Cars that drive themselves, even parking at their destination, could be ready for sale within a decade, General Motors Corporation executives say.

General Motors unveiled it's prototype self-driving car, a Chevy Tahoe dubbed "The boss", at the Annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday.

It features safety technology provided by Continental. Driverless cars previously made a test run for the first time at the 2007 Urban Challenge by traversing suburban roads at speeds with real traffic.

According to General Motors spokesman Larry Burns, the technology is based on radar and laser sensors that give you a 360 degree look around the vehicle and then intelligence on the vehicle can interpret what the car is seeing and decide what to do. "And when you're stuck in traffic, or real busy or you'd like to check your email, or read a newspaper, or eat or talk on the cell phone, maybe you'd like to have somebody take over the control," said Burns. "That's the path that we're on." "Think of another application. You drive up to your office building, push a button and the car goes and parks itself," he added.

GM, parts suppliers, university engineers and other carmakers all are working on vehicles that could revolutionise short- and long-distance travel. The most significant obstacles facing the vehicles could be human rather than technical: government regulation, liability laws, privacy concerns and people's passion for the automobile and the control it gives them.