Ford Mustang Mach-E Will Get Hands-Free Driver Assist On Some Highways In A Year
Ford will be providing over-the-air software updates to its 2021 Ford F-150 and 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E … in nearly a year.
First of all, I’ll say that I am eager to see “Ford Co-Pilot360™ Technology, Active Drive Assist” deployed and I’m eager to test it out. I’m sure it will enhance safety and improve the driving experience of the Ford vehicles, and I’m particularly excited to see that the Mustang Mach-E will be one of the first to get it — via an over-the-air software update, no less!
That said … I already have better features than this on my Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus (SR+). And I will soon be getting the mind-blowing Full Self-Driving (beta). Most of my driving is probably done on Autopilot on roads of various sorts — during which I watch closely, keep my hands on the wheel, and scan the environment in order to hopefully avoid any surprising threats, but the car really does the driving. What Ford will be implementing in its most cutting-edge vehicles, in a year or so, “allows for hands-free driving on prequalified sections of divided highways called Hands-Free Zones that make up over 100,000 miles of North American roads.” Not quite the same thing, but on the way toward where a Tesla is today.
Honestly, I’m excited to see the progress at Ford! I’m excited to see how well the tech is in a year. But it is a bit shocking, even to me, to see an announcement like this and realize how far ahead Tesla Autopilot/FSD is. But I’ll leave Tesla out of it for the rest of this.
“Ford is advancing the technology with state-of-the-art innovations and promoting its more mainstream adoption by making it standard or a relatively affordable option for certain F-150 pickups and Mustang Mach-E all-electric SUVs; expected first year sales of 100,000 vehicles with the technology hardware,” Ford writes.
“The technology will become available in the third quarter of 2021 via Over-the-Air Update, demonstrating Ford’s bumper-to-bumper OTA capability for complex innovations to help improve vehicles over time and keep customers at the forefront of technology.”
I’m torn. It’s exciting to see another automaker finally implementing OTA updates and this level of semi-autonomous driving, but it also feels like this cutting-edge tech has been on the market for years. …
Here are more details on pricing:
- “For Mustang Mach-E, it will come standard on CA Route 1, Premium and First Edition variants. It’s an available package on the Select trim for $3,200 as part of the larger Comfort and Technology package, which includes features such as a 360-degree camera, heated front seats and heated steering wheel.”
- “For F-150, Active Drive Assist will be available as a part of the Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package for $1,595. The Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package is standard on F-150 Limited and available as an option on Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum models.”
- “customers choosing to purchase the software for $600 will receive it through an Over-the-Air Update in the third quarter of next year.”
You can find more details in the Ford press release.
Any thoughts?
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