What it's actually like to ride in Uber's self-driving car

An hour before dawn today, Uber hit the green light on a project that many here have seen, but never experienced. Some of Uber's heaviest users will wake up to an email Wednesday inviting them to test out the company's new self-driving cars, the centerpiece of a fully autonomous fleet Uber plans to use in the long run to replace human drivers. The pilot project, which is the first in the United States to include members of the public, offers a taste of a technological future thousands have only read about. Do these cars really work? Judging by an early demo that Uber provided to reporters this week, the answer is yes -- at least under ideal conditions.