© 2025 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

You Can Take Free Ride In Self-Driving Car This Weekend in Detroit

Cobo Center
Cobo Center in Detroit

Members of the public are getting the chance to take a free ride in a self-driving car as part of an effort to clear up confusion about the technology.

Hundreds are signed up for the 6-minute journey that leads riders through a course set up inside a Detroit convention center.

Mary Van Der Maas hopped into an autonomous Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan on Friday, and off she went.

Afterward, the 73-year-old retiree from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, said: "Once you experience it, it's marvelous."

The event is sponsored in part by Partners for Automated Vehicle Education, a coalition of industry, nonprofit and academic institutions whose goal is to inform and educate the public and policymakers about automated vehicles.

It runs through Sunday at Cobo Center downtown.

Related Content
Every WKAR News story you read is rooted in fact-based, local journalism, produced without commercial influence and available for free to everyone in mid-Michigan. No paywalls. Ever.

But this work doesn’t fund itself. With significant cuts to federal funding, public media is facing a critical moment. If you believe in journalism that serves the public interest, now is the time to act. Donate today.