If you find yourself in or around Pittsburgh in the coming months, you may come face-to-face with a sensor-laden Ford Fusion hybrid not belonging to Ford Motor Company.
Ride-hailing service Uber announced yesterday that the company has started testing its own self-driving Ford Fusion prototype in the "Steel City." The car came straight out of Uber's Advanced Technologies Center, and could pave the way for an entire fleet of self-driving, ride-hailing vehicles. Uber insists that this is about progress; self-driving cars could significantly cut down on the 1.3 million traffic-related deaths which occur every year, they say, while easing congestion, and making transportation cheaper and more accessible.
Ford Motor Company itself uses the Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid for its own self-driving car prototypes. The automaker announced in January an expansion of its test fleet to include a total of 30 cars.
For now, Uber's self-driving Ford Fusion prototype will come with a human at the helm, ready to intervene should something go awry. The first self-driving passenger vehicles are widely expected to become available for purchase by around 2020.
Only for buyers in states where the 2026 Escape can be sold.
That's more than enough to move the hatchback.
It's the very last unfinished chassis to be completed.
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