Ford Announces 'Hands-Free’ Active Drive Assist With Driver-Facing Camera for Mach-E, Available Next Year with OTA Update

[zhackwyatt]

So, does the Mach-E already have steering solenoids, or some auto steering mechanisms installed?

I think its related to the Electric Power Steering. My 2013 C-Max can self parallel park turning the wheel all over the place.

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[zhackwyatt]

Come on Ford...with the eve of finalizing orders upon us...Let's use plain and clear language (an options pricing chart) to see what we're getting into here!
My best,
Ray

It's not like next week your going to have a 5 minute window to make a decision and put your order in. What difference is an options chart today vs next week? Also remember, you are not laying out 50K or whatever next week for the car. That happens on delivery.

 

[K1TT]

The hands free hardware will be standard on the CA Route1, Premium and First Edition and optional on the rest (sorry no mention of the EU specs).

Well that's good, though it's crazy that these articles are misquoting it. I'm now back on the Premium train ?

 

[Orangefirefish]

To your first point .. that's my biggest gripe. They need to announce a price for it, even if it's not available. To me, one of the deciding factors in the BEV market is how competitive in price and feature set the driving assist features (like Autopilot) are.

Indeed. At any rate the M3 comparison against the MME with “assist 2.0” would be $44K plus hardware option (unless they don’t offer it at all for the select) plus $X for the OTA update. Put another way, $38K for a M3 SR plus is including AP and better seats. I get it the MY is the better direct comparison and we still don’t have an SR/SR+ option, but that just goes to show that there is a gap there. Either way Ford is saying it’s less than the $3K AP option, or less than $7K FSD, either of which changes the value proposition and neither of which I consider “small.”

For me, where the MME was already a marginal choice over the future SR MY, this is potentially a deal breaker. Not that I care that much about it from a functional standpoint, I just don’t like the revised value proposition and the message Ford is sending to early adopters. Heck, these drivers are about to be your first guinea pigs and are the ones training the algorithm by providing a huge amount of data points.

 

[Orangefirefish]

Yes and no. It will drive for a period of time hands free. Then you just have to either touch the wheel or a button on the wheel. I personally just sit my hand the bottom of the wheel and it gives it enough resistance that i rarely get nagged. Not really any different than setting it on my leg. So while that's not "hands-free", its effectively no hand input from me.

I stated this earlier, but a lot of how useful this is will depend on how nagging the "attention" feature is. If it goes crazy every time you glance way to look out the side window or at a passenger .. it's worse than having to set a hand on the wheel.

I’ve driven a family members M3 in AP and was reasonably satisfied with its performance. I’m curious... what happens when one falls asleep at the wheel during AP/Assist 2.0? The safest thing for the car to do would be to slow down and maintain control, while waking up the driver. However I was under the impression that the M3 just disengaged the AP flat out. In Ford’s case there would no longer be eye contact since presumably your eyes would no longer be on the road ahead.

 

[Stickboy46]

I’ve driven a family members M3 in AP and was reasonably satisfied with its performance. I’m curious... what happens when one falls asleep at the wheel during AP/Assist 2.0? The safest thing for the car to do would be to slow down and maintain control, while waking up the driver. However I was under the impression that the M3 just disengaged the AP flat out. In Ford’s case there would no longer be eye contact since presumably your eyes would no longer be on the road ahead.

I haven't tried it

There are multiple steps
first is a notification on the screen and it flashes blue
Next is it flashes red and it plays a REALLY loud beeping noise that would likely wake you up.

I haven't gone past that step but from my understanding if you don't respond there it will slow you down in your lane and turn your hazards on.

 

[ab13]

Yes and no. It will drive for a period of time hands free. Then you just have to either touch the wheel or a button on the wheel. I personally just sit my hand the bottom of the wheel and it gives it enough resistance that i rarely get nagged. Not really any different than setting it on my leg. So while that's not "hands-free", its effectively no hand input from me.

I stated this earlier, but a lot of how useful this is will depend on how nagging the "attention" feature is. If it goes crazy every time you glance way to look out the side window or at a passenger .. it's worse than having to set a hand on the wheel.

By your description, the Honda lane keep feature is also hands free. There are many videos on YouTube of people with hands off the wheel while the car steers in the lane on various Honda models. It alerts the driver to put hands back on the wheel, though.

These are all driver's assist features, but not self driving, so you have to be able to take over, that is why the alerts exist. Tesla received one or more notices from the NTSB for having insufficient driver monitoring based on the various incidents that have occured with autopilot.

Since what Ford appears to be doing is more like Cadillac's system, it will have map data to improve the system response to driving conditions. But they will still be conservative,with regards to safety.

 

[Stickboy46]

By your description, the Honda lane keep feature is also hands free. There are many videos on YouTube of people with hands off the wheel while the car steers in the lane on various Honda models. It alerts the driver to put hands back on the wheel, though.

These are all driver's assist features, but not self driving, so you have to be able to take over, that is why the alerts exist. Tesla received one or more notices from the NTSB for having insufficient driver monitoring based on the various incidents that have occured with autopilot.

Since what Ford appears to be doing is more like Cadillac's system, it will have map data to improve the system response to driving conditions. But they will still be conservative,with regards to safety.

Don't disagree with that. The included autopilot is similar to a lot of lane keeping systems. The FSD is a step ahead of most but that isn't free.

As far as Ford and Cadillacs system, yes their implementation has some benefits in that it should "know" those roads better. The downside is it won't work unless the road is programmed. Autopilot/FSD works anywhere there are road lines or at least defined Lanes

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Yes, the new package adds a little bit more. Note the table shows cross-traffic alert and hands-free driving that weren't on the tech specs.

I believe many of us believed that hands free driving would come few months after delivery and was included in the list price

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

Sounds like from watching the video that the hardware is included in the higher trim levels. So it will be paying for the software update probably if you have a premium or above. My guess is the Select will not have the hardware.

Unless you buy all of the options possible

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

This is clearly a similar feature to Tesla's free/included Autopilot, NOT FSD. When the initial spec comparison was published, I was afraid that the Select would require the addition of the 360 cameras/self park to get this, although it wasn't clear based on comments made by execs. Well, now I know I'll have to pay extra for those features as well as the software next year. It is also clear that we heard what we wanted to hear when Palmer said is would be available to all Mach E versions in a later software update - that is, we assumed it was included free.

I really wanted to like the Mach E despite it being a CUV (I prefer small cars), I recognize the importance of viable competitors to Tesla, and I really think someone needs to knock Musk down a peg. But, as time goes by it becomes clear that the Select Mach E is not the right car for me. Since Ford still hasn't published prices, I won't know how much it will actually cost me but by the time I add heated memory seats, the 360 prep package, and the autopilot software it will be at least $50k. For $38k I can get a model 3 with better efficiency, much cheaper on-the-road charging, a well established and tested autopilot, no dealer gamesmanship, and tons of actual information from owners and reviewers. That information tells me the good and the bad, so I know what to expect and what to watch out for. Even with the federal rebate of $7500 (which I'll have to wait more than a year to get back if I get my car in Q1), the Mach E with so many unknowns is still going to be somewhere around $5000 more expensive. That $5000 is a guess, because I won't even know how much the final costs or lease payments will be until the end of this year.

I'll wait until next week to see what hard information is available (including the prep package and heated seats), but I seriously doubt I will convert my reservation. I may still buy the Mach E sometime next year, but it is frankly unlikely.

FYI I would suggest checking with your dealer they probably have the price of the options on the select. In Canada the confort package includes a bunch of stuff including memory seats for $1995 Can, 19" wheels and tires, black roof heated seats and steering wheel. Camera 360 is a $550 Can option and the Park assist is a $1995 Can, so it will probably be at leasxt 25% cheaper in the US. So the Select is still a good chpoice when adding those options, myself I am thinking about it to replace my Premium reservation, for us here it still a Rough $7500 difference.

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

That makes more sense than the Forbes article and is consistent with the original tech specs. The difference is that the CA Route 1, Premium, and First Edition come standard with the
"Ford Co-Pilot360TM Technology: Active Park Assist 2.0 and 360 Degree Camera". This must be the hardware prep pack that would be an option for the Select and GT.

Agree on that

 

[ClaudeMach-E]

All the mix up here is created by Ford's lack of clear communications or no communications at all.

 

[macchiaz-o]

I attempted to verify the article's accuracy with the author and with Ford's North American Product Communications Manager. The best I could get is "Those details will be shared soon."

 

[TheSteelRider]

All the mix up here is created by Ford's lack of clear communications or no communications at all.

While I certainly agree, I think the poor communication is simply a side-effect of poor organization. In other words, I think they don't know any of this either. My guess is we are seeing a push-pull between engineering and marketing. Just an opinion, no real facts to back up that statement other than, I've worked in Tech for a couple decades, and unfortunately this same thing seems to always happen in tech companies.

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