its service following an incident in which a pedestrian was hit and dragged 20 feet under the wheels of a vehicle. Mercedes says it is working on Level 4 cars, though they won't be available to buy until 2030.

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Mercedes-Benz becomes first automaker to sell Level 3 autonomous vehicles in the US

 

[VitalyT]

Looking forward to the first crash-and-burn stories here

Mercedes says it is working on Level 4 cars

Is that the one when your car starts calling you on your mobile, trying to sell you a faster ride in exchange for a premium wash?

 

[SirDigby]

I'm eagerly awaiting quality level 4 cars and legislation to catch up, my eyesight restricts me from driving and it's so frustrating.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I can only imagine the lawsuits when one of these things crashes and/or kills someone.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Take that musk you pos

 

[MasterMace]

Sorry, you didn't pay your subscription, your engine won't turn on anymore

 

[Jrfeimst2]

No Thanks. Tired of companies putting **** behind subscription paywalls after you spend a ton of money on the product itself. This greed needs to end

 

[Draconian]

These limitations...

can be only activated in certain situations and areas, including during the daytime when the weather is clear, in heavy traffic jams, on specific California and Nevada freeways, and when the car is traveling less than 40 mph.

don't justify the $2,500 per year price, although $2,500 is pocket change to an S-class driver.

 

[Crunch]

60km/h. Guess it's a start, but limited usage scenario for me. Mostly highway driving.

 

[Biostud]

They have learned from gaming world, that people will gladly pay to be beta testers....

 

[toooooot]

I can only imagine the lawsuits when one of these things crashes and/or kills someone.

What if they give you a lot of money, a new car and only ask that you sign a letter promising you will keep quiet?

 

[human7]

I'm eagerly awaiting quality level 4 cars and legislation to catch up, my eyesight restricts me from driving and it's so frustrating.

I'm sorry to hear that about your eyesight. There are a couple of people I know who can't drive due to disabilities and would be greatly aided by having a capable self driving car. Sadly, based on the description for where you can use this level 3 self driving car, my guess is they could build a level 4 self driving car today that you can only use in your driveway. It's going to be a long time before the technology is there, and longer still before the regulators get comfortable with it.

I hope this car is successful, though with the limits and outrageous subscription fee, I expect its primary benefit will be in collecting data for the technology to be refined.

 

[JamesBlond]

Imagine you are sitting in your house, your disabled from your waist down, you can still be an uber driver

 

[BabaYaga]

I got the free one-month FSD trial from Tesla. The car can drive itself. Self park is nice too. Backs up into tight spots much faster than I would. On the highway commuting to work, it's great. Takes the stress out of a traffic jam. Regular cruise control will slow down and accelerate and keep in the lane too. FSD will switch lanes. I remember the nightmares of driving a stick in traffic.

$8k to purchase outright or $100/month. I would purchase it if I could keep it in the account. It's tied to a car but sometimes when they want to improve sales, they have transfer windows. FSD doesn't add much to the value of the car when selling it down the road so it's a no go until they let you keep it.

 

[Dimitrios]

Just another way to control/restrict us during a special crisis/agenda. Slowly we are kneecapping our freedoms. Give it another 20-30 years.

 

[brucek]

LOL after all Tesla's BS marketing ("Full Self Driving") it's another company that actually delivers Level 3 first. Which is still pretty far from the plain meaning of Full Self Driving.

re: the subscription price, I wouldn't feel offended by it in this early development stage. It's pretty clear they're still going to need an expensive development team continuing to improve the software, and as long as I'd be getting continuous updates in exchange for my subscription, I'd be happy to contribute my share towards making that possible. I see this as a very different case from I.e. subscription seat warmers, when it's clear the money is a pure extra cash grab for hardware I already paid for up front.

 

[Underdog]

I can only imagine the lawsuits when one of these things crashes and/or kills someone.

The lawyers are salivating.

 

[captaincranky]

 

[BabaYaga]

LOL after all Tesla's BS marketing ("Full Self Driving") it's another company that actually delivers Level 3 first. Which is still pretty far from the plain meaning of Full Self Driving.

re: the subscription price, I wouldn't feel offended by it in this early development stage. It's pretty clear they're still going to need an expensive development team continuing to improve the software, and as long as I'd be getting continuous updates in exchange for my subscription, I'd be happy to contribute my share towards making that possible. I see this as a very different case from I.e. subscription seat warmers, when it's clear the money is a pure extra cash grab for hardware I already paid for up front.

You didn't even read a summary of the original article copied above.

"Drivers can activate Mercedes’s technology, called Drive Pilot, when certain conditions are met, including in heavy traffic jams, during the daytime, on specific California and Nevada freeways, and when the car is traveling less than 40 mph."

Tesla drives on ALL the roads, not just the highway in heavy traffic jams on certain roads in CA or NV at less than 40mph. The free version of FSD can drive on the highway. It will accelerate, break, and follow your lane but won't change lanes to pass cars unless you put the turn signal on. Speeds up to 70 or 80 (can't remember exactly). I tried the FSD and it can parallel park on the street or back up into spots in any parking lot.

Mercedes appears to be very far away from even this. But competition is good so I hope they succeed.

 

[brucek]

My top page of Google results all describe Tesla's level of automation as "Level 2". Per this article Mercedes is claiming "Level 3". If you want to argue that either is wrongly classified I'll be happy to read your reasoning, otherwise my point stands. Perhaps the bullet points that are most important to you (such as you mentioned above) are not the same as the primary differentiators the SAE uses in describing their Level systems.