The Volkswagon 'Junior' takes itself on a New York City tour

Junior can drive all by itself.

Ganymed Stanek sat in the driver's seat as a souped-up, high-tech Volkswagen Passat, nicknamed Junior, made a sharp left to avoid a truck and swerved to miss construction barrels.

Stanek never touched the steering wheel and his feet were off the pedals as the blue wagon navigated the obstacles, leaving the Passat - and us - unharmed.

It wasn't a magic trick.

It's the future. Maybe.

"Eventually, people will be able to give control over to the car," said Stanek, a 28-year-old Volkswagen engineer. "It's beyond 10 years from now , but part of what you see here will come earlier."

Volkswagen has teamed with Stanford University in California in a joint venture to create robot cars.

Junior was in New York at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems yesterday to show off the developing technology, driving on an obstacle course set up on 11th Ave. outside the Javits Center.

Junior's eight onboard laser sensors locate road hazards and the computer's artificial intelligence manages robotic parts that drive the car.

The goal of a computer-driven car is to make driving safer.