Photo: via crazypostman/TikTok
It is not only the billions in investments on the combustion engine that can embarrass legacy automakers in their transition to electric cars. Using the same components and software can also create mortifying moments for them. After we told you an Audi e-tron needed an oil change in February 2020, now a Ford Mustang Mach-E decided to talk about a diesel particulate filter it does not have.
The message was discovered by the TikToker @crazypostman. He shared a video that shows he was curious about one of the electric crossover’s Setting menu options. Among them, there was an Auto Regeneration button and an information icon to explain what that menu was all about.
When the Tiktoker clicked it, he could read the following message:
“Auto Regeneration
Enables automatic regeneration of the Diesel Particulate Filter when the conditions are met.”
We have no idea why the Ford electric SUV would display such a text. If we were to guess, we’d say that Auto Regeneration relates to the car determining on its own the levels of regenerative braking for it to be as energy-efficient as possible. Mach-E owners will be able to tell us more about that.
The fact is that Ford could probably have prevented the error if it did not use on its EVs the same components and software it has on ICE products. In that sense, the creation of two separate divisions for each sort of vehicle makes even more sense.
Unfortunately, it is not unlikely that Model e and Ford Blue would still see things like this happening due to the synergies they are supposed to have. If you remember what each of these divisions has to do, Ford Blue will take care of manufacturing, which means it will try to use as many common components as possible to bring production costs down.
When it comes to Model e, the electric car division will develop the software all Ford vehicles will use. Theoretically, the wrong message we have seen in the Mustang Mach-E could also happen again in the future unless Doug Field and his team develop a way to prevent that from happening. As the specialists, they are the ones who can tell us how preventable that really is, especially if it makes sense to develop specific software for each of these products.
In an ideal world, EVs will be manufactured according to their own requirements, which are very different from those of combustion-engined cars in many aspects. It may be the case that software does not need to be that specific, even if we suspect it follows the same requirements as hardware. We’ll eventually have the chance to discuss this with engineers to learn what they think.
For the time being, it is clear that the synergy efforts are being exaggerated. We would not doubt to see similar episodes until all cars are electric, and that is no longer a concern. Considering where the world sits nowadays and the old ghosts that came back to haunt us as if we were in the 1970s, it will take a while to get there.
When the Tiktoker clicked it, he could read the following message:
“Auto Regeneration
Enables automatic regeneration of the Diesel Particulate Filter when the conditions are met.”
We have no idea why the Ford electric SUV would display such a text. If we were to guess, we’d say that Auto Regeneration relates to the car determining on its own the levels of regenerative braking for it to be as energy-efficient as possible. Mach-E owners will be able to tell us more about that.
The fact is that Ford could probably have prevented the error if it did not use on its EVs the same components and software it has on ICE products. In that sense, the creation of two separate divisions for each sort of vehicle makes even more sense.
Unfortunately, it is not unlikely that Model e and Ford Blue would still see things like this happening due to the synergies they are supposed to have. If you remember what each of these divisions has to do, Ford Blue will take care of manufacturing, which means it will try to use as many common components as possible to bring production costs down.
When it comes to Model e, the electric car division will develop the software all Ford vehicles will use. Theoretically, the wrong message we have seen in the Mustang Mach-E could also happen again in the future unless Doug Field and his team develop a way to prevent that from happening. As the specialists, they are the ones who can tell us how preventable that really is, especially if it makes sense to develop specific software for each of these products.
In an ideal world, EVs will be manufactured according to their own requirements, which are very different from those of combustion-engined cars in many aspects. It may be the case that software does not need to be that specific, even if we suspect it follows the same requirements as hardware. We’ll eventually have the chance to discuss this with engineers to learn what they think.
For the time being, it is clear that the synergy efforts are being exaggerated. We would not doubt to see similar episodes until all cars are electric, and that is no longer a concern. Considering where the world sits nowadays and the old ghosts that came back to haunt us as if we were in the 1970s, it will take a while to get there.
umm @ford i think you did a oopsie ???? pic.twitter.com/nB9TI1zmoD
— Bennett (@_bennettm_) March 12, 2022
@crazypostman ? original sound - Crazypostman
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