Fords latest self-driving car looks surprisingly normal
Most of us can spot a self-driving car from a mile off because of the huge, bulky sensor arrays strapped to their rooves, but as s
Key takeaways
- Ford has pulled the wraps off of its second-generation driverless Fusion Hybrid just one week before the company is scheduled to show the car off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
- In addition to the new car, Ford also says it plans to triple its fleet of driverless Fusion sedans to about 90 cars in the coming year.
- The revamped driverless Fusion is a clear result of a number of investments and acquisitions that Ford made around the time the company announced its intentions to create a fully autonomous car by 2021.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2016) 'Fords latest self-driving car looks surprisingly normal', 311 Institute, 14 December. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/fords-latest-self-driving-car-looks-surprisingly-normal/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Ford has pulled the wraps off of its second-generation driverless Fusion Hybrid just one week before the company is scheduled to show the car off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The most notable difference with the new generation is cosmetic, Ford has ditched the pipe organ-style suite of sensors on the roof in favour of a more streamlined look. Ford’s first autonomous car was undeniably alien, but from most angles the new version could easily be mistaken for just another car.
In addition to the new car, Ford also says it plans to triple its fleet of driverless Fusion sedans to about 90 cars in the coming year. The company is already testing its original autonomous car in California, Arizona, and Michigan, and plans to expand those tests to Europe, starting with the United Kingdom and Germany.
Ford says that the improvements it has made to the project, which started three years ago, should keep it on track to hit the company’s target of creating a fully autonomous car that can be used by ride-sharing or ride-hailing services by 2021.
Chris Brewer, the chief engineer for Ford’s autonomous vehicle program, detailed the tech behind the new computer-controlled car in a post on Medium. Brewer says his team upgraded both the hardware and the software on the new driverless Fusion, allowing this version of the car to “see” two football fields of distance in every direction. Ford’s second-generation autonomous car will also generate one terabyte of data per hour, and that data is processed by the car’s brain, which is located in the trunk.
The revamped driverless Fusion is a clear result of a number of investments and acquisitions that Ford made around the time the company announced its intentions to create a fully autonomous car by 2021. Brewer says that one reason Ford was able to streamline the look of the new car is that the new LIDAR sensors from Velodyne, which Ford and Chinese web giant Baidu invested $150 million in, have improved enough that Ford can get as much data using two of them as they used to with four.
What this means for your organisation
Fleets come before private owners.
Ford targets ride-sharing and ride-hailing services first, not individual buyers. Fleets can absorb high costs and manage maintenance centrally. Mobility firms should plan for autonomous fleets before private autonomous cars.
Design must look normal to sell.
Hiding bulky sensors makes the car look like any other. Public acceptance depends partly on appearance and familiarity. Product teams should design new technology to fit in.
Testing spreads across borders.
Expanding tests to Europe exposes the system to new roads and rules. Each region adds data and regulatory experience. Carmakers should plan multi-country testing early.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Should our mobility plans assume autonomous fleets arrive first?
- How do we make new technology feel familiar to customers?
- Where should we test new products across markets?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Most of us can spot a self-driving car from a mile off because of the huge, bulky sensor arrays strapped to their rooves, but as s
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
Read full bio
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
What future do you need to see?
Choose one to get started on transport and mobility and the future of your organisation.
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 14 December 2016. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2016). Fords latest self-driving car looks surprisingly normal. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/fords-latest-self-driving-car-looks-surprisingly-normal/
You are welcome to quote this article with credit and a link to the original.