Sandy Munro checks out Ford's BlueCruise

[MachTee]

I do agree at the stage shown in the video, it's quite underwhelming. Look at the bright side, if people are aware of its very limited capabilities, they won't get overly reliant on it and may be less likely to run into issues. Yes Tesla AP is much more capable. It is kind of fun seeing it in action on the curvy back roads near my house, until it drives itself straight off the cliff on this one particular blind turn. It used to see that curve and yell at me to take over immediately. As of at least a year ago, it would just drive straight off the cliff if I wasn't paying attention.

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[JohnnyForensic]

Not banging on Tesla (seriously), but I'd honestly rather spend $600 on an ADAS that I occasionally have to take control for than $10,000 on an ADAS that has been promised (and charged for) for nearly ten years and not yet delivered. There have been scores of Teslas at this point purchased with FSD and traded-in for another car never having seen it delivered.

I also think it's just a difference of personality of the buyers. I would rather my car at 70 MPH tell me "I'm confused, you take over" than to say "No, I got this" and careen into a stopped fire truck.

Some people like bleeding edge tech. I do too, but I like it on my iPhone and my iPad which probably won't kill me if they fail.

 

[MachTee]

Not banging on Tesla (seriously), but I'd honestly rather spend $600 on an ADAS that I occasionally have to take control for than $10,000 on an ADAS that has been promised (and charged for) for nearly ten years and not yet delivered. There have been scores of Teslas at this point purchased with FSD and traded-in for another car never having seen it delivered.

I also think it's just a difference of personality of the buyers. I would rather my car at 70 MPH tell me "I'm confused, you take over" than to say "No, I got this" and careen into a stopped fire truck.

Some people like bleeding edge tech. I do too, but I like it on my iPhone and my iPad which probably won't kill me if they fail.

The no cost standard Tesla autopilot will navigate and manage speed around turns, yes you can enable it even on local back roads and it will navigate those curves. The $10K "full self driving" gives you the gimmicks like summon, self parking, and the self driving on city streets.

 

[Nemy]

The no cost standard Tesla autopilot will navigate and manage speed around turns, yes you can enable it even on local back roads and it will navigate those curves. The $10K "full self driving" gives you the gimmicks like summon, self parking, and the self driving on city streets.

This. As it stands from this video the free/included Autopilot works better than BlueCruise but you need your hand on the wheel. FSD is for "full self driving" (i.e. Traffic control devices, ramps, city streets, lane changes, and turns etc.).

 

[imstriker]

Just me talking out loud as I am sure anyone who knows the answer to this question cannot say it. Does anyone know where the line is between the MobilEye chip and the software? Does Ford buy the chip and develop the software or is the software somewhat standard? Older Tesla's had the earlier version of this chip and seem pretty functional. Nissan has the same exact chip with seemingly more functionality in ProPilot 2.0. Just the tech person in me wondering how it all works.

 

[GuliblGuy]

I read all these comments before watching the video and was expecting BlueCruise to be horrible....but I think it did a good job, and the curves where it had Sandy take back over were a LITTLE sharp, but if the system isn't fully there yet, and you have to take back over just here and there on a curve...........so what?

It's safer at this point, still relieves a ton of fatigue on a longer drive, and I would think with OTA updates it will hopefully be able to take 95% of curves on highways. I'm still excited for it.

 

[troublebot]

One thing I noted was that the Ford engineer was in the middle of discussing future updates, one being lane change assist, then they started to talk about active speed management or whatever it was called, and it sounded like they were about to say that the car could manage the speed to maintain BlueCruise control around the corners when Sandy cut them off. I may be wrong but that's where it sounded like they were headed.

The other thing I noticed was that it seemed like the system wasn't necessarily handing control over to the driver, but was just having them put their hands on the wheel in case they needed to take over (personally in a curve sitting that close to a semi-truck my hands would already be on the wheel). I think Sandy might have inadvertently taken control over from the system instead of just having ready-hands. The Ford engineer probably didn't have a clear vision of what was going on and wasn't about to accuse him of anything.

 

[timbop]

This. As it stands from this video the free/included Autopilot works better than BlueCruise but you need your hand on the wheel. FSD is for "full self driving" (i.e. Traffic control devices, ramps, city streets, lane changes, and turns etc.).

Actually, FSD is for "fake self driving" as they are up to version 9.8 and still have only ever released a BETA of the software, and that beta has never been able to do what has been promised for the better part of a decade.

I too was disappointed by having to put hands on the wheel around those curves, but I also recognize that this is version 1.0 from a VERY conservative company. I fully expect them to roll out functionality over time as they get more comfortable that the software works correctly all the time without killing people. Ford seems to err on the side of caution, and that is a responsible and prudent approach. The technocreep doesn't care about anything other than lining his pockets, which is why I will never buy a tesla even though the model 3 was a better fit for me (I prefer smaller cars).

I fully believe @trutolife27 is aware of more than what was said in that video, and that the restrictions in the video are temporary. If you don't think it is worth the $600, that's OK with me. I'll pony up my $600 and be happy with it's early restrictions. Hands free 90% of the time is just fine.

 

[theo1000]

Looks good. I like that it disengages when confused rather than guess and launch itself into tree....

WRT what is the car going to do factor, it won't matter is if you keep your hands on the wheel. You feel the wheel move and you know, keep your eyes on the road, rather that some screwy cartoon computer representation that ends 20 yards out.

Isn't this the same TSLA system that is under NHTSA investigation?

I wonder if any TSLA sidetracked thread can stay professional.

 

[richsi]

Quite frankly, I never expected any more out of Blue Cruise than it does now, aside from maybe more time without the constant jiggle of the steering wheel. Non of these technologies are self driving by a long shot. We need to stop acting like a foolproof tech exists for this. It doesn't. Not even close. Boils down to bad marketing of this so called feature. People don't understand the limitations. Especially the sleeping while driving tesla idiots.

I did happen to drive a Tesla Model Y before deciding to but the Mustang. I tried the Self-Drive feature and it scared the hell out of me to be honest. I put the signal on to change lanes and it cut off another car. Not really sure their system is so prefect either. So I'm with you these systems aren't for falling asleep, your driving a car, your responsible for that car, if you get in an accident the car isn't going to jail, YOU ARE! The technology isn't there, Sandy sure is trying to get a consulting job with Ford, he's been begging for the last two videos now, I find it funny! I guess he's the only one that knows about EV's, everyone else is way behind! LOL

 

[deadduck]

I tried to explain this in another post. If you look at Cadillac's version, and they have maps, which has twice the distance covered, there are lots of gaps, and those gaps show up on any kind of winding road. Winding roads that I more or less lane center through on my current non-L2 ride.

This is likely to be pretty disappointing if you go in expecting it to take you all the way to work even on the freeway.

 

[Eraser]

The other thing I noticed was that it seemed like the system wasn't necessarily handing control over to the driver, but was just having them put their hands on the wheel in case they needed to take over (personally in a curve sitting that close to a semi-truck my hands would already be on the wheel). I think Sandy might have inadvertently taken control over from the system instead of just having ready-hands. The Ford engineer probably didn't have a clear vision of what was going on and wasn't about to accuse him of anything.

You're 100% correct. When I watched the video and saw him "take over" control, wasn't the case at all. You can clearly see ACC is still engaged and is handling the turn just as it would without Blue Cruise. With Ford's cautious approach with everything I'm not surprised by this. My guess is they just want the driver to have their hands on the wheel and ready just to be safe, but it did not disengage control as it might have appeared.

Not a dig on the driver, but he is clearly more familiar with his Tesla and how those features work. He clearly doesn't drive the MME much, or use the ACC, as it was immediately clear to me that there was no cause for alarm, and the system was still in control. Had the system actually dropped Blue Cruise and ACC as it may have appeared, I would be a bit concerned with that as well.

 

[JoeDimwit]

You literally said the video is wrong and that it will take those curves when we saw (and heard) it does not. Maybe the first shipped version will take those curves but it's underwhelming.

We are supposedly very close to delivery of BlueCruise, and they knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was going to make a video of his tour. This is the experience Ford is planning on delivering. Guaranteed.

 

[rodhx]

For the two folks who commented they live near that stretch of road, I am curious how your cars handle those “tight” turns with cruise and lane keep active. That doesn’t look much different than areas that i have let the car handle without issue. I wonder if the blue cruise reaction is just Ford being cautious.

 

[txaggies07]

mediately clear to me that there was no cause for alarm, and the system was still in control. Had the system actually

I noticed this too. Sandy's hands weren't doing anything when BlueCruise disengaged. It just reverted back to the hands-on version (which would be what Tesla has always). If he was familiar at all with the MachE cruise control he would have noticed that and mentioned it.

I want BlueCruise to be better than it apparently is, but having an old guy demo it who isn't familiar with the base system isn't the best scenario.

Also, some people think the order of control should be different. People who think one way will generally prefer Tesla and people who think the other way will prefer Ford. For example, lane changes. I have watched videos where someone uses their steering wheel in a Tesla to change lanes and the car freaks out and swerves them back into the lane. On the MachE (and every other car) the system recognizes the human has taken control, lets the driver change lanes, then re-engages itself once in a steady state again. I personally prefer the systems to be a driving aid, not a replacement.

Another thing that annoyed me with Sandy's comments about the driving on local streets and how the Tesla does this and that. The MachE will keep me in any semi-decent marked lane I put it in no matter if it is a big street or little street. The only thing it seems I am missing is the ability for it to change lanes or take an off ramp. If he had played with Intelligent Cruise on the MachE he would know that. I know he was reviewing BlueCruise, but it isn't like it is BlueCruise or no cruise control. It is BlueCruise enhances Intelligent Cruise enhances Adaptive Cruise enhances regular cruise. The car will fall back down those and do whatever it can. I drive almost all my miles in Intelligent Cruise and only need to do things like taking turns and changing lanes (things that also make sense for the driver to be doing anyways).

What I wish is we could get a baby of BlueCruise and FSD.

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