Nissan takes another baby step as it eyes 2020 for self-driving cars
Don't freak out yet: This thing isn't fully autonomous. But it could make life easier for lazy highway drivers.
The 2019 Nissan Altima debuted at the New York International Auto Show on Wednesday. It's the newest update to Nissan's top-selling Altima. It's also the third Nissan model equipped with ProPilot Assist, Nissan's semi-autonomous driving system.
ProPilot Assist is already featured in the Japanese manufacturer's 2018 Leaf and Rogue SUV. Nissan won't release fully autonomous vehicles until 2020 (if it sticks to its self-imposed deadline).
The Altima is able to control your speed and distance from other cars, keep an eye on your blind spot, and keep you centered in your lane. All you have to do is hold the wheel and take control if necessary. It won't help you much on rural roads or in the city, but can make long highway jaunts much easier.
"It does a really great job of keeping it in the center of the lane," Nissan product planner Derek Kramer told The Verge. "It’s a hands-on system, but it really does reduce fatigue and stress while you’re driving.”
The 2019 Altima is also equipped with Rear Automatic Breaking, so if you're about to hit something while backing up, it'll stop automatically.
It's far from a fully autonomous car, but it'll make driving safer and less tiring. And most importantly, it'll get you comfortable with the idea of trusting your life to a self-driving car something that'll only get more important as more of these roll out in the coming years.
You can buy the Nissan Altima this fall.
Topics Self-Driving Cars
Monica wrote for Mashable's Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
