"We wanted flying cars; instead we got 140 characters," is venture capitalist Peter Thiel's famous credo. But though a freeway in the sky seems as fantastical as ever, we are going to get something even better: a self-driving car. Such a robot, fully aware of its environment, with 360-degree vision and peerless driving skills, is a matter of when, not if. Humans' fascination with these machines seems limitless, even though autonomous cars could turn us into mere cargo. And unlike airborne cars, self-drivers could prevent the 1.2 million deaths caused by traffic accidents every year.

The BMW 7 Series is the world's first production car that can operate with no driver aboard, if only to dazzle the neighbors when it eases into your home garage. Press a button on the remote, with its palm-size LCD readout, and watch the BMW drive itself into a garage or back its way out. With its camera and ultrasonic sensors, the BMW can fit into small or stuffed garages that are too tight to allow opening the car's doors. This roboparking feature is offered only in Europe for now, but BMW is pressing U.S. regulators for approval. The car can thrill when you're behind the wheel, as I discovered on a track test at Monticello Motor Club in New York's Catskills region.

Audi's autonomous cars are becoming quite the world travelers: Recall the much-ballyhooed first robotic drive from San Francisco to New York City, about a year ago. Impressive stuff, though honestly, humans can hold their own at pulling into a rest stop. I'm about to take on Robby, the autonomous RS7 sport sedan that's designed to rock a racetrack at speeds that would blister Google's cartoonish bubble car. If a human driver can't keep up, it occurs to me, then our obsolescence draws that much closer. Robby is looking cool and confident in the pits at Parcmotor Castelloli, near Barcelona.

For years, automakers have rhapsodized about how our cars would become mobile offices and living spaces. And then they botched even the simple stuff, like letting you dial up the Backstreet Boys from your iPod on the car's sound system. The Mercedes-Benz F 015 will be the rolling roost of your dreams. You'll just have to wait at least until 2030, when Mercedes thinks this kind of hydrogen-powered, fully autonomous vehicle will become viable. Bigger than an S-Class, the Benz concept looks like a Clockwork Orange hipster lounge, with its walnut-veneered floor and wall-wrapping touch and gesture displays.