While Google's (News - Alert) self-driving cars, which at the moment include 10 Toyota Prius models and a single Lexus RX hybrid, aren't exactly big news at this point — especially not after one of the Prius models rear-ended another due to human error back in August — a recent survey suggesting a decent portion of the car-buying public would be interested in a car that can drive itself is.

The survey, by global marketing information services firm J.D. Power and Associates, suggests that as many as 20 percent of vehicle owners have said they "definitely would" or "probably would" buy an autonomous vehicle — in this case, Google's setup includes radar, video cameras and laser to allow for self driving. Male drivers between the ages of 18 and 37 were among the most interested in the technology as well as urbanites in stressful heavy traffic areas.

Those surveyed, who were keen to try the new technology, said they would pay an estimated market price of an added $3,000 for a self-driving car. On the other hand, however, as many as 37 percent of those surveyed were interested in owning an autonomous vehicle before learning of the added cost.

Google has been working on this project for years now and has made serious headway in terms of technology and government lobbying, as it convinced Nevada to legalize self-driving cars on its roads, while states like Florida are seriously looking in to doing the same. However, the search giant still has a long way to go before its self-driving technology is considered commercially viable.

Meanwhile, some car companies have come back with their own autonomous driving features like Ford's park assist and BMW's "active" cruise control system. Continental has even gone as far as to create a semiautonomous rival technology to Google's which is more affordable and isn't meant to take complete control but instead supplements the standard driving experience.

Not interested in going it alone, Google wants to partner with automakers or suppliers to get its car out to market. “All options are open. From giving the technology away, to licensing it, to working with Tier 1s, Tier 2s, working with the OEMs [or] building a car with them,” stated Anthony Levandowski, Google project manager.