Google to build prototype of truly driverless car

LOS ANGELES — Google plans to build and launch onto city streets a small fleet of subcompact cars that could operate without a person at the wheel. The route might be set by typing a destination into a map or using spoken commands, Chris Urmson, the leader of Google’s self-driving car team, told reporters Wednesday. Mark Reuss, global product development chief of General Motors Co., poked fun at the car’s look but acknowledged Google could become a force in the marketplace. By summer 2015, however, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles must publish regulations allowing the public to use truly driverless cars. That change in the law would allow the 100 prototypes that would be intended for a public “pilot project"— details to be determined — to not have a steering wheel or pedals.