One of the few subjects that intrigue Bob Tasca besides NHRA nitro Funny Car racing is the Ford Motor Company and its product initiatives.  The relatively new executives at Dearborn, Mich., headquarters have signaled their interest in autonomous technology – that is, driverless cars.   

Tasca assures that it isn’t a Buck Rogers-ish notion.
 
“I sit on the Product Committee with Ford, and autonomous technology is here to stay. It’s going to continue to advance at a rapid pace. Clearly, the manufacturers who have positioned themselves to take advantage of it are going to reap the rewards long-term. Its not something you’re going to see in a year or two, but clearly, in the next 10 years. Five years will be a pretty big step [in] what you see on the road.

“There are kids today who’ll never know life without an autonomous vehicle,” Tasca predicted.

“I think where you’ll see autonomous technology really change our way of life is . . . You take the Baby Boomers or older people who can’t drive anymore. Now they can get around, see their kids and grandkids. You’ll see multiple households where parents are working and they’ve got to pick kids up and drop kids off. There’ll be a day where the car can go and pick up the kids and bring them home,” he said. “There’s other [circumstances]. Say you’ve got to go to Baltimore and you’ve got to get on an airplane or a train – or you can get in your car and go to sleep and wake up and you’re in Baltimore.

“There’s vast, vast applications where autonomous technology will enhance our way of life,” Tasca said.

Drag racing, or any kind of auto racing, is another matter.

“I don’t think it will affect racing. Well, it can affect racing. If people want to see cars driving around in circles or down a racetrack with nobody in them, they can do that,” Tasca said. “I would say it’d be pretty hard to get a fuel Funny Car to do it autonomously, but it could be done.”