In which direction will car of future go?

Carmakers and Silicon Valley upstarts are increasing their efforts to define the car of the future, even though many of them disagree about what that car should be.

The autonomous vehicle technology sector is in a turbulent stage, akin to the ‘Betamax versus VHS’ debate. Standards are not yet defined, winners and losers are not decided and the major players disagree about the best way to bring safer, smarter cars to market.

Consider contrasting visions of the car of the future: these were outlined at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, this week, by Mark Fields and Dieter Zetsche, the chief executives of Ford and Mercedes, respectively.