On Auto Pilot

Everyone’s done it. You glance in the side mirror, don’t see anything, and begin to change lanes, only to swerve back again when the car in your blind spot blares its horn. Volvo’s warning system flashes a light in your mirror when there’s an adjacent vehicle you can’t see—which assumes, of course, that you actually check your mirrors in the first place.

More than half of all fatal accidents involve lane departure, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For 2005, Infiniti’s Lane Departure Warning option calculated when the car was drifting out of its lane and triggered a buzzer and a flashing light to warn the driver. Now, Infiniti has added Lane-Keeping Assistance, which gently steers the car back into its lane.

The Lexus self-parking option was introduced in a memorable TV ad that showed the car parking itself between pyramids of wine glasses. The driver has to pull ahead of and parallel to the spot, select reverse, press a button on the dash, accept the outlines of the area shown on the navigation screen, and keep a foot on the brake while the car slowly guides itself back into the space.

Like other G.M. models with OnStar, the CTS communicates directly with a live operator at a central dispatch center using built-in cellular service. In emergencies, the car automatically dials the center, which calls for 911 assistance even if the driver can’t be reached. OnStar also offers concierge services (for a fee) and reminds owners of scheduled maintenance and outstanding recall notices. 

Since the 1960s, studies have shown that U.S. drivers don’t use their high beams as much as they should. The new SmartBeam system automatically switches on the brights when needed; when it detects either the lights of oncoming traffic or the taillights of a vehicle ahead, it fades the high beams back to low.

This Chevrolet Tahoe S.U.V., robotized by a team from Carnegie Mellon University assisted by G.M., won first prize—and $2 million—in the Darpa Urban Challenge. It navigated itself at speeds of up to 40 m.p.h. while maneuvering in traffic. It took four hours and 10 minutes to navigate a mix of urban and suburban roads in a series of trial legs totaling 60 miles.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s entry in the Darpa Urban Challenge shows how much sensor hardware (along with rubber bumpers and other protective gear) is needed to enable a vehicle operate autonomously—and safely. This Land Rover LR3 was the fourth of six finishers on a 60-mile course. Out of a total of 35 contenders, the rest were not deemed safe or reliable enough to compete in open traffic.