Michigan Launches 330-Acre Autonomous Vehicle Test Site

Burney Simpson

Mcity is about to get a big brother. A very big brother.

Michigan will develop a 330-acre test bed for autonomous vehicles, joining the state’s 32-acre Mcity site that opened last July in Ann Arbor.

The new site overlaps much of the historic Willow Run area where B-24 bombers were built as part of the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ in World War II, said Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat.

“This will be a state of the art autonomous vehicle test ground,” said Peters who was speaking at MobilityTalks, a seminar for Capitol Hill politicos held a day before the 2016 Washington (D.C.) Auto Show.

The site in Ypsilanti Township will be called the American Center for Mobility, according to reports.

ARSENAL OF TECHNOLOGY

The new test bed ramps up the competition to be the leading autonomous vehicle testing ground for auto OEMs, parts suppliers, state DOTs and others. In November, Ford began testing its technology at Mcity.

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute operates several testing sites in its state, and GoMentum Station in California’s Silicon Valley has attracted the likes of Daimler and Honda.

Willow Run produced nearly 8,700 B-24 Liberator heavy bombers during the war. It changed hands several times post-war and in 2010 General Motors closed a powertrain plant there during the Great Recession.

“If our country is to survive we’ve got to have more manufacturing,” said Peters. “And you don’t have manufacturing without an auto sector.”

The MobilityTalks panel discussion featured leaders from Toyota, GM, RideScout, and the Federal Trade Commission.

The seminar was sponsored by Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA). The trade group reports that motor vehicle parts suppliers generate nearly 750,000 direct jobs, and 1.3 million indirect jobs in the U.S.

Photo – Kaiser-Frazer Plant, Willow Run, Michigan by Wystan, 2013.