Hyundai Taking Steps Toward Autonomous Cars
Honestly, is there really a more tenacious symbol for the future of humanity other than the self-driving car? (Of course, the flying car is right up there with the autonomous car, but the flying car is far more of a science fiction-type desire seeing as, among other things, it just seems far too dangerous to be plausible.) For years now, numerous automakers—as well as those looking to get into the automotive business (I am looking at you, Google)—have poured big bucks into researching the possibility of a vehicle that acts like our own personal cab drivers, but, until recently, there has been very little public breakthrough with regard to such a thing. Of course, the South Korean juggernaut automaker, Hyundai, has recently thrown their proverbial hat into the autonomous vehicle ring. That is to say, Hyundai has recently taken two very large steps toward finally developing a safe and autonomous production vehicle that will be available to the public.
The first of these steps sees Hyundai taking advantage of an expansive ability testing ground that is being built at an abandoned bomber factory complex just outside of Detroit, Michigan. Understandably, Michigan is a perfect place in the United States for the company to set up/do autonomous car testing, seeing as the state has looser regulations when it comes to companies testing these technologies on public roads. The site, named Willow Run, is set to officially open its doors in the winter of 2017.
The second, perhaps even larger step that Hyundai is taking has all to do with talks of entering a relationship with Google to develop autonomous vehicle technologies. And, honestly, such a partnership could not have come at a better time for the automaker. “Hyundai is lagging behind the competition to develop autonomous vehicles,” noted Ko Tae Bong, Senior Auto Analyst at Hi Investment & Securities Co. “It’s not a choice, but a critical prerequisite for Hyundai to cooperate with IT companies, such as Google, to survive in the near future.”
In any event, we certainly should not expect such breakthroughs in self driving vehicle technology to occur within the next few years; these things, of course, take time, and more importantly, there are a lot of safety concerns that must be addressed before such a thing can be released to the public. But these two aforementioned steps show that even more automakers— Hyundai in this case—are taking such a thing very seriously.
As is always the case, keep checking back in here with us at Rosen Hyundai for more information with regard to the Hyundai’s pursuits toward a self driving vehicle. Too, while you are at it, why not stop by and sign up to test drive one of our many new lot vehicles? We can promise to do everything in our power to find the right vehicle for you!
