Ford Mustang Mach E — “Come at me bro” to Tesla
Yesterday, Ford gave us a peek under the hood of its new driver-assist technology, Active Drive Assist.
What it does: Active Drive Assist can control a vehicle's steering, braking, and speed. But there’s a driver monitoring system that ensures you’re only somewhat distracted solving the Friday Puzzle. The tech also only works on 100,000 miles of divided highways that Ford’s mapped across the U.S. and Canada.
Active Drive Assist will be available in the second half of 2021, starting with the electric Mustang Mach-E SUV.
Can Ford catch up?
Advanced driver-assist systems from GM (Super Cruise) and Tesla (Autopilot) have a big head start, but objects in Elon's mirror are closer than they appear.
For one, Ford has the U.S.’ bestselling vehicle in its back pocket. The carmaker is debuting a redesigned F-150 next week...another potential candidate for Active Drive Assist. It’s also revealing the new Bronco, an off-road Jeep competitor, in July and an all-electric F-150 in 2022.
Zoom out: With a growing debt load and a painful 2018 restructuring, Ford needs a W on its new truck.