Instead of having Argo develop self-driving car technology for cars without steering wheels, brakes or accelerator pedals — what is known in the industry as Level 4 or L4 technology — Ford will instead pursue in-house development of a lower level of automated driving technology. Ford reported automotive revenue of $37.2 billion, a jump of $4 billion from a year ago and $1 billion more than the analysts’ forecasts. It also was hit with $1 billion in higher-than-expected supplier payments, and a $1.5 billion increase in commodity costs. But in the end, the big news of the earnings report was a major change in direction on self-driving vehicles. He said there is only so much talent available to develop the different driver assistance and self-driving features.

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