Red, White, And BlueCruise: U.S. Hands-Free Highway Driving Trends

[Snakebitten]

It's a 2022 F150 KingRanch Powerboost.

Admittedly my preference for long runs beyond a couple of DCFC one way.

I didn't get enough time in my 90 day BC 1.3 Mach-E to critique/compare the truck to the car. But the few times I did get to experience it in the 2023.5 GTPE, it performed similarly.

But I've read here that the latest updates may have affected the consistency negatively. I don't know if that's true on mine because I haven't subscribed in the car.

The truck’s Bluecruise is fantastic and well worth it (To ME) if I take an interstate based road trip.

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[Jerrytball]

It's a 2022 F150 KingRanch Powerboost.

Admittedly my preference for long runs beyond a couple of DCFC one way.

I didn't get enough time in my 90 day BC 1.3 Mach-E to critique/compare the truck to the car. But the few times I did get to experience it in the 2023.5 GTPE, it performed similarly.

But I've read here that the latest updates may have affected the consistency negatively. I don't know if that's true on mine because I haven't subscribed in the car.

The truck’s Bluecruise is fantastic and well worth it (To ME) if I take an interstate based road trip.

Yeah, I really like the lariat power boost. They let me use for three weeks. I was amazed that they got almost 700 miles to a tank of gas and a ride was pretty smooth. I mean that thing is nice.

 

[Snakebitten]

We (Mississippi )only have I 10 west and east and I 110 south and north it ain’t much around here and we have some pretty nice lane highways yeah going north and south that don’t even have it which I hate

I'm a fairly frequent traveler across your portion of I-10 and I have found it to be well maintained, especially considering the trucking burden it carries. Bluecruise without a hitch.
I'm also a fan of Gulfport. We (employer) have a corporate location there and when I visit I find some of the nicest folks and sincere hospitality. Not to mention some fantastic food! ?

 

[Jerrytball]

I'm a fairly frequent traveler across your portion of I-10 and I have found it to be well maintained, especially considering the trucking burden it carries. Bluecruise without a hitch.
I'm also a fan of Gulfport. We (employer) have a corporate location there and when I visit I find some of the nicest folks and sincere hospitality. Not to mention some fantastic food! ?

Well, if you’re ever in town, give a shout. Do a meet up refund to see somebody from the forum. What’s the company if you don’t mind asking?

 

[Snakebitten]

Well, if you’re ever in town, give a shout. Do a meet up refund to see somebody from the forum. What’s the company if you don’t mind asking?

General Aviation industry.
We are the airport "terminal" for private (and/or military) aircraft. Glorified gas stations, if you will. Really nice ones though.

I'm on I-10 a lot because we have locations in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Gulfport, Tallahassee, and Jacksonville. Basically 6 locations on the same street!

I am IT. Been with them for 24 years. So arguably, I'm not personally in aviation. I often point out to them that those aircraft could suddenly be John Deere tractors and I would still be doing the same exact thing. But EVERYONE else's job would drastically change.

 

[Jerrytball]

General Aviation industry.
We are the airport "terminal" for private (and/or military) aircraft. Glorified gas stations, if you will. Really nice ones though.

I am IT. Been with them for 24 years. So arguably, I'm not personally in aviation. I often point out to them that those aircraft could suddenly be John Deere tractors and I would still be doing the same exact thing. But EVERYONE else's job would drastically change.

That’s cool airport like 10 minutes from my house right there next to the Ford dealer where I bought my car, I was in the IT field for 20 years myself after retiring as a cook from the Navy lol last 20 years of my life up till 2014 supported the ATF homeland, security, FEMA and everybody else.
I think my youngest son must have a connection with the aviation side. He lives close to the airport. He’s running 116 octane and his 65 nova I’m wondering where he gets his gas lol

 

[Snakebitten]

I've seen that Ford dealership!

I wouldn't expect it to be an EV hot zone. ?

There a little roundabout just behind it that I go through to get to the hotel sector. Struck me funny to see an "English" traffic solution in Gulfport Mississippi

 

[dr__bob]

It's not and will never be "hands free." The car will literally throw a warning on the screen if your hands leave the wheel for too long.

I often need to drive on one of the busiest highways in the world. Being in control of the car at all times, plus being able to brake, accelerate, and change lanes swiftly and confidently is critical. It is no place for something like BC.

"Old fashioned" cruise control is not only helpful for safety & avoiding tickets, it saves fuel / electricity. Cruise control is also simple, having been around since the 50's. It doesn't require radar, cameras, GPS, a computer, and a "subscription."

As others have said, clearly you have not experienced hands-free BC. You do NOT have to have your hands on the wheel.

As far as "old fashioned" cruise control is concerned, you indeed are talking "old fashioned" if it doesn't rely on radar or cameras. I hated the old fashioned cruise control since you could only ever use it on clear highways. As soon as you got in any kind of traffic, you had to disengage. The modern cruise control, or adaptive cruise control is SO much nicer, since it reacts to cars in front of you. You can use adaptive cruise control in traffic. Adding hands-free on top of that is really nice.

My only issue with HFBC is that it cuts out too often. And, now, with BC 1.3 it seems to cut out intermittently, on the same stretch of road in the same conditions one day it'll work and the next it will disengage. With BC 1.0 at least I knew which stretches would be hands-on and which hands-free. But that is a different issue than saying that BC is not hands-free.

 

[Valkyrie]

I'm guessing the U.S. Flag at Ford HQ only has 48 stars?!?

 

[eStang]

I feel like I must have contributed a meaningful percentage of the hands free miles driven in Nebraska from my frequent trecks across I-80 going back and forth between Chicago and Denver.
BlueCruise has done more to increase my appreciation of Nebraska than anything else I've found.

To those who feel the continuous subscription price is too high, remember that you can subscribe for 30 days for $75. This is what I have been doing for roadtrips since my introductory three years term ran out on my 2021 First Edition.

 

[PWNdaddy]

Since getting BC 1.3 we haven't taken any long road trips but using it in highway driving in the Austin area still isn't impressing me. It's WAY better than 1.0 but it doesn't like heavy traffic and is still confused with exits/turn-offs and changes with the lines on the road. We will be making many more long trips this fall so I hope to get more testing and maybe it will change my mind. Also it's pretty easy to have very long stretches of BC driving in Texas since we have huge distances between major cities here.

Austin has great charging infrastructure, but BC sucks. In Houston, BC is fantastic, but it has garbage charging options. I wouldn’t be complaining so much, though, if my weekend trip to Houston allowed more BC driving. I’m just bitter lol.

 

[Tampamike]

Exactly! Keep one’s hands on the F’ing wheel and eyes scanning road head and mirrors — it’s an ok “assist”, but see faaaar too many folks treating it as a fail safe w brain turned off. No bueno.

How many folks do you actually see treating it as a fail-safe with their brain turned off? I’m guessing, close to none. Here in Florida you can’t even see in the tinted windows of most cars. Not sure what you’re looking at or who.

I love using BlueCruise on long road trips. Still need to keep my eyes on the road or I get yelled at and usually have at least one hand on or near the wheel. I will, however, use both hands to eat my f’ing delicious McMuffin in a civilized manner in light traffic and benign conditions.

 

[4sallypat]

How many folks do you actually see treating it as a fail-safe with their brain turned off? I’m guessing, close to none. Here in Florida you can’t even see in the tinted windows of most cars. Not sure what you’re looking at or who.

I love using BlueCruise on long road trips. Still need to keep my eyes on the road or I get yelled at and usually have at least one hand on or near the wheel. I will, however, use both hands to eat my f’ing delicious McMuffin in a civilized manner in light traffic and benign conditions.

Same, love the new BC 1.3 - stays on longer distances than 1.2.
Still not perfect though.

Watching others next to me while eating a burger with both hands are priceless...

 

[Digitalsteve]

I don't understand why people like this feature - or even use it.

It is a major stress reducer when driving in Southern California traffic, for which a performance car does little. ACC is most of it, but hands free still helps a bit.

 

[roamtheworld]

Austin has great charging infrastructure, but BC sucks. In Houston, BC is fantastic, but it has garbage charging options. I wouldn’t be complaining so much, though, if my weekend trip to Houston allowed more BC driving. I’m just bitter lol.

100% agree that the Austin area sucks with BC 1.3 and that charging is pretty solid. With Tesla SC now traveling in Texas is pretty much a non-issue. Our kids have events in Houston, Dallas, and Waco and lots of time in San Antonio so starting next week we will begin using BC 1.3 heavily. I have already plotted out the locations and timings for charging to make it as trouble-free as possible.

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