8 Ways Waymo's Autonomous Taxi Surprised Us on a Ride

Standing around an empty parking lot in Arizona on a sunny, 100 F summer day was not a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. But excitement and anticipation overpowered our fears of heat exhaustion as we waited for Waymo's self-driving taxi. I was there with Kelly Funkhouser, CR's manager of vehicle technology. We looked back and forth wondering which direction the minivan would arrive from. "What if it gets stuck on the way here and never shows up?" Kelly was a little more optimistic.