The talks are intended to help Ford, which under Chief Executive Mark Fields has sharpened its focus on advancing car technologies, accelerate its efforts to bring autonomous cars to market. Any agreement wouldn’t be exclusive to Ford, this person said, and Google continues to talk with other auto makers. A partnership could be announced early next year, the person said. As part of the deal being considered, Ford would develop software for components including steering, braking and acceleration while Google would provide the overarching self-driving software that governs those functions, this person said. Autonomous-driving technologies and sensors would need to be integrated into future Ford vehicles so they don’t protrude. Google’s latest prototype cars have integrated sensors in their design. In a statement, Ford said it is talking to a variety of companies about advancing its mobility plan but the talks are private and it declined further comment. A […]