The age-old adage, “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday,” is being applied to driverless cars in Roborace, a global championship series for autonomous electric race cars. Rather than fender-to-fender duels between race drivers, competitors will be programmers. The ones with the best software and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques will be taking the checkered flag. These advanced technologies could be used in future driverless vehicles that will be sold to consumers in coming years. As expected, the key challenge is collision-avoidance. If a driverless racer can avoid others racing alongside at 200 mph, the technology stands a pretty good chance on the street.

Each of the 10 teams participating in the Roborace series will be competing in identical driverless Robocars, two per team. It’s a new take on spec series racing where teams compete in identical cars, but in this case what sets teams apart is not a driver’s skill and daring, but the algorithms and capabilities of its programmers. In other words, the best computer programming skills will result in a win with less requirement for the enormous budgets or huge R&D required for most race competitions. That means college teams could conceivably compete against a team of Ferrari engineers. Racing is planned for the same tracks used by the FIA Formula E Championship series where electric-powered race cars compete, but still with human drivers.

Designed by Daniel Simon, the 2145 pound, primarily carbon fiber Roborace Robocar is powered by four 402 horsepower (300 kW) motors and a 540 kWh battery, plus the requisite electronic gear. Obviously, there is no need for a cockpit with a steering wheel, instruments, or pedals. Safety equipment like roll cages and air bags are also unneeded. This frees up space and weight in the race car for a huge array of electronics including two radars, five laser-powered LIDAR detectors, six AI-driven cameras, two optical speed sensors, 18 ultrasonic sensors, and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning. The Robocar’s nose is made of special material so radar can ‘see’ through it. LIDARs are built into the wheel arches to eliminate blind spots. Computing is done by an NVIDIA Drive PX2 AI supercomputer capable of up to 24 trillion AI operations per second.

Initial testing began in the summer of 2016 using ‘DevBot’ test vehicles. These had the same internal components including battery, motor, ad electronics used in the Robocar, but were placed in the chassis of an LMP3 Ginetta race car. DevBots drove on their own, but they also had a cockpit so an engineer could sit inside and take control if required. The DevBots were quite different from the Robocar in looks and performance. During testing before the 2017 Buenos Aires ePrix, two DevBot cars raced autonomously against each other for 20 laps. This was the first-ever live demonstration of two driverless cars on the track at the same time. One successfully avoided a dog that ran onto the course while the other car crashed on a corner, showing there were clearly many challenges to be solved before race fans would see a full grid of Robocars racing on a track.

Now another milestone has been achieved. A self-driving Robocar performed a demonstration on the city streets of Formula E’s Paris ePrix on May 20, with the car negotiating its way around 14 turns of the circuit in self-driving autonomous mode. Similar demonstrations will be performed at other Formula E events during the rest of the 2017 racing season.

There remains one important question: Will motorsports fans want to see silent driverless cars racing? One pundit says maybe so…when the NFL uses robot quarterbacks. Still, progress marches on. The Robocar is taking a bold step toward a new type of racing that will provide learnings and technology breakthroughs that should help bring autonomous cars to our highways sooner than later.

There is a strong push for self-driving autonomous cars sweeping the auto industry. It’s an interesting mix of competing companies merging with both the traditional car brands and the tech industry. The overriding assumption is that taking the driver out of the transportation equation is better for safety and the environment than human involvement in the operation of the vehicle.

Full disclosure right up front: I am not a fan of the idea of a car driving me rather than me driving the car. You see, the reason I fell in love with cars in the first place is rooted in the fact that I love to drive and want to stay connected to the road. And yes, I prefer a manual transmission over an automatic. The idea of climbing in a vehicle and telling HAL 9000 (reference from 2001: A Space Odyssey) where I want to go doesn’t have much appeal to me.

That said, I do like many of the technological advancements that are making self driving cars possible. They can contribute to both safety and efficiency. My favorite of those currently available is adaptive cruise control. With this technology the vehicle maintains a safe distance from the car or truck in front of you when the cruise control is activated. Most allow the driver to set the distance or buffer the car will follow. If you have the cruise control set on 65 and close on a semi that is doing 60 up a grade, the car will automatically slow to the speed of the truck in front of you. If you pull out to pass, your car will accelerate back up to the preset 65 mph speed if no other slower vehicles are ahead. Adaptive cruise control is becoming more and more common and works quite well.

Forward-facing radar is commonly used and sometimes laser and multiple video cameras as well to judge distance and closing speed. This technology can also safely bring the vehicle to a complete stop when approaching a stopped vehicle or other fixed obstruction. Automatic braking technology can be a life saver if a driver is distracted, falls asleep, or is otherwise incapacitated. And to think that is wasn’t all that long ago that antilock braking was the latest innovation, and now it is mainstream!

True autonomous cars, however, must have input from many other sources to know exactly what is happening all around the vehicle. Sensors to the side, for example, are used in modern lane detection and lane change anti-collision systems. These detect objects to the side of the vehicle and some read lane markings on the road. Most give an audible alert first to get the driver’s attention, but some will actually pulse the steering wheel if they think the situation is urgent. Vehicles currently use some of the same equipment to allow production vehicles to park with little driver input other than engaging the system.

A self-driving car needs to sense conditions 360 degrees around its perimeter. Multiple radars, sensors, lasers, GPS, and cameras must all work together for complete situational awareness. It’s a very complex business when you add in the ability to read traffic signals, watch for pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles, etc. Car-to-car communication is also a key element in making this all work together.

Naturally, this doesn’t come without additional complexity and expense. I look for a future with vehicles that will always have a steering wheel in front of me and at least two pedals at my feet, though three would be better.

Chevrolet’s all-new 2016 Malibu features an aggressively-stylish design, loads of on-board tech, a four inch longer wheelbase, and greater rear leg room. It does all this while also increasing efficiency compared to its predecessor. The bump in efficiency comes in no small part from the use of a high strength steel structure that sheds 300 pounds, greater use of aluminum, a lighter engine, and lighter accessories.

Upping the efficiency ante is Chevy's Malibu Hybrid variant, which was distinguished at this year's Washington Auto Show as Green Car Journal's 2016 Connected Green Car of the Year™. The Malibu Hybrid won over finalists that included the Audi A3 e-tron, BMW 330e, Toyota Prius, and Volvo XC90 T8.

This model's hybrid tech is packaged so discretely there’s virtually no differentiation from a conventionally powered 2016 Malibu. Power is delivered by a 1.8-liter direct-injected four-cylinder engine mated to a two-motor drive unit, providing 182 total system horsepower. The drive unit, which is slightly modified from the 2016 Chevrolet Volt powertrain and integrates propulsion and generating motors, kicks in at higher speeds and high loads to provide additional power for acceleration. Since it’s not a plug-in, the Malibu Hybrid has a significantly smaller 1.5 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack compared to the Volt's 18.4 kilowatt-hour pack. This enables efficient hybrid operation plus a nominal mile or so of all-electric driving at speeds up to 55 mph.

Efficiency is impressive with the Malibu Hybrid achieving an EPA rated 47 mpg in city driving and 46 mpg on the highway. The conventionally powered 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder version of the Malibu nets 27 mpg city and 37 mpg highway fuel efficiency, with the 2.0-liter turbo variant achieving 22 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway.

The Malibu Hybrid also shares the Volt’s blended regenerative braking system, which provides maximum kinetic energy recovery during braking to generate electricity stored in the battery pack for maintaining charge. The engine features Chevrolet’s first application of Exhaust Gas Heat Recovery (EGHR), technology that uses exhaust heat to warm the engine and cabin. EGHR improves engine warm-up and ensures consistent fuel economy performance in cold weather.

Advanced on-board electronics and connectivity are hallmarks of the new Malibu Hybrid. The mid-size sedan comes standard with Chevrolet MyLink Radio and an 8-inch diagonal color touch screen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, rear vision camera, OnStar, and 4G LTE with a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot. That’s a lot of tech for a model that starts at an approachable $28,645 with much more highly desired technology available.

The Malibu features front pedestrian braking, low speed front automatic braking, and parking assist. When activated, adaptive cruise control maintains a set speed while also adjusting speed to keep you a safe distance from cars ahead. Selecting lane keep assist automatically provides steering input to help keep you from drifting from your lane unless a turn signal is activated,

Parents will appreciate Teen Driver, which encourages safe driving by muting the audio of any device paired with the vehicle when front-seat occupants aren't wearing seat belts. It is also the first in-vehicle system in the industry that lets parents view stored information on how their teenagers drove the vehicle, which can be a useful teaching tool for young drivers.