Ford shared on Monday that it is heading deeper into the software program recreation by making its hands-free driving {hardware} — BlueCruise — customary in a lot of its future automobiles. In different phrases, the Detroit automaker’s Tesla-ification continues.
Excluding the Mustang Mach-E, Ford had beforehand solely given people the choice to purchase the hands-off driving characteristic forward of time, with the acquisition of a brand new automobile.
Shifting ahead, Ford says it should construct the requisite hands-free tech into “500,000 automobiles for the 2024 mannequin 12 months in North America throughout Ford and Lincoln,” together with the F-150 Lightning, F-150, Expedition, Lincoln Navigator and Nautilus. Ford first indicated it was headed on this path again in Might.
The upside is that automobile patrons will not must resolve forward of time in the event that they wish to check out BlueCruise. That would show particularly helpful for used-car consumers, who may wish to shell out for options that earlier homeowners weren’t excited about. The draw back is that this specific characteristic ain’t low-cost.
If you happen to pay for entry upfront with a brand new automobile, Ford says it’s going to cost you “$2,100 for 3 years at time of order.” In any other case, the corporate will supply free trials earlier than charging $800 per 12 months or $75 per 30 days. The providing sounds a complete lot like Tesla’s driver-assist subscriptions.
Nonetheless, whereas Ford is late to the sport, its subscription is at the least a bit cheaper.