2023-07-23 07:32:00
When entering the M11 motorway in north London, the small SUV offers the driver to let go of the steering wheel. He advances alone at 100 km/h, brakes behind a truck, before quietly resuming his journey, well in the middle of his lane.
The driver has his hands free (without really knowing what to do with them), but not touching the laptop, he must above all not take his eyes off the road: the car monitors him via several cameras and infrared sensors (which pass through the sunglasses).
“Look at the road. Take back control”, intimate the on-board computer after ten seconds if we look elsewhere. The car then slams on the brakes, sets the warnings.
Ford activated this option called “BlueCruise” in April 2023 in the UK on its electric flagship, the Mustang Mach-E.
After debuting in the United States in 2021, the “BlueCruise” option allows you to let go of 6,000 kilometers of motorways in Great Britain (“blue zones” equipped with four lanes and central separators), from Dover to Scotland.
500 customers have already tested it: they will then have to pay 17.99 pounds (about 21 euros) per month to raise their hands.
“Soon” in Germany and France?
In North America, the option is also available on the F-150 star pickup or the large Expedition SUV. 200,000 motorists use it, with no accidents to report, ensures Ford. Its competitor GM also offers hands-free driving.
The brands are waging a war of reputation through autonomous driving, a symbol of the automobile of the future: Mercedes already offers hands-free driving on the German motorway, but only in traffic jams (up to 60 km/h); Tesla boss Elon Musk has been promising for a long time that fully autonomous driving (so-called level 4) is for tomorrow.
Ford, for its part, is betting on immediate applications, and in 2022 ended a research partnership on autonomous driving that it had with the startup Argo AI.
“We are optimistic about the future of level 4, but we are still a long way from seeing fully autonomous vehicles, produced in large volumes and cost-effective,” said the general manager of the American giant, Jim Farley, at the end of 2022. “Things have changed and there is a huge opportunity right now for Ford to give people time when they are in their vehicle.”
The American brand was thus the first to benefit from an exemption in the United Kingdom allowing it to offer hands-free driving, underlines Douwe Cunningham, in charge of homologation at Ford Europe.
He is currently discussing with the British authorities to take the next step: allowing the car to change lanes to overtake, on activation of the indicator.
But what is this option for if you can’t type on your phone or read a book, for example?
“It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” concedes Douwe Cunningham. According to him, this improved cruise control is a step closer to level 3 of autonomous driving, which will make it possible to entrust driving to the computer in the majority of situations.
“It allows motorists to relax, especially in the middle of traffic”, by “letting the car do the job”, assures Tariq Willis, marketing expert for the American brand.
BlueCruise should be available “soon” in Germany, then in France, with its 22,000 kilometers of eligible motorways, assures Mr. Cunningham.
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