Ford CEO Jim Farley has made it quite clear that he envisions a number of changes for the 119-year-old automaker over the coming years, including a transition to electric vehicles, dramatically less inventory on dealer lots, selling vehicles at fixed prices, and even splitting the company into two entities – Ford Model e for its EV business, and Ford Blue for ICE vehicles. Farley has also been a big proponent of connected vehicle services, which he feels will become a major source of revenue for the automaker, which might just include having customers pony up big bucks for autonomous driving features just so they can sleep in their cars.
“When I was at Toyota and I sold my Prius, that HOV sticker was worth $5,000,” Jim Farley said while speaking at the recent Bernstein Conference. “That only saved me five minutes a day on my commute. If we can get people to fall asleep in our car, give them 45 minutes back on their commute, they can go to work 45 minutes later, they can go home 45 minutes earlier, it won’t be $500. It’ll be tens of thousands of dollars.”
Currently, Tesla charges $12,000 for its Full Self-Driving feature, which is not completely autonomous and requires the driver to routinely put pressure on the steering wheel to remain activated, so this notion isn’t terribly far off. Meanwhile, Ford has invested heavily in autonomous vehicle technology in recent years, with its subsidiary – Argo AI – recently launching its first driver-free ride sharing vehicles in select markets.
Farley went on to compare the coming transformation of the automotive industry to the modern smartphone as an example of how these software additions might work. “We’re about to change the ride just like Apple and all the smartphone companies changed the call,” he said. “And I believe when that happens, when you can ship a lot of software to the car, and you have great sensors, and really change that experience and be a lot more productive, there will be a large revenue expansion.”
We’ll have more on Ford’s connectivity push soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Down 17 percent in just five years.
Behind only the Explorer and the Mach-E itself.
They might have been given Transit Trail tires.
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Well if you break down in a FORD product out in the middle of nowhere, you may have to sleep in it.
Thats how you wake up dead.
Either way, ive already seen several tractor trailers going up i80 and i15 without anyone sitting in the drivers seat. Pretty unnerving.
might as well just automate RVs.
So you are sleeping and not braced or aware of a possible crash and then someone runs a red light or stop sign. Good way to die.
Just to be clear, "bracing for a crash" helps not one little bit.
yeah sure... you can sleep in your car, but you can't drive a house.
Technically motorhomes and trailers are mobile homes
First off, I want to start out that I worked for a major sensor manufacture for many years. This manufacture is a global manufacture. I will also tell you that there's no way on God's green earth that I would trust a sensor to navigate or control my car, no freaking way. Sensors are designed with a life cycle built in. In other words, designed to fail. There are never built great, just good enough. Think of these sensors like your computer or cell phone. Just one more (very expensive) thing to upgrade. Also I will inform you that the cost of goods on these sensors are so much less expensive than you think. For instance, a sensor that I know very well, the COG is 45 dollars. It's sold wholesale for 215 dollars, retails out at 545. What do you think it's going to cost to replace this system when it goes bad, not if, when? I would strongly suggest to stay as far away as possible.
I'm totally with you, I'd be too nervous to sleep in a moving vehicle but some sensors now are made to last. We throw away old equipment and devices that are not part of an upgrade that still work great. I work at a giant particle accelerator at a National Lab.
Farley needs his head examined-he can't supply the cars we have now-waiting a year for a maverick that's not even scheduled yet-ford needs new leadership before they go under and that's if its not to late now
Exactly correct. He is ruining Ford.
Waiting for a Maverick myself, 9 months. Got pissed by an article that says they're working on a new model of it. Work on delivering the Mavericks on order!!
Exactly Right. The Guys a complete Moron. He has lost a entire extended family of lifetime Ford owners. Never again. We've bought over 34 Ford's since my first Pinto new in 78. Ford needs to get rid of this idiot before Ford goes under. My next car is going to be a Subaru.
Uhh, no we won't. This CEO is causing people to abandon Ford in droves. No one wants what he's selling.
Exactly right. 42,200 transmission modules on back order for cars that are owned by people but can't drive there vehicles , so there vehicle are sitting at Ford service centers waiting to be fix and he talking about building other car. Open you eyes Mr. CEO. Take care of your customers first instead of trying to figure out how to put another million pennies in your pocket
I sleep in bed. I drive in my vehicle.
Farley is a loon.
No thanks, no way. Sounds like a good way to commit suicide. Fall asleep and never wake up. I think the government is nuts for allowing this in cars.
It will never happen ….! But they will come up with some thing…
I cannot sleep on an airplane, train, bus, etc., how the hell am I going to sleep in the drivers' seat of a moving car?