Autonomous Car

The autonomous Audi TTS developed by engineers from Stanford University recently went to Thunderhill Raceway to lap the track without a driver inside. It also turned a faster lap than an amateur racing driver.

Nokia Here is working to develop new high-definition maps for autonomous vehicles, using a combination of satellite and GPS data, as well as "anonymized probe data" from trucking companies. All of that and a fleet of some 200 vehicles equipped with Lidar sensors, allowing resolutions down to the centimeter.

Nielsen statistics show Chinese consumers are more interested in autonomous technology than the US and Germany.

Audi apparently knows how to get to the front of a line when it comes to driverless vehicles. The German automaker had the honor of being the very first company to receive one of California's new autonomous vehicle driving permits. It was a perfect followup to it being among the earliest ones to get a similar permit in Nevada a few years ago.

Toyota executives say the company's primary focus is on safety. At least for the time being, that means the company won't pursue development of a driverless car.

Occasionally, we post videos that require us to tell you not to try something at home. They usually involve some unsafe activity that requires a high-degree of skill and planning to achieve. This video, though, gets a more interesting disclaimer: Don't ever try this. Ever. Never ever. Period. Seriously, don't try it.

Drivers are intrigued by the benefits of self-driving cars, but they remain concerned about the safety and cost such vehicles could introduce into the marketplace, according to a study published by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in late July.

If you had told us a decade ago that Google, of all companies, would be developing a driverless car, we likely would have asked you what you were smoking. But here we are, watching the Internet giant not only testing such systems on existing cars, but designing its own vehicles. It won't be the only one, it seems, as reports from China indicate that one of its own is following suit.

Episode #390 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing and Sebastian Blanco from Autoblog Green talk about the 2015 Ford Mustang specs, the 2016 Smart models, a proposal to add real-world numbers to EPA economy tests and the potential downside of autonomous cars. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below wi

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #390 this evening. Check out the topics below or drop us your questions and comments via the Q&A module. And don't forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so. To take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Let's face it, autonomous cars aren't coming; they're already here. From Google's continual testing to promises from Nissan and Mercedes-Benz that the tech is on the way, the only direction that driverless vehicles are moving is forward. Although, we're already seeing the first joking jabs about the potential misuse of the cutting-edge systems like in Conan O'Brien's recent parody, and even the FBI is taking the possibility for abuse seriously.

Anything that takes guesswork of ordinary commutes can only be a good thing. More often than not, driving is a pain in the seat.

Roush has a pretty booming business. Not only does it build some seriously raucous Ford-based products, but it's also got its fingers in racing, transportation and military manufacturing. Now, rumor has it that Roush might be adding one more feather to its cap, as it may be in cahoots with Google to build the California tech giant's new fully autonomous car.

Welcome to the future, friends. Google has unveiled its first self-driving car. This isn't like past attempts, though. It's not a Toyota Prius or Lexus RX with a bunch of bulky computer equipment, but Google's very own car, built from scratch. That'd be a big enough deal in and of itself, but this car is exciting for another reason – there are no manual controls. No brake pedal, gas pedal, gear shift or steering wheel. It's completely and totally autonomous, requiring nothing more than an

Autonomous cars have been testing in California for quite a while now. Google even showed off its self-driving Toyota Prius taking a blind man to Taco Bell in 2012. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that the California Department of Motor Vehicles has decided it's about time to draft a set of rules governing autonomous cars on public roads.

Fourteen years ago, Sam Schmidt was lapping the Walt Disney World Speedway while preparing for the upcoming Indy Racing League season when he crashed. He spent five weeks on a respirator, and when he did come off, he discovered that he'd lost the use of his arms and legs.

Google's autonomous car technology is constantly improving. After thousands of miles of testing, the company claimed that the driverless vehicle was safer than conventional, piloted cars. However, it previously only really worked on highways. Now, the the search engine giant is improving the tech even further to be able to drive on busy city streets.

It's one thing to have autonomous cars. That's fine, having a computer steer you down a boring stretch of arrow-straight freeway while you read a book, text or watch a movie. But when the machines start encroaching on things that make driving fun, we appear to have arrived at a conundrum. That's what makes the M235i that BMW brought to the Consumer Electronics Show so troubling - it's a 2 Series that can drift itself.

The state of Michigan is set to join Japan, the United Kingdom and the US states of California, Florida and Nevada in allowing testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads.

Years ago, General Motors used Buick cars to test out the idea of a "smart highway" concept. More recently, GM has been talking up its award-winning Super Cruise semi-autonomous technology that will roll out with Cadillac and make its way to Buick. The LeSabre in the video above has nothing to do with any of that.

After several years and thousands of miles of testing autonomous cars in California and Nevada, Google finally has something to show for its work – other than driving a blind man to get a taco. According to Technology Review, Chris Urmson, director of Google's self-driving car program, says that Google has data showing that autonomous cars are safer and smoother than actual drivers. This, of course, is a big improvement over Google's statement from 2011 that claimed autonomous cars are saf