Hyundai shows off Genesis safety tech in ‘Empty Car Convoy’ stunt video

After engaging the adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and lane-holding systems, five of the drivers crawl out of the sunroof and leap onto a truck. Hooker stays in the lead car, blindfolded and with arms folded, as the truck proceeds to the front of the mostly-driverless pack and hits its brakes to initiate a chain reaction of automatic braking.

Despite the video’s clear marketing focus for the redesigned Genesis, it serves as a demonstration of automatic control systems available as optional equipment in a wide range of vehicles from various companies. Notably, Hyundai merely needed to disable the lane-holding timer, which cuts the steering assist after 15 seconds, to show that the production car is capable of driving itself uninterrupted on a highway.

Google envisions a driverless car that eliminates a steering wheel and pedals, completely removing the driver from the car experience. Established automakers appear to be focusing on a future where drivers will seamlessly transition between physically controlling the vehicle and sitting back for the ride. For now, technology that supports the latter scenario is restrained to prevent over-reliance.