Google is going to lease their dataset and bundle a precertified constellation of sensors and servos as a VAR. They're going to be Delphi. Their contracts are going to require two way communications such that Google gets to retread and revise their master database everywhere their cars travel.

The Google-Car-As-Uber discussion is wholly separate; the actual hardware won't be any different, just the ownership. Zipcars are well-established and legally uninteresting and I can totally see Google operating a vast fleet of autonomous vehicles at a loss in order to increase the penetration and acceptance of their offerings in order to drive B2B sales.

Come to think of it, that's a good reason to short sell Uber and Lyft - there isn't a single market that has survived once Google decides to enter it. Google has a solid and logical reason to get into car hire and they will beat Uber and Lyft by inspection. And I think Google could structure their services in such a way that they couldn't be barred from use at airports the way Uber and Lyft are... there might be an in using membership modeling that would make them livery rather than for-hire. But that's well beyond my expertise.