Marketing has its intricate ways, and in the realm of automobiles, those who write about a car’s features tend to overstate things by offering information without context. Case in point: Ford of Europe calls the “first head-up display for Europe” a “clear winner” inspired by “jet fighter technology.” And that, dear reader, is sensationalist marketing.
Frist of all, the concept behind the head-up display can trace its roots back to the invention of the reflector sight in 1900. Fast-forward to the late 1980s, and that’s when General Motors began using head-up displays in the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme and Pontiac Grand Prix. Nissan followed up in 1989 with the 240SX, and close to every automaker in the industry has embraced the technology since then.
Given these circumstances, waxing lyrical about the Focus and its HUD is an offense to people who know better and those who take five minutes to learn what the fuss is all about with a simple Google search. But that’s not all, oh no it isn’t!
The fourth-generation Focus also introduced pothole-detection technology, a testament to how bad the infrastructure is in this part of the world. Priced at £650 in the United Kingdom and consisting of 12 sensors that identify the potholes before the vehicle drives over them, the system alters the dampers to their hardest setting, thus reducing the impact as the wheels bounce back out of the hole.
Just to be clear, this technology has been around with Ford since February 2016 with the launch of the Fusion V6 Sport in North America. Citing the AAA, the Blue Oval claims that pothole damage cost U.S. drivers approximately $3 billion each and every year. And just like the European version of the Focus, the onboard computer of the Fusion V6 Sport collects information from 12 high-resolution sensors.
On an ending note, the all-new Focus bristles with technology. But at the same time, a little research reveals this technology has been around for quite some time. Adding insult to injury, the Focus can’t hold a candle to the tech-fest Mercedes-Benz calls the A-Class.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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