Watch a self-driving car self-drive itself through the Mission

Although Uber’s robot cars departed the city in dramatic fashion in December, its many competitors in the self-driving market stuck around, including General Motors, which has begun showing off the performance of its automated Chevy Bolts via a YouTube channel.

In January, Cruise Automation (GM previously acquired San Francisco-based Cruise for $1 billion in 2016) uploaded a video called “Election Day,” showing dashboard footage of a Bolt taking an app-navigated cruise through SoMa and Civic Center:

And a second video, dubbed “Mission Dolores,” appeared today, this one a three minute cruise through the Mission. (Note that the three minutes of footage comprises about 20 minutes of driving time.)

There’s nothing particular remarkable about the car’s on-road behavior...which of course is the entire point. The safety driver is careful to keep hands a fraction of an inch from the wheel at all times, maintaining a palms-up just to prove to the camera that no cheating is happening.

Watching the wheel flip around on its own can be a little freaky, but the Mission expedition ends without incident. Both videos are obviously cherry-picked to show the tech at its best, but as the company points out, it was done all in one take, and it’s an impressive outing at face value:

• Cruise Automation [YouTube]
• Uber’s Driverless Cars Leaving SF [Curbed SF]
• Self-Driving Chevy Cruises Through Mission [The Verge]
• GM Aims To Speed Up Self-Driving Cars [The Verge]