Google to Collaborate with Chrysler to Create Self-Driving Minivan Prototypes

There’s an old saying, “two heads are better than one,” which essentially implies that — when two or more come together, beautiful things can happen, because the fruits of their labor are multiplied all the more.

Yet this is a philosophy that holds true, even in the big-brand corporate world, too — like, for example, when two companies come together to work on a product, chances are that product is going to be pretty awesome!

And such could ultimately pan out to be the case, one day down the road, for Google and Fiat Chrysler — as the companies are reportedly on the cusp of inking a partnership to develop a handful of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans.

According to Bloomberg, the deal could potentially even be reached as early as today — providing the Mountain View, California, search giant, and the Internationally acclaimed automaker a strong leg up in actualizing their longer-term plans of collaborating on a commercialized self-driving car.

Oh yeah, about that.. Just in case you don’t recall, back in early April of this year, Fiat Chrysler chairman, John Elkann, went on record expressing his sentiments that companies like Google and Apple should collaborate with existing automotive industry players, rather than try and compete with them. And while Google has reportedly been in talks with several leading car manufacturers — such as GM, in particular, unfortunately that deal crumbled into oblivion amid some extraneous intellectual property and technology disputes. 

What This Could Mean For The Future

While it still remains unclear as to whether or not Google eventually plans to design its own, self-branded automobile, the prospect is highly unlikely — and therefore, the Silicon Valley search-giant might ultimately have no choice BUT to collaborate with at least one, or perhaps even multiple, automotive manufacturers.

It’s also important to take into consideration that Google, as well as Apple — who is reportedly working on its own self-driving car project, are not (and never will be) brick & mortar automobile manufacturers. They are Silicon Valley conglomerates — one of which focuses on hardware/software products and services, and the latter of which focuses on internet-based advertising, in addition to a number of other endeavors like Android OS and Chrome products and services.

So it’s very possible, though still undetermined beyond the shadow of a doubt, that both Google — and Apple — will eventually have to seek out a qualified candidate to build the physical car, while they, themselves, provide the software to make all these dreams a reality.

Would you like a Google-powered Chrysler Pacifica? Or are minivans not your cup of tea? Let us know what you think in the comments!