If you like, the tectonic plates of time.

Remember Dolly the sheep being cloned? Remember that human ear grown on the back of a mouse? Remember the Commodore VIC–20 – the first affordable colour computer?

All these things were milestones. Flags in the sand for progress. They were man's way of putting his wares in the window. As a result admirers flock and gawp agog before the cycle begins again and progress ensues.

So what has all this got to do with the Honda Legend. Well – in short – this is the beginning of the era in which cars drive themselves.

I'm telling you. It won't be long before you can drive to the office party, sink a dozen mojitos and be safely driven home – by your car. Honestly.

You see, the Japanese are a sucker for a gadget and a gizmo – not a gimmick – real world inventions with a practical purpose.

What I'm babbling on about is LKAS, ADAS and ACC. Combined, these three nonsensical acronyms can drive your car – and they're not neo-Mafia pseudonyms for teenage twokkers.

LKAS (Lane Keep Assist System) works using cameras in the car which track your lane position. If you begin to stray from your lane, the cameras tell the computer and the computer tells the steering and the steering wheel turns itself.

Of course that doesn't mean you can bung on the cruise control and play a game of patience in the back seat because to stay active the system requires frequent human input – to make sure you're still alive.

Now, combine that little trick with ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). ACC is a radar in the front bumper which detects the speed of the vehicle in front and then tracks it. No need for throttle input, the car will just go with the flow. So that's the throttle and the steering taken care of – beginning to see my point?

OK, now throw into the mix CMBS (Collision Mitigation Braking System). Basically, every Honda Legend comes with a free Japanese man who keeps sentry duty on the road ahead.

If, for whatever reason, you don't notice a crash up ahead the wee fella will snap-tight your seatbelt and drop the anchors thus helping to minimise the impact of any potential smash.

Of course, all of these bells and whistles are at present a driver's aid but it surely can't be too far in the future that they can take the entire driving process into their own hands.

But enough of the theory – how does it work in practice?

Well, to stretch the Legend's legs I had planned for it 500 miles of toil – a stag do in Cardiff.

My trusty steed would be required to transfer two giddy staggers from Worksop to Wales in double quick time for a start.

It was also required to transfer five hungover stags from Cardiff to Chepstow – complete with wedding gladrags and the groom.

Then it had to sit in Chepstow's St Pierre Golf Club and rub shoulders with Ferraris and Aston Martins – without looking like it might throw a coat on the floor and pull out a badly tuned banjo in between selling copies of the 'Bigger Shoe'.

It managed all of these things with aplomb. It also managed to get me out of the deepest of deep Welsh leek fertiliser when the Satnav led me a merry dance down a footpath purporting to be a road.

One of the reasons for this sure-footedness is the Safe-Handling All-Wheel-Drive. This system can transfer power delivery to individual wheels – not just the front or rear axle.

It can also send the majority of the power delivery to the rear when you're hammering the twisty stuff thus leaving the front wheels to concentrate on steering.

And on occasion they'll need to because despite the car being bigger than Wales, its 3.5-litre V6 V-TEC engine churns out 295bhp which is good for 60mph in 7.3 seconds and 155mph.

Yet, for all these racy credentials the inside of the Legend is quieter than a Monks' library on a Bank Holiday.

Part of the reason for that is the immeasurably solid build quality that goes into a Legend. But no small part of it is due to the BOSE 10-speaker stereo system which is used to keep the cabin quiet. Well what did you expect?

Prices for the Legend start at just over £36,000 so it's not cheap. And I'm not sure it quite deserves to be called a legend either. Maybe they should have called it the Excellent Business Saloon, or the Luxuriously Sophisticated Tourer.

Either way, the groom made the church. Who likes the Legend? I do.