Waymo Switching Cars, Moving to Minivans

This change comes as they continue to look for volunteers for their early rider program. Some of the reasons for the switch are obvious: higher speed availability, modern comforts, all with the same new technology of the old 'Firefly'.

The article continues:

"By focusing on mass-produced vehicles like the Pacifica minivan, we’ll be able to bring fully self-driving technology to more people, more quickly. The Pacifica minivans are equipped with our latest generation of custom-built radar, LiDAR and vision systems and an all-new AI compute platform, so they can see even further and sharper. They can also reach full speed (where the Firefly is limited to 25mph), and the interior is equipped with creature comforts that passengers expect in their vehicles today — which makes our initial fleet of 600 self-driving minivans a perfect fit for our early rider program."

Good or bad move? We think a necessary change as they get ready for drastically more mass market exposure.

Image Credit: Waymo