It's because car companies don't want to take the a big bet and try to do it all at once. That's why every deal Google has tried to make with auto-makers has f

It's because car companies don't want to take the a big bet and try to do it all at once. That's why every deal Google has tried to make with auto-makers has fell through. Google wants to rush to the finish line and create a fully self-driving car. But the time-frame to be able to deliver that is fairly unknown due to a number of issues. Auto-makers want to do smaller R&D projects that they can deliver to consumers within a few years of start (instead of a decade+). Things like adaptive cruise control or self-braking. These are things that were just a few years of R&D and are shipping now. They are different paths to the same goal. We don't know the outcome yet, Google or the auto-makers may get there first. But we do know that auto-makers will have sellable features in the mean time while Google just has pretty marketing videos and demos. What Google is bringing (that the article mentions) is the discussion about fully self-driving cars. This discussions means laws are being passed to facilitate the technology. It also means that the NTSB, insurance companies, and others involved in the auto industry are talking about the impacts of what a self-driving car means within our current system. So hopefully by the time they arrive, the rules and laws will be caught up with it. It also means consumers are talking about it and becoming aware of the possibility, which helps motivate others to work on the same projects. It may also mean that consumers are less wary of the technology when it actually does arrive.