Google… …is focused solely on fully autonomous vehicles that don’t even have a steering wheel. It sees no reason for the middle ground of semi-autonomy. Ford thinks Google might be right.
What’s more, the company wants to offer a no-kidding, it’s-fully-autonomous car in five years. No middle ground, not half measures, just a headlong leap into robo-vehicles. Washington acknowledges “our strategy is pretty similar” to Google’s, with two key differences. First, Ford already builds cars, and will continue introducing and improving driver assistance features even as it works on Level 4 autonomy. Second, Ford has no plans to sell wheeled pods in which people are merely along for the ride. You’ll always have the option of taking the wheel. “We see a future where the choice should be yours,” Washington says.