Ford Changes Its Mind About Self-Driving Cars CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopping Tools Car Reviews Car Finder Compare Cars Best Cars Car Dealerships Used Car Reviews Car Advice Home News Ford Changes Its Mind About Self-Driving Cars

Ford Changes Its Mind About Self-Driving Cars

Apr. 11, 2019 9:00 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz / Comments In reality, autonomous cars will have many limitations. Despite what you may have heard about Tesla's Autopilot, there is no car currently on sale that offers full self-driving capability. Automakers are making inroads in developing autonomous technology and Ford has been at the forefront of this innovation with its fleet of self-driving prototypes in both Miami, Florida and the US capital, Washington DC. Ford previously said it would be the first to market with a self-driving car in 2021 but speaking with Bloomberg, the company had to temper those expectations. "We overestimated the arrival of autonomous vehicles," Jim Hackett said. Ford's self-driving car will still arrive in 2021 but, "its applications will be narrow, what we call geo-fenced, because the problem is so complex." Ford Ford Ford What Hackett means is that self-driving cars won't just be able to traverse the entire US without needing driver intervention. Geo-fencing creates a virtual perimeter for the car using GPS location, where we assume the car will only be able to drive by itself within certain areas. Hackett didn't go into any more detail on how or why the cars will need to use geo-fencing but we assume extreme weather conditions and the unpredictability of certain roads in the US may be the cause. Ford Ford Self-driving cars may initially be used for deliveries and ridesharing rather than a consumer replacement for their current vehicles. This way, geo-fencing can be used to make sure the cars stay within a certain area. "When we break through, it will change the way your toothpaste is delivered," Hackett said. "Logistics and ride structures and cities all get redesigned. I won't be in charge of Ford when this is going on, but I see it clearly. When we bring this thing to market, it's going to be really powerful. There's probably going to be alliance partners that we haven't announced yet that will make it more certain that we don't take on all the risks ourselves financially." Ford

Join The Discussion

Add first comment

Gallery

9 Photos Tags: #Ford News #Industry News #Technology

Related Cars

Ford Fusion Ford Escape Jared Rosenholtz Editor-at-Large After graduating with an MBA, Jared pursued his love of cars by becoming an automotive journalist. An internship with CarBuzz grew into his current position as Editor At Large. Jared now spends most of his time evaluating new vehicles and chasing the latest news stories in the automotive industry. When he’s not attending Cars & Coffee events on the weekend, Jared loves to watch NFL football and cruise around with the top down in his German convertible. Contact Jared @Carsnbites @jar_rosenholtz LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top