Auto driving cars are never coming anytime soon. Not the current technology in the pipeline.
The only car that is automated goes 25mph and the route must be meticulously pre-mapped. If a construction guy shows up and shifts lanes in a 55mph zone which happens practically daily near me you might as well just move into the car and accept your life there because you aren't moving anytime soon.
I wonder what they were using in that DARPA competition a few years ago, where some cars had to drive cross-country on their own. They likely had some kind of map and waypoints, but I also remember that they had to figure out barriers, such as a chain-link fence. In one of the test-runs, at least one of the vehicles didn't see it and ran right into it.
In my mind, that's the kind of processing that'd be needed for a car to operate on the road system we've got now. Aware of surroundings, intelligent / capable of learning and adapting, and able to function without GPS.
Otherwise, maybe the infrastructure needs to be upgraded in some manner, and the rules of the road need to be revised. (I know that saying "let's upgrade some critical infrastructure" in some countries is as terrible as saying "let's dump live puppies into a blender.")
So autocars can't get around quickly right now, not without either enhancing the software and processing significantly, or else changing the roadways to accommodate the cars. We were able to transition from horse-based travel to car-based travel.
Would it be expensive? Sure, but there also stands to be payback in efficiency and safety gains.
At one point in time, why would I buy a car at all? They have terrible or no suspension, need flat roadways to run on, and constantly need to be refueled. Cobblestone or gravel roads suited for foot travel or horses just don't cut it, and there aren't many fueling stations around. We'd need to spend a lot of money on an immense country-wide network of specialized roadways in order to properly accommodate these new horseless carriage things, and a fuel distribution system. Sounds like it'll be way too expensive, and be far too large of an undertaking to ever get off the ground.
And when they do come hopefully there is a switch to activate the frosted glass so the wife and I can cu...
Why make film cameras and projectors? Make porn.
Why make VCRs? More efficient porn acquisition.
Why make DVDs? Higher-res porn.
Why get broadband Internet? Even more efficient porn acquisition. (Estimates put Internet traffic as being 30% porn.)
Why get a smartphone with a high-speed dataplan? Mobile porn.
Why make autocars? Mobile sex.
Sex gets shit done.