Why your first self-driving car ride may be in a Ford

A Ford Fusion laden with self-driving sensors does some winter weather testing. Ford Motor is in pole position when it comes to benefiting from the coming age of autonomous vehicles. That's the conclusion of a study released Monday by Navigant Research, which sells its in-depth surveys of energy and transportation markets to suppliers, policymakers and other industry stakeholders. The Dearborn-based automaker took the top spot by demonstrating that it has the strategic vision and execution capabilities to both develop automated driving systems as well as deploy them across a range of mobility platforms. Many automakers are targeting 2021 for a roll-out of autonomous vehicles that likely will be part of a ride-sharing network.