We visit Google's private testing facility for self-driving cars

A Waymo self driving minivan stops for a cyclist at the company's private test facility in central California. Stretched across 91 arid acres here in the central part of the state is Castle, the name derived from the former air base that occupied this plot that is now a private testing facility owned by Waymo, the autonomous car company run by the search giant. For the past five years, engineers and test drivers have been running dozens of cars through their paces in order to better prepare them for real world scenarios of rude drivers and clumsy movers. For Waymo workers toiling in secrecy under a hot sun, the first-ever arrival Monday of a gaggle of reporters was a bit of a coming out party. "I've been out here for five years testing and testing," said Stephanie Villegas, head of structured testing, during a demonstration that showed how a self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivan would yield to an aggressive driver.