Bluecruise subscription really expiring before 1.3 really delivered??

[VaporTrails]

Having to "subscribe" to a feature that your car comes with and you paid for as a part of that vehicle purchase is an exploitative cash grab, full stop.

The model is changing from the car-buying model of the past. The feature of BC comes with yearly licensing that Ford has to pay and software upgrades just to stay current. They could give you assisted cruise control in that model, but not BC. Pricing software development 5 years from now is not something shareholders would likely agree with.

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[VaporTrails]

Come on you can't charge for the service it is so bad even the new release is bad look everyone we all know these are just expensive golf carts and that it's fine but I'm not gonna be bit by Ford overly aggressive marketing and under the under delivering on the promise of features and functionality that they can't get right and then soon delete from their vehicles

BlueCruise works well for me. I quite enjoy it, actually. I am on 1.2. 1.0 came with the car and I noticed a huge difference even with those releases. The OTA model has been mostly successful from my perspective.

I am on board with the idea they need to learn how to be a software development company. The positive is that they will be able to better forecast feature delivery if they leverage modern software practices. The negative is subscriptions and forms of revenue to keep that development going.

They are a long way from a company that could sell you any car color you want as long as it is black.

 

[YunniorO]

BlueCruise works well for me. I quite enjoy it, actually. I am on 1.2. 1.0 came with the car and I noticed a huge difference even with those releases. The OTA model has been mostly successful from my perspective.

I am on board with the idea they need to learn how to be a software development company. The positive is that they will be able to better forecast feature delivery if they leverage modern software practices. The negative is subscriptions and forms of revenue to keep that development going.

They are a long way from a company that could sell you any car color you want as long as it is black.

wait, your vehicle came with 1.0 and now has 1.2? Are you sure you actually had 1.0 previously? If you have a 2023 it more than likely shipped with 1.2.

 

[VaporTrails]

wait, your vehicle came with 1.0 and now has 1.2? Are you sure you actually had 1.0 previously? If you have a 2023 it more than likely shipped with 1.2.

I won’t promise the versions are precise, but it definitely changed. My car was a first-production-week 2023. It did not have turn-signal lane change when I bought it. It did gain that feature, as well as some changes to the large-vehicle proximity indication and associated alternate line-hugging.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

I won’t promise the versions are precise, but it definitely changed. My car was a first-production-week 2023. It did not have turn-signal lane change when I bought it. It did gain that feature, as well as some changes to the large-vehicle proximity indication and associated alternate line-hugging.

Interesting. Sounds like it did indeed come with 1.0 and then got upgraded to 1.2. Don't recall hearing of that before...

 

[bbhaag]

Can you show me where it says that BC is subscription only? Here's my window sticker:

Yeah I agree. My window sticker is even less clear than yours and at no time did my dealer say that BC or navigation was subscription based.

At least your BC is under optional equipment and your navigation is listed as being 3 years included.
My BC is literally listed under "STANDARD EQUIPMENT INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE" and the last part is even underlined to add emphasis and there is no mention of 3 years only for navigation......like WTF man????

I guess after 3 years there is going to be a charge for both features. While this may have been known on the internet I think Ford and their dealer network should have made this more transparent at time of purchase

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Yeah I agree. My window sticker is even less clear than yours and at no time did my dealer say that BC or navigation was subscription based.

At least your BC is under optional equipment and your navigation is listed as being 3 years included.
My BC is literally listed under "STANDARD EQUIPMENT INCLUDED AT NO EXTRA CHARGE" and the last part is even underlined to add emphasis with no mention of 3 years only for navigation......like WTF man????

I guess after 3 years there is going to be a charge for both features. While this may have been known on the internet I think Ford and their dealer network should have made this more transparent at time of purchase

What year is your GTPE?

 

[bbhaag]

What year is your GTPE?

2023 why are you asking?

 

[DustyShades]

To me, $600 for 3 years is a no-brainer even for BlueCruise 1.0. I mashed renew as soon as I got the email a month ago. Makes my commute so much less stressful.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

2023 why are you asking?

Because the way they positioned BC shifted by model year.

 

[bbhaag]

Because the way they positioned BC shifted by model year.

Vague and a little bit cryptic but ok.....

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Vague and a little bit cryptic but ok.....

Job 1 cars had only the hardware. This was known at the time. We were given a discount based on the then cost of BlueCruise beyond the cost of the necessary hardware. Job 2 cars had BC 1.0 from the start, they paid the $600 fee for BC 1.0 as part of the purchase. 2022s came with BC 1.2 and had the BC fee part of the MSRP (the exact amount escapes me). 2023s also came with 1.2 and whatever the fee was was included, or you could do the trial and pass if you preferred, unless you have a 2023.5 car. Those came with BC 1.3 and whatever fee. All except the job 1s had the fee baked into the price in one form or another.

Be thankful I didn’t write that all one run-on sentence as I was tempted to do. Clear as mud? Good, you have lots of company. Lots and lots.

 

[bbhaag]

Job 1 cars had only the hardware. This was known at the time. We were given a discount based on the then cost of BlueCruise beyond the cost of the necessary hardware. Job 2 cars had BC 1.0 from the start, they paid the $600 fee for BC 1.0 as part of the purchase. 2022s came with BC 1.2 and had the BC fee part of the MSRP (the exact amount escapes me). 2023s also came with 1.2 and whatever the fee was was included, or you could do the trial and pass if you preferred, unless you have a 2023.5 car. Those came with BC 1.3 and whatever fee. All except the job 1s had the fee baked into the price in one form or another.

Be thankful I didn’t write that all one run-on sentence as I was tempted to do. Clear as mud? Good, you have lots of company. Lots and lots.

Nah I appreciate non run-on sentences but clear as mud is right. I do want to make it clear that I'm not trying to make a fuss about all this. I just wish the additional fees were more transparent at time of purchase. I know due diligence and all that...I get it.

 

[YunniorO]

Nah I appreciate non run-on sentences but clear as mud is right. I do want to make it clear that I'm not trying to make a fuss about all this. I just wish the additional fees were more transparent at time of purchase. I know due diligence and all that...I get it.

Window stickers are really only good for the actual build of the car and hardware, anything software related is always going to be subject to change. That’s the best advice I can give when looking at window stickers. Also another tip is just because something says it’s included doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay for it, a good example of this is navigation on a lot of newer cars. Sure a lot of new cars say it’s included, but you’ll more than likely still be paying a small fee for access to it.

I know it seems pretty misleading, but really when they say “included” it often times just means it has the ability to use said feature, doesn’t really mean you won’t be paying a subscription or additional fees for it. I do think maybe better wording like “BlueCruise Supported” might also help so it doesn’t give the idea people won’t eventually be paying for it.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Job 1 cars had only the hardware. This was known at the time. We were given a discount based on the then cost of BlueCruise beyond the cost of the necessary hardware. Job 2 cars had BC 1.0 from the start, they paid the $600 fee for BC 1.0 as part of the purchase. 2022s came with BC 1.2 and had the BC fee part of the MSRP (the exact amount escapes me). 2023s also came with 1.2 and whatever the fee was was included, or you could do the trial and pass if you preferred, unless you have a 2023.5 car. Those came with BC 1.3 and whatever fee. All except the job 1s had the fee baked into the price in one form or another.

Be thankful I didn’t write that all one run-on sentence as I was tempted to do. Clear as mud? Good, you have lots of company. Lots and lots.

Actually 2022’s came with BC 1.0, not 1.2.
And the fee we paid was $1900 without a statement as to a subscription.)

Window stickers are really only good for the actual build of the car and hardware, anything software related is always going to be subject to change. That’s the best advice I can give when looking at window stickers. Also another tip is just because something says it’s included doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay for it, a good example of this is navigation on a lot of newer cars. Sure a lot of new cars say it’s included, but you’ll more than likely still be paying a small fee for access to it.

I know it seems pretty misleading, but really when they say “included” it often times just means it has the ability to use said feature, doesn’t really mean you won’t be paying a subscription or additional fees for it. I do think maybe better wording like “BlueCruise Supported” might also help so it doesn’t give the idea people won’t eventually be paying for it.

Actually on my Monroney sticker it clearly states that there is a three year trial for nav, but there’s no similar statement for BC. I think it’s very reasonable for a person to assume that they’re getting what they paid for: a three year trial for nav, and BC for the life of the car.

I fully expect others to point out that BC is being improved through OTAs and yes, that’s true. But that was part of the stated value proposition of the Mach E: that it would be improved via OTA. There’s no mention that it would cost to use the enhanced software.

If Ford said they were going to only update BC for those that paid, but for the rest it could continue to be used as they had bought it, I think they would have an argument. (I seriously doubt they’ll do that because their software model is so fragmented.) But to take away a feature that I paid $1900 for, I would have serious issues with that.

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