Photo: Ford
Ford’s all-electric Mustang SUV, the Mach-E, won’t just be the first EV to live up to the Mustang name, according to Ford, but also the car that will finally relieve some of the stress of those long-distance trips. It will do so by allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel.
A new addition to the CoPilot360 2.0 suite called Active Drive Assist offers hands-free driving, the maker says in a press release. This won’t make the Mach-E autonomous and it definitely comes with one important caveat: the driver has to keep the eyes on the road.
In this sense, it’s similar to Cadillac’s Ultra Cruise: a driver-facing camera will monitor the gaze of the driver (even when they’re wearing sunglasses, Ford says) and the car will slow down if they’re no longer looking ahead. Speaking specifically, this means drivers can grab a quick refreshment but not check their phones or catch some Zs.
“The stress of long highway drives remains a huge issue for drivers around the world,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product development and purchasing officer, says. “By introducing driver-assist technologies like Active Drive Assist, Ford’s version of hands-free driving, we’re allowing our customers to feel more confident whenever they’re behind the wheel.”
“Introducing Active Drive Assist with a driver-facing camera makes perfect sense because the vehicle helps relieve the stress and burden of driving but still leaves you fully in control,” Thai-Tang adds.
Another major caveat with the add-on is that it will be available only on some 100,000 miles (160,934 km) of well-mapped, divided highways across 50 U.S. states and Canada. On the upside, future owners of all Mach-E models will be able to get the add-on, by ordering the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package with the necessary hardware. A separate purchase of Active Drive Assist will be needed, and the tech will become available as an over-the-air software update in 2021.
Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package also includes Active Park Assist 2.0, and Lane-Keeping System with Road Edge Detection and Blind Spot Assist.
In this sense, it’s similar to Cadillac’s Ultra Cruise: a driver-facing camera will monitor the gaze of the driver (even when they’re wearing sunglasses, Ford says) and the car will slow down if they’re no longer looking ahead. Speaking specifically, this means drivers can grab a quick refreshment but not check their phones or catch some Zs.
“The stress of long highway drives remains a huge issue for drivers around the world,” Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product development and purchasing officer, says. “By introducing driver-assist technologies like Active Drive Assist, Ford’s version of hands-free driving, we’re allowing our customers to feel more confident whenever they’re behind the wheel.”
“Introducing Active Drive Assist with a driver-facing camera makes perfect sense because the vehicle helps relieve the stress and burden of driving but still leaves you fully in control,” Thai-Tang adds.
Another major caveat with the add-on is that it will be available only on some 100,000 miles (160,934 km) of well-mapped, divided highways across 50 U.S. states and Canada. On the upside, future owners of all Mach-E models will be able to get the add-on, by ordering the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package with the necessary hardware. A separate purchase of Active Drive Assist will be needed, and the tech will become available as an over-the-air software update in 2021.
Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 Prep Package also includes Active Park Assist 2.0, and Lane-Keeping System with Road Edge Detection and Blind Spot Assist.
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