Yes, the headline is correct: Autonomous vehicles are not a new idea. In fact, in the 1950s, handsfree driving so interested General Motors engineers that they designed a concept car for it. And in 1956, at its own auto show, the GM Motorama, the automaker unveiled the car, the Firebird II.

Believe me when I tell you that — as a domestic automotive engineer — I bleed U.S. manufacturing. I have never lived more than 50 miles from Detroit,