![]() “We have always strived to make technology accessible for our customers, and BlueCruise is this next step on this journey, making motorway driving a more comfortable experience.” “Today marks a significant moment for our industry as Ford BlueCruise becomes the first hands-free driving system of its kind to receive approval for use in Great Britain,” said Lisa Brankin, managing director, Ford UK & Ireland. The first 90 days are included with the vehicle purchase, after which there is a £17.99 monthly subscription. Owners of Ford Mustang Mach-E model year 2023 electric vehicles in Great Britain are the first to be able to activate BlueCruise. BlueCruise can do some of the ‘heavy lifting’, to make highway driving less of a chore, and give drivers that little extra confidence and convenience.” “Modern highways can be demanding even for the most confident drivers, and intimidating for many. “It’s not every day that you can say you’ve placed one foot in the future, but Ford BlueCruise becoming the first hands-free driving system of its kind to receive approval for use in a European country is a significant step forward for our industry,” said Martin Sander, general manager, Ford Model e, Europe. In addition, infrared camera technology continually checks driver attentiveness for safety. The system monitors road markings, speed signs and traffic conditions to control steering, acceleration, braking and lane positioning, as well as maintaining safe and consistent distances to vehicles ahead, right down to a complete halt in traffic jams. The go ahead from the Department for Transport means drivers of enabled Mustang Mach-E models can use “hands-off, eyes-on” driving technology on 2,300 miles motorways in England, Scotland and Wales, designated as Blue Zones. GM's majority-owned Cruise self-driving vehicle unit has been operating since 2013.įord announced it would use the name BlueCruise for its hands-free driving technology in April this year.Ford has become the first car maker to win regulatory approval for use of its hands-free driving technology on UK motorways.ĭrivers of 193,000 BlueCruise-equipped Ford and Lincoln vehicles have already driven more than 64 million hands-free miles in Canada and the US, but this will be the first system of its kind approved in Europe. GM announced in 2012 it would use the name Super Cruise for its hands-free driver assistance technology, and has been marketing the technology using that name since 2017. "Ford's decision to rebrand by using a core mark used by GM and Cruise will inevitably cause confusion." "Ford knew what it was doing," GM said in the lawsuit. The so-called Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, such as Tesla's semi-automated Autopilot technology, are not supposed to allow drivers to fully disengage from driving for extended periods.Īutomakers have used the word, cruise, for decades to describe cruise control systems which allow drivers to set a speed the car will maintain, usually in highway driving. "That’s why BlueCruise was chosen as the name for the Blue Oval’s next evolution of Ford’s Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control."Īutomakers are racing each other to deploy technology to enable drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel in traffic jams or on highways. "Drivers for decades have understood what cruise control is, every automaker offers it, and 'cruise' is common shorthand for the capability," Ford said in a statement. automaker has asked the court for an order to prohibit Ford from using the BlueCruise name and unspecified damages.įord called the lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, "meritless and frivolous". GM is claiming trademark infringement and unfair competition in the lawsuit. In the lawsuit, filed on Friday, GM said the automakers had held "protracted discussions" over the matter but failed to resolve the dispute. "While GM had hoped to resolve the trademark infringement matter with Ford amicably, we were left with no choice but to vigorously defend our brands and protect the equity our products and technology have earned over several years in the market," GM said in its statement. In a statement released shortly after midnight Detroit time, GM said Ford's use of the BlueCruise name infringed on GM's Super Cruise trademark, as well as Cruise's trademark. DETROIT - General Motors and its Cruise robo-taxi subsidiary have filed a lawsuit to stop Ford from using the name "BlueCruise" to market its hands-free driving technology, the companies said on Saturday.
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