Imagine that one day, you'll be able to get into your car, be dropped off at your destination; and when you're finished what you're doing, be picked up by summoning the car through your smartphone. No, we're not talking about having a personal chauffeur. We're talking about a car that can drive itself. Seems crazy, we know, but in a recent announcement from the General Motors Company, it seems that technology could be less than a decade away.

The American automaker has been hard at work on technology that will make the lives of drivers safer and easier across the board. You can get behind the wheel of an all-new GMC Yukon, and it will alert you if there is another vehicle in your blind spot as you're merging. Or, how about the 2012 GMC Terrain, with a single-camera, crash-avoidance system and a lane departure warning.

In a recent speech from Alan Taub, VP of Global Research and Developments at General Motors, the company asserted that their primary goal is safety. He explained that "the technologies [GM is] developing will provide an added convenience by partially or even completely taking over the driving duties...Future generation safety systems will eliminate the crash altogether by interceding on behalf of drivers before they're even aware of a hazardous situation."¹

These systems will likely emerge as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology. This technology will use sensors (like a smartphone or an in-vehicle device) to gather information about about other vehicles, pedestrians, buildings, obstructions, roadways and even traffic signals to warn drivers of potential hazards. And, this is closer to a reality than you might think.

General Motors is currently developing their next-gen EN-V urban concept, which will combine GPS, distance sensing technology and vehicle-to-vehicle communications to enable autonomous driving. So, while a self-driving new GMC could be ten years away, you can see pieces of the developing technology, right now. Just stop in and see us at Grand Buick GMC Kia, 2000 W 104th Ave, Denver, CO, 80234, we'll be happy  to give you a tour of all of the available "self-driving" technology from GMC.

Source: ¹http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/10/general-motors-self-driving-cars-a-reality-before-the-end-of-the-decade.html