Let’s be honest. Hybrid cars are cool. The technology is fun, and the thing about the environment is good too. But still, you have to drive the thing. As much fun as it is to own a car and get places, driving in that rush hour traffic can be a real pain. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer though. The self driving hybrid is on its way…sort of, anyway.

Torc Technologies collaborated with some rather gifted students at Virginia Tech and created a Ford Escape Hybrid that can drive itself. It’s the perfect car if you want to tool around town with a twelve pack beside you. It’s hard to get pulled over for drunk driving when you’re not really driving.

Torc Technologies recently made the vehicle available for purchase. Before you run out to the nearest car lot, sit back down. It’s not available for people like us. It is only being made available for researchers for the time being. They want to make the technology even better (and cheaper) before they give it to the rest of us.

The Bywire XGV is expected to help make a lot of progress in the manufacturing of the autonomous car. The car industry has been interested in such technology for quite some time, although Torc Technologies has taken it to a further level than other manufactures have in the past. Lexus had put a mild bit of autonomous technology in one of their vehicles, but it does not even begin to compare to what Tor Technologies and Virginia Tech have done to the Ford Escape.

It makes sense that the technology should go in this direction. We are always looking for ways to make our lives even easier, and this would definitely help. Imagine sitting in your car and telling it where to go.

For a mere $89,000, researchers can get a hold of the Bywire XGV and start making things happen for the rest of us. Maybe it will get in the right hands and we will be able to go down the road with that twelve pack, talking on the phone, and watching TV. Finally, I will be able to get some use out of that DVD player in my car….

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