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They sure did...back in 1998 to 2002.

I do not agree with beta testing of AVs on the road at this point, that is like proving a drunk driver can make it home without crashing their car.

Here's a quote: “Self-driving cars are going to be in our lives. The question of when is not clear yet, to have it at scale is going to take a long time.” Who said that? A Naysayer? Nope - Raquel Urtasun, who is chief scientist at Uber Advanced Technologies Group. More: "Urtasun’s comments fall in line with the rest of the self-driving industry, which after much hype and bold promises has tempered expectations and pushed out timelines for deployment. The extreme technical challenges of building cars that can predict human behavior and respond appropriately proved greater than even some of the industry’s brightest minds had anticipated." Sounds like some posts in this thread. Here's the source post, which is primarily about Uber's forthcoming IPO: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-autonomous-newsmaker/uber-scientist-says-some-time-before-self-driving-cars-dominate-the-road-idUSKCN1RK2J2

I didn't want to start a new thread, but it deserves its own I think. This is a must-watch 8 minute video. Ford's Fight To Remain An American Icon - YouTube

Did anyone happen to notice if the frame was bent??

I like it! I don't see any reason it should be much more expensive than a typical Vette. I mean, what's in a mid-engine layout that makes it inherently more expensive than a front-engine layout? The upfront engineering costs would be higher, but overall, I wouldn't think the end product would be that much more expensive.

Notice how everyone went quiet after the Uber thing happened months ago? I think they realized they should do more things behind the scenes rather than thumping chests.

If it comes in around $125K, and you don't have to write an essay on why you should be "allowed" to purchase one, they'll do just fine. HRG

I’ve been in software development (coding) for over 30 years. Akirby is spot on in my opinion. AV’s will be a niche market for years.

Well that's good then. I don't have time for all the whining. If you would have read the rules - which I know you totally did not by your attitude, you would have known what I do and can provide and that I do not provide crystal ball magic to tell you when you'll get your vehicle. You'd also know that I'm not here to be your friend and dying to provide you this free service - which as you've told me you already have provided it for yourself. So, in the end your only reason for being here was to bitch at me about the order process which was unmistakably against the rules as well. I suggest next time perhaps buy something off the lot because you have no patience and can't control yourself. You won't be receiving anymore help from me in any regards.

Seriously. Not “ALL of the folks...blah blah blah” disagree with what he is stating. The ~13 people in this thread agree that fully autonomous vehicles landing in the hands of the general population are years if not decades away. The work to make this happen continues, that’s all @rperez817 is trying to say. I don’t understand why you always find a reason to disagree with the truth.

ALL of the folks who do software for a living and now even smart engineers working in the industry disagree with you. A smart person would just admit they were wrong.

As a Ford enthusiast, this angers me. You announce $4 billion in investment in July and then in April admit that you've overestimated the application? "The applications will be narrow because the problem is so complex"? Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows this. More evidence that idiots are running the company. How does Hackett survive this? They've announced billions in spending reductions to fund autonomous cars, money that is desperately needed to fund new vehicle development that would actually pay off. Oh well, what's $4 billion pissed away?

Hogwash. Up until this point all the testing has been designed to prove that the technology works. In normal conditions. They can and should be testing what the software industry calls border conditions - abnormal conditions like bad roads, detours, traffic lights with no power, obstructions, etc. Until they prove these vehicles can operate safely in those conditions they shouldn't even be allowed on the street without a backup driver. Here are two real life scenarios that occur frequently. Please tell me how an AV will handle these without a backup driver: AV is headed southbound. The Southbound lane is closed for construction. Cars must take turns driving in the Northbound lane at the direction of a flag person. AV is in a long line of cars backed up due to an accident that blocks the road. Police tell drivers to make a U turn. What happens? The AV just sits there not knowing what to do? Now picture an entire line of confused AVs. How do you recover from stuff like that?

You really think the only thing in the way is legal issues? --- I'm filing this article under "no s*** sherlock". Anyone with a brain can figure out we're not ready for autonomous cars everywhere anytime soon. Anyone thinking that is/was delusional. In certain restricted areas, or short predetermined routes - absolutely. But beyond that, the tech isn't ready, nor is the legal part (to rperez's point). I've seen a few of the Fusion tester cars here in Miami. They were going the other way on a two lane road, so I couldn't see whether the "driver" was actually driving or not.

Most of this stems from automotive outsiders aka IT companies (Nvidia,Apple to a lesser point, etc) over hyping the market to pump up stock prices because their other products are mature (i.e. no way to grow market share) to keep profits up. Just take a look at Trains or even Airplanes-both would be far easier to "automate", but they still have humans in the loop. We will see full electrification before we see completely autonomous cars on the roads-they will be limited to fixed areas (think parking lots like Disney) for the next 5-10-15 years.

I’m going to say this and I’ll just say it once... The Fusion should not be killed. I can understand some of the other decisions with killing certain sedans, but the Fusion really is Ford’s “Swiss Army Knife” sedan. With a proper update it could easily maintain good sales numbers and keep Ford as a player in that market. It’s a car that can be sold up and sold down. I remember being told around here nobody wants midsize pickups and T6 will never come to the US. Well look what happened. Fuel prices will go up again and at some point another recession will come. When that happens an affordable roomy sedan like the Fusion with excellent fuel economy will be in demand again... where will Ford be? Years behind the curve like they are with the Ranger. I won’t comment again about this because I know there’s a group around here that gets upset when it’s mentioned, but once again killing the Fusion is a mistake. It’s an excellent vehicle and a respected nameplate. It’s needs some updating, but that’s it. I know it’s all about very high ATPs and very expensive luxury vehicles selling in huge numbers, but when the economy goes to hell again all those $65,000 King Ranches and $90,000 Navigators will be piling up on the lots. We saw it before and it’ll happen again. End of my rant.