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Ford Tests Autonomous Cars In Arizona

Ford's Autonomous Fusion Hybrid
(Photo by Mark Brodie - KJZZ)
Inside the trunk of Ford's Autonomous Fusion Hybrid

Last month, an autonomous car developed by Google got into an accident with a bus in California; the car was going about two miles an hour, and nobody was hurt in the incident.

Safety concerns are one of the biggest reasons a majority of respondents in recent surveys say they’re not comfortable with the idea of a car taking control of its own wheel. Even still, research on autonomous vehicles continues, including in Arizona.

The Autonomous Ford Fusion Hybrid is a third-generation autonomous car. The company parked one in downtown Phoenix this week. Jim McBride was there, too, he’s the technical leader for autonomous vehicles at Ford Motor Company.

He’s been testing driverless cars since 2005 and spoke about testing in Arizona, as opposed to other location.

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Mark Brodie is a co-host of The Show, KJZZ’s locally produced news magazine. Since starting at KJZZ in 2002, Brodie has been a host, reporter and producer, including several years covering the Arizona Legislature, based at the Capitol.