Ford owners appear to have fallen in love with BlueCruise as the automaker has revealed they’ve racked up 10.6 million miles (17.1 million km) of hands-free driving since the system was launched last July.
That’s an impressive number and it’s even more notable when you consider the technology still hasn’t rolled out to all eligible vehicles yet. While nearly 15,000 2021 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E owners have already completed the BlueCruise software update, another 35,000 are in the process.
Combined with the number of vehicles equipped with BlueCruise from the factory, Ford says there are now around 66,500 customers enjoying the hands-free semi-autonomous driving system. They’re using the system often as the automaker revealed the number of miles driven hands-free doubled from 4.5 million miles (7.2 million km) to 10.6 million miles (17.1 million km) last month alone. The company also noted the most popular routes are highways connecting Dallas and Houston, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and Cape Canaveral and Ft. Lauderdale.
Also Read: Ford Introduces BlueCruise, Brings Hands-Free Driving To F-150 And Mustang Mach-E
BlueCruise allows for hands-free driving on more than 130,000 miles (209,214 km) of roadway in North America. It builds upon Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go, Lane Centering, and Speed Sign Recognition by using an assortment of sensors to enable vehicles to detect their surroundings and drive themselves on the highway. The system also monitors the driver to ensure they’re paying attention and will provide alerts if they avert their gaze off the road for too long.
Ford Power-Up Technology program manager, Farid Abdulhadi, noted that over-the-air updates are the “gift that keeps giving” and the “BlueCruise software updates are a powerful example of this” as “one day you’re driving normally and the next hands-free.” That’s amazing when you think about it and it goes to show how over-the-air updates can keep ‘old’ vehicles fresh.
