Google negotiates with Detroit automakers to push self-driving cars

It seems that Google is very determined to push its automotive technology to greater heights. According to the Wall Street Journal, Anthony Levandowski, head of Google’s automotive technology, revealed to them that he recently made a trip to Detroit to determine if car designers are interested in pushing the technology into their own corresponding roadmap.

Perhaps now is the right time for Google to act, considering its plan to have self-driving cars available in the next ten years or so. So far, Google has a long way to go. The report, however, did not specify the companies that the executive visited. After all, Detroit is home to world’s best automobile companies including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.

But the question now is how safe will these cars be? That’s one area Google and its partners will have to consider. A necessary factor will be to gauge crash tests with insurers. Albeit Google’s recent Prius has a manual override, unfortunately, it is not enough to guarantee safety. Expectations are quite high as well. It’s not going to sell unless it’s going to perform better than a manually driven car. For now, Google’s talks with the said automakers are more like baby steps than giant leaps.

Gene Ryan Briones
Categories: Transportation
Tags: cars, Google