www.local6.com/technology/8458908/detail.html

Self-Parking Cars Coming To U.S.

POSTED: 10:05 am EDT April 4, 2006
UPDATED: 3:24 pm EDT April 4, 2006

Vehicles that are able to parallel park themselves while drivers sit and relax behind the wheel are coming to the United States, according to a Local 6 News report.

New Toyota hybrid cars are now available in Britain with a $700 "parking assist" option.

Local 6 news showed video of a driver sitting and allowing the car's steering wheel to turn on its own as it pulled into a tight parking spot on a London street. The reporter never touched the wheel as the car parked itself.

With the self-parking assistant, the driver is only responsible for controlling the speed of the car, via the brake pedal.

The car's computer senses when it's time to turn the car's wheel and announces when the ride is over.

The computer can be heard saying, "The assist is over."

So far, the new technology is only available on Toyota hybrid models in Britain with 70 percent of the car owners paying the $700 for the self-park feature.

Toyota says expect to see the technology pop up in the U.S. soon, Local 6 anchor Jacqueline London said.

I wonder if they'll add this to the new Land Cruiser...

Parallel parking = ghey!

What do we need those for?

I mean...if Elwood can double park perfectly dead in front of the Chez Paul...why can't the rest of us learn that technique?  

Yeah, I heard about that feature a couple of years ago in some Japanese cars.  They weren't going to offer the technology in American cars, probably because they know that every scratched paint job here is going to cost Toyota about $5 million in legal fees.  

They way people drive around where I live we need self driving cars. They are to busy on the cell phone, applying makeup, reading the newspaper(yes an asshat was behind me reading US Today while driving). Don't know how some of these people got a drivers license!

That should be a mandatory option for every woman driver.

Quoted: That should be a mandatory option for every woman driver.

That or learning to drive.

Wow.  A product to prove that people are such crappy drivers that they cant park their own car!

oh yeah I forgot...who has time to actually pull into a parking spot when they are SOOOO busy on their phone, putting on makeup, doing thier hair, reading a novel, ect (I've seen all of these, sometimes at ONCE )  

I'd rather see technology and money put into something that will actually improve safety.  
Something that can possibly save lives.  

BUT NO.  It got dumped into something that will park your car for you?  

wow, just wow.  

This might be a good thing for the older drivers.

I don't have parking assist, but I do have the rear view backup camera.
I've always been a good parallel parker, but the backup camera makes it much easier.  The auto parking assist uses the backup camera as part of its system, I believe.

watching soccer moms park is torture for me, a car guy.

I watched this lady continually hit the cars in front and behind her as she desperately tried to parallel park. When she eventually did, she was like "that's how we park in the city"

dumb broad. That's how suburbanites park in the city!