More Robot Cars – Coming From Michigan
Ford is building a totally new plant in Michigan to produce autonomous vehicles (I prefer the term "robot cars"). According to CNBC, the plant, which will be up and running in about two years, "will take new commercial-grade hybrid models and incorporate the self-driving technology needed to turn them into autonomous vehicles".
This means sometime in 2021 you start seeing robot Ford Fusions prowling the Michigan roads. They're also ramping up their electric car production, with an all electric vehicle set to start coming out of their Flat Rock, Michigan plant in 2023.
This story comes a few weeks after GM donated "AV 01", a Chevy Volt and their first autonomous car, to the Henry Ford Museum. According to the Free Press, GM plans to have autonomous vehicles in commercial service in a yet to be named U.S. city later this year.
This is just the real beginning. Better take a picture of that V-8 Silverado or F-150. It's just a matter of time before I load up my F-150 with VHS tapes analog clocks and drop it off at the Henry Ford.