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When will self-driving cars be available? Which manufacturer will be first to market with a fully autonomous vehicle (AV)? Who should be looking to the connected car market?

These questions among others were put to a series of experts by Part Catalog, with some fascinating responses.

Opinion was divided over the first car manufacturer being the first to market a complete AV, with Daimler and Tesla the most popular responses. Gerry Malloy, of Autofile, argued Tesla would be first “because they’ll rush to put one on the market just for the PR value of being first,” while Mercedes was also cited and many, including Steve Hammes of Test Drive Now and Brad Templeton of Singularity University, believe tech firms, rather than car manufacturers, will be first.

For those not already in the market, the consensus was again mixed. Interesting opinions include Toyota buddying up with Tesla, Apple, and Uber – who “already sells the service but has the price of a driver.”

Regarding the future, there were some good points to note. Brian Cooley, of CNET on Cars, said: “Any carmaker without an AV in its line by 2025-2030 is going to look odd,” while Hooniverse’s Jeff Glucker noted: “I see someone like Ford really holding back and waiting. Not just Ford really, but most automakers in that space that want to deliver the most bang for the buck. An AV doesn’t fit into that scheme just yet.”

Take a look at an infographic Part Catalog came up with and see if you agree with any of the opinions: