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Meet Origin, GM and Honda’s self-driving car

By on January 27, 2020

Two multinational automakers, America’s General Motors and Japan’s Honda recently unveiled its new self-driving six-seat electric vehicle.

It has doors that slide rather than swing open. It has no steering wheel, brake or accelerator pedals, windshield wipers or rear view mirror. In short, it looks like a car without some features.
So why do these automakers think people will want to buy one?
They don’t.  The car isn’t for sale.  It was made as an app-based ridesharing where consumers will be able to book an Origin through the Cruise app, a product of GM’s self-driving subsidiary.

Riders who book Origin would enter their destination into Cruise just as they would in ride-hailing app Uber. The autonomous car will drive itself to pick them up. When the car arrives, riders need to enter a code on an external keypad, which they would use to gain entry.  Origin can detect when passengers are inside and was designed for 18 hours a day of city driving.

Autonomous vehicle technology is evolving very fast and, as a result, it is affecting how consumers feel about it.  AAA’s annual automated vehicle survey in March 2019 found that 71 percent of Americans are afraid to ride in fully self-driving vehicles.

The partnership involves two giant automakers working on next-gen tech capabilities but also addressing all risks and legal issues. In this partnership, General Motors manufactures the car, Honda leads the design and Cruise’s role is working on the self-driving software and sensors.

GM executives believe the Origin is a revolutionary solution for mobility with positive environmental impacts. The new vehicle will hopefully reduce traffic congestions, as well as improve road safety. GM’s bold slogan applies directly to the Origin – “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion.”

 

About Ted Tanaka