Automated highway systems (AHS) are a promising concept whose implementation needs to take place in a modular and incremental manner. Immediate implementation of a fully automated highway system may not be feasible or desirable. It does not allow for the necessary testing and evolution of technology, markets, and social change. Recognizing the importance and challenge of progressive, evolutionary AHS deployment, six deployment assumptions are presented, three deployment issues are discussed, and several intermediate automation concepts for evolution toward AHS are proposed. Concepts are presented in the form of "market packages." Some of these concepts are simple driver aiding systems; others are capable of supporting hands-off and feet-off driving. In the evolutionary path to AHS, a number of comfort and safety enhancements could be realized initially without large infrastructure modifications and without dedicated lanes. Intermediate deployment steps are necessary to help early deployment of partial automation, to allow AHS technology to mature, to establish user confidence, and to create market demand and public acceptance. The packages presented are designed so that they attract the driving public with comfort and safety benefits while requiring no significant roadway infrastructure modification and they encourage motorists to purchase (or retrofit) vehicles with equipment that enables hands-off and feet-off driving, thus building confidence in and creating demand for AHS.