Ford Expands BlueCruise Availability with Complimentary Trial, Monthly Or Annual Activation

[timbop]

The grandfathered renewal pricing is only for 2021 Job 1 cars.

But only because BC was supposed to be part of the delivered features and was not, so they gave us $600 off MSRP for the missing feature with paperwork that said we could pay the $600 when it became available.

I am still stunned that Farley thinks people will pay $800/yr for the whole period they own the car. It's one thing to charge that much for 3 years to recoup hardware costs, but to expect it in perpetuity is nuts.

Tripping over a dollar to pick up a dime.

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[Mach1E]

I bet the take rate on people paying $800/yr rounds to zero.

Quite a few may check the box at initial purchase, but after the fact? Nada.

I paid more than that on my 2021, but was more for the 360 cameras and other features than Bluecruise. Now that that other stuff is “free,” hands free driving is actually the least desirable feature on the list to me, so I definitely won’t pay top dollar for it.

 

[jbooth]

Turn off sign recognition...

Yeah at one point we both had, but it is back on. I assume some OTA or other decided to forget our settings and re-enabled it. And I don't think the passenger can go into settings while driving, so it requires remembering to disable it again by the time you stop.

Also, isn't that part of the point of bluecruise hands free?

 

[Stanmckinney]

I tried Bluecruise and did not like it. But if the equipment is in the car why should we pay anything to use it?

 

[BigMach-E]

I use BC 1.0 regularly. My partner hates when I use it, so I try to avoid using it when she is in the car. I like it, but it also feels dangerous, it hugs way too close to concrete barriers on the left hand lane. Nothing I have seen about BC 1.3 leads me to believe it’s worth 400 a year, let alone 800.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I just returned from a 1K miles SF - Arroyo Grande - LA/OC - SF trip and I used BC 1.0 extensively. I must say that it was a dream on I-5 as we headed north at 80 mph. (For other parts of the trip it was more hit and miss, especially in LA/OC with all the construction.) But it definitely made the trip easier.

That said,

 

[Mirak]

I die a little inside when I read survey questions, and a little more when I read the results and think of the decisions that will get made based on it. Who wouldn't consider buying it? If you look at the car and decide not to buy the service, you've still considered it. Such terrible questions...

Yes. The Ford EAP survey questions are notoriously terrible.

 

[Mirak]

Glad it works for you.

It bongs for me to take over practically every time there is an entry/exit ramp because it can't handle the dashed (or absent) right white line. That's every couple minutes, maximum about 5 minutes.

Don't even get me started about "SPEED LIMIT 70" then two seconds later "TRUCKS 60" (or "BUSSES 65") -- guess what speed I'm going? Yep, that'd be 60 (or 65). Until it sees the next 70, floors it, and then hits the regen 5 seconds later with the next "TRUCKS 60". You can claim IL shouldn't do this, but it has been that way for decades, this isn't new signage.

And heaven forbid while in a 65 or 55 construction zone, the construction crew failed to cover the "MINIMUM 45" sign. This is not a theoretical concern; I've had it happen multiple times. Once I can only assume it saw the frontage road speed limit sign, because there was no interstate sign or construction but that was exciting in a bad way.

Go drive around Chicagoland on the interstates and tell me its worth 800 a year, or even 75 a month. It isn't, not for what it can do right now.

Notes: '21 Job 1, no BC 1.3 yet.

You need to turn off the speed sign assist. You get this “feature” free, btw - it is not part of the BC hands free subscription. It doesn’t work great.

 

[Mirak]

BlueCruise 1.3 stayed engaged in hands-free mode for an average of 5X longer compared to BlueCruise 1.0

I see the PR hacks are still using this extremely confusing metric. Not even an asterisk to explain what this is measuring. (It is measuring average miles between disengagements - not percentage of time engaged).

 

[Mirak]

The announced pricing is a joke. Very few people seriously believe this will stick. I predict it’ll drop to something reasonable early in 2024… after they’ve used the inflated pricing to coax us 2021s into the barn with our “bargain” $600 3yr renewals.

 

[Mike G]

Yeah at one point we both had, but it is back on. I assume some OTA or other decided to forget our settings and re-enabled it. And I don't think the passenger can go into settings while driving, so it requires remembering to disable it again by the time you stop.

Also, isn't that part of the point of bluecruise hands free?

No. BCHF is not dependent on Speed Sign Recognition to operate properly. Multiple changes in speed signage is the reason many of us have turned it off a long time ago. (On '23 models it's turned off by shutting off Predictive Speed instead since Speed Sign Recognition falls under that setting in BC 1.2).

When using BCHF you are still the driver. You're still monitoring the road and traffic and aware of your surroundings and changes that might make you assume control despite the car's ability to keep you in your lane and away from other traffic. It simply reduces stress on your shoulders, arms/hands, and right leg, and temporarily gives your hand-eye coordination a break. That's all it's designed to do. Makes the trip a little easier, but not totally automatic.

If you don't want to use it, that's fine.

 

[Mach1E]

I tried Bluecruise and did not like it. But if the equipment is in the car why should we pay anything to use it?

That’s more of a philosophical debate that was lost YEARS ago when companies started charging for software.

Not really any different than your Navigation subscription (you pay to update maps) or Sirius/XM subscription.

That said……. The price is the issue. I paid $1900 for the hardware and $600 for a 3
Year subscription.

No flipping way should I pay the same $800/yr as those who got the hardware for FREE!!

 

[jhalkias]

Hoping Ford rethinks the value proposition of this. They had it priced correctly out of the gate. No way I am spending $1,600 a year on this between my Mach E and my Lightning -as much as I like it, not worth that much more.

 

[4sallypat]

I’m curious, has anyone on this forum with a recently ordered ’23 paid the $2100 for BlueCruise subscription?

That would only be for Job 2 '23 that recently switched over.

Since the price savings are significant without BC (and without charge cord) on Job 2 - I don't think people will go an buy the BC subscription when they start out with a trial period...

Even some of the Job 1 Selects got extended BC trial - wonder if Ford will do the same for Job 2 ??

 

[PharaohHound138]

How does Ford actually believe that they will make any money on this? No one will pay that! That is an insane amount of money for blue cruise!

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