When the time of self-driving cars truly arrives, our lives are sure to be safer and more leisurely. But humans thrive on thrill and restlessness, so will we soon find ourselves too relaxed?

That’s the question at the heart of Audi’s new spot from Venables Bell & Partners, which looks into the near future to show a man whose life seems to have it all—big house, successful career and, of course, a self-driving car.

But on this day, his Siri-esque personal digital assistant, Clara (voiced by Selma Blair), notices that he seems a bit forlorn and wistful. “David, what’s on your mind” she asks. He describes the days of his youth, spent driving and exploring as friendships grew and romance bloomed.

“Driving wasn’t just about being taken from place to place,” he says, “but going somewhere…feeling something along the way.”

Directed by Craig Gillespie of “I, Tonya” fame, the spot feels eerily accurate in its prediction that we’ll all soon long for the days of being behind the wheel—even if we appreciate the extra time and reduced accidents.

While his AI assistant comes off a bit too motherly (and somewhat reminiscent of HAL from “2001: A Space Odyssey” asking, “Just what do you think you’re doing, Dave?”, and suggesting the astronaut take a “sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over”), the ad walks a careful line of celebrating driving without attacking the idea of autonomous cars, which makes sense given that Audi is one of the industry leaders on integrating self-driving and responsive tech into popular models like the A8.

In the ad, David’s autonomous car isn’t clearly branded as an Audi, though we’re left to assume from his brand loyalty that he’s stuck with the luxury automaker over the years. As a result, we end up with a classic “have your cake and eat it too” solution: Why own just one Audi when you can own two?

CREDITS:

Client Name: Audi Of America

Brand: Audi

Spot Name: Driver

Agency: Venables Bell & Partners

Founder, Chairman: Paul Venables

Executive Creative Director: Will Mcginness

Creative Director: Justin Moore

Creative Director: Matt Miller

Art Director: Aisha Hakim

Senior Copywriter: Jake Reilly

Director Of Integrated Production: Craig Allen

Producer: Gabby Gardner

Head Of Brand Management: David Corns

Group Brand Director: Cara Watson

Brand Director: Jon Phillips

Brand Supervisor: Justin Wang

Brand Supervisor: Casey Warendorf

Brand Manager: Hope Stadulis

Group Strategy Director: Uli Kurtenbach

Senior Strategist: Mike Riley

Director Of Business Affairs: Quynh-an Phan

Business Affairs Manager: Sametta Gbillia

Business Affairs Manager: Susan Conklin

Senior Traffic Manager: Jermelia Holling

Creative Resource Manager: Jessica Youssefia

Director Of Lumberyard: Raquel Bedard

Mcr Operations Manager: Jeff Saunders

Production Company: Mjz

Director: Craig Gillespie

President: David Zander

Executive Producer: Emma Wilcoskson

Line Producer: Michaela Johnson

Director of Photography: Philippe Le Sourd

Production Designer: Jamie Vickers

Editing Company: Final Cut

Editor: Rick Russell

Executive Producer: Suzy Ramirez

Producer: Barbara Healy

Assistant Editor: Dillon Stoneburner

Music Company: Human

Producer: Kamela Anderson

Composers: Ed Dunne And Craig Deleon

Creative Lead: Craig Deleon

Sound Design & Mix: 740 Sound

Mixer: Chris Pinkston

Sound Designers: Chris Pinkston, A Josh Reinhardt, Rob Marshall

Executive Producer: Scott Ganary

Producer: Jeff Martin

Vfx/finishing: The Mill

Executive Producer: Anastasia Von Rahl

Producer: Dan Love

Production Coordinator: Jalisa House, Jasmine Singh

Shoot Supervisors: John Shirley, Ben Smith, Matt Bohnert

Production Creative Director: John Shirley

2-D Lead Artist: Ben Smith

3-D Lead Artist: Matt Bohnert

2-D Artists: Dylan Streiff, Jake Alberts, Katerina Arroyo, Patrick Heinen, Elliott Brennan

3-D Artists: Annie Zhao, Ziming Liu, Jason Jansky, Juan Salazar, Katie Yancey, Samantha Pedregon, Sharlene Lin, Freddy Parra, Elizabeth Hammer, Michael Lori

Matte Painting: Gillian George, Marissa Krupen

Design/Motion Graphics: Greg Park

Additional: Shane Baxley (Concepting)

Telecine: Company 3

Colorist: Tom Poole

Color Producer: Alexandra Lubrano

Color Assist: Jenny Montgomery