Self-Driving Commentary: Ford's Vision

This post belongs to a series I’m calling Self-Driving Commentary, in which I spout and ramble on whatever is rattling around in my head pertaining to self-driving cars. Enjoy!

A few weeks ago, CEO Mark Fields posted Ford’s “Vision for the City of Tomorrow,” and while I’m skeptical of any vision for the future that wasn’t included in the Carousel of Progress, I’m impressed. Maybe I’m a sucker for any half-baked (or better) utopia, which Ford is definitely selling here. Like so many concept cars, though, of course I’m taking it with a grain of salt and hoping for even a semblance to materialize.

But Ford has already made some unorthodox moves (for a Big Three), acquiring Chariot - a “crowd-sourced shuttle service” - and partnering with Motivate - a bicycle sharing service - in the Bay Area. They might just be putting their money where their mouth is, and if Ford is serious about making this vision a reality, well… Ford just moved up a few spots on my list of companies I’d most like to work for.