{"id":27191,"date":"2021-04-14T08:52:05","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=27191"},"modified":"2021-04-14T08:52:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:52:05","slug":"payne-fords-hands-free-bluecruise-chases-tesla-autopilot-and-gm-super-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/payne-fords-hands-free-bluecruise-chases-tesla-autopilot-and-gm-super-cruise","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Ford’s hands-free BlueCruise chases Tesla Autopilot and GM Super Cruise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the lead of Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot and General Motors Co.’s\u00a0Super Cruise, Ford Motor Co. has telegraphed a semi-autonomous, active-drive-assist feature available with its 2021 Ford F-150 pickup and electric Mustang Mach-E.<\/p>\n

Now that system has a name: BlueCruise.<\/p>\n

\"Driver's-eye<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Blue as in the colorful\u00a0highlights in the instrument panel that indicate\u00a0BlueCruise is available for hands-free driving on 100,000 miles of divided highways that Ford has mapped across North America. The feature, now available for purchase, will be activated by an over-the-air update on properly-equipped vehicles in the third quarter of this year.<\/p>\n

While details are still emerging, the Ford system aims to play in the same space as Autopilot and Super Cruise. U.S. manufacturers have taken the lead in semi-autonomous systems with a view towards fully-autonomous, so-called Level 5, vehicles. For now, systems like BlueCruise are Level 2 grade, requiring driver attention.<\/p>\n

Similar to GM\u2019s Super Cruise (which debuted on the now-extinct Cadillac CT6 sedan in 2018 and is available on Escalade\/CT4\/CT5 models and the Chevrolet\u00a0Bolt EUV), BlueCruise monitors driver engagement via a camera on the steering column.<\/p>\n