Inside Ford’s parallel parking universe
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One would be forgiven for thinking that if a person had the wherewithal necessary to become the owner of a luxury car, that person should have sufficient brain power to park it. Or maybe this is all the thin end of the wedge, the thick end being computer-driven cars in which no one has any fun and the government knows where everyone is all the time, but accidents are a thing of the past. However, let’s get back to Detroit 2009 and a system Ford is introducing at the show.
Like spelling “parallel” from memory, parallel parking can sometimes be tricky. Lexus already has a camera-based self-parking system for its big LS sedan. Ford’s new counterpart uses ultrasonic sensors on each corner of a vehicle to gauge how much room there is to maneuver in. The driver presses a button and the car does the steering -- the only other things the human has to do is select drive or reverse and apply brake or throttle, prompted by the system (which is blessed with the snappy title of “Ford Active Park Assist” when it could have been called the “Lazy Jeeves” or something -- where’s the imagination these days?).
Ford claims its parking apparatus is more precise than the Lexus equivalent. This remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Ford Active Park Assist will be featured initially on the Lincoln MKS sedan (from mid-2009) and the all-new Lincoln MKT seven-seater crossover that’s also due to be unveiled at the Motor City bash.