Google and FCA Pair Up to Make Minivans More Tolerable

Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (Credit: © Chrysler )

Growing up in a household that consisted of five kids, I had my fair share of minivan experience. Once I hit driving age, I found myself with the opportunity to pilot one of these people haulers on a regular basis. At that time, I was just excited to be driving, but as I got older, I realized just how boring as hell minivans really were to drive. Google and FCA have joined forces to help minivans become more tolerable.

No, they aren’t working on some performance-oriented van design for enthusiasts. Instead, they are working together to craft a self-driving minivan that alleviates drivers of the sheer boredom of piloting these automotive elephants.

The vehicle in question is, unsurprisingly, the all-new Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. Later this year, FCA will craft about 100 examples of the hybrid minivan for the project, all of which will have special modifications to allow Google to retrofit its self-driving equipment into it. Once all of the components are in place, Google will start the testing process to see if its engineers can relieve the driver of the boring task of driving this rig.

To help expedite the development process, both Chrysler and Google will install small development teams in southeastern Michigan. This will allow the teams to work side by side with one another instead of trying to craft this high-tech vehicle from multiple remote locations.

As of now, there is no timetable set for this new autonomous van, but we’ll bring you all of the latest details as they become available.