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Subaru Approved For Testing Self-Driving Cars On State Roads
- TechCrunch, Tuesday, February 14, 2017 10:36 AM
The California DMV has added Subaru as the latest member of its list of companies clear to test autonomous driving technology on state roads, bringing the exclusive club to 22 members in total. Subaru is the car-making wing of Japanese transportation company Fuji Heavy Industries, and makes vehicles including the popular Forester and Outback lines. Subaru already offers advanced driver assist features via its ‘EyeSight’ branded options, with plans to introduce new features including traffic jam autonomous navigation and steering, which is designed to work in traffic with speeds of up to 40 mph. The company also aims to offer highway driving semi-autonomy capabilities by 2020, which will include lane switching and following the road round bends and curves.
All these companies scrambling to make self-driving cars. I know NO ONE who even wants one of these hacker's delight. All this investment $$$ and they will have an audience similar to the Chevy (RE)Volt
Personally, I'd buy one tomorrow, especially if it was made by Subaru. I love the idea of being driven by a car that's a better driver than me, with faster reactions. And even more so if all the other cars on the road are being self-driven. Driving can be fun, but the other (mostly bad) drivers out there are the biggest worry. I can give a million examples, well, a few anyway, of how people drive poorly, fail to take advantage of the capabilities of their vehicle, and ignore traffic rules.
More than that, the whole system of car ownership and use is changing and those changes will be accelerated by autonomous vehicles, perhaps with trucks sooner than personal vehicles.