CARS are set to change more in the next couple of decades than in the 130 years since Karl Benz fitted a small four-stroke engine to a large tricycle. Cars, once largely mechanical devices controlled by humans, are increasingly employing complex technology that is taking over many of the functions performed by the driver. The end point of these developments is routinely referred to as self-driving or autonomous cars. The two terms are used interchangeably (even by this newspaper). But carmakers, including the bosses of Volvo and Renault Nissan, are keen to draw a distinction between the two, and with good reasons of self-interest.
