John Krafcik downshifted his white Porsche 911 and whipped it around a curve on a heavily wooded mountain road. The car's 25-year-old engine made its distinctive soft rumble behind us as he accelerated out toward the next turn. For a few moments, we stopped talking. I was enjoying the drive, but also the pleasant irony of it.
That's because Krafcik is the CEO of Waymo, the self-driving car division of Google's parent company, Alphabet.
I first got to know Krafcik years ago when he was the head of Hyundai Motor America. Before that, he had worked at Ford. He owns a small collection of cars that includes two Porsches (neither particularly high-end), a souped up Volvo wagon and a little known bare-bones British sports car called a Caterham.
These aren't cars for showing off. These are cars for driving. Because John Krafcik loves to drive.
He makes no secret about it and he sees no conflict. This is not like the owner of a vegan restaurant grilling bison burgers on his back deck.
"You ask a room full of people: 'Do you love to drive?' and most people actually would raise their hand," he said while he drove. "But if we ask the question a slightly different way, 'Do you love commuting? Do you love driving on your commute?' I think most people would say. 'Eh, not so much.'"
That's the problem Waymo is trying solve, he said. The company doesn't want to do away with driving altogether, just the driving that's unpleasant and boring, he explained. Starting soon, Waymo will be making its driverless van rides available to the public in Arizona. From there, the roll out of the service will happen gradually.