Ford's Active Park Assist: Not just for impressing your friends

Video made that worthwhile. I'd love to try it out.

Another step in dummying-down drivers. :-(

This may be "worth it" for some people but I don't want a system that drives OR parks for me. Maybe when I'm 70 years old or when I get my wife's next car.

kudos for Ford for making a more effective system.

Ford is certainly coming from behind to be a major player in the newest automotive technology field.

P.S.: The gauges in the MKS look terrible.

I never understood why these systems can't change gears for you too.

I'm a car enthusiast and I like driving fast but parallel parking is more work than fun for me and I'd be happy to hand the job over to computers. Kudos for Ford for being the first to make one that truly works and for pricing it reasonably. Added to Ecoboost and Sync, Ford seems to be on the right track for the most part. If Ford ever brings their Euro cars to the U.S. including the Focus RS, introduces a Fusion SHO, and an efficient diesel for the F-150, they would have it nailed.

this is one thing that should not even have been invented... if one can't park, he should not be driving a car.

Lets see... huhhhmmm... Hey FORD how about MAKEUP DRIVING ASSIST, TEXTING DRIVING ASSIST, EATING A 1/4LB BURGER DRIVING ASSIST, COFFEE SPILL ASSIST, MOM'S TIMEOUT SMACKING KIDS IN THE BACK ASSIST etc.

So many assist they can invent but in the end the driving quality will go down the drain. :(

Another step in dummying-down drivers. :-(.

Amen.

Question: When the system fails and the wheels get curbed, will the warranty cover it?
-mm

I'd be interested in seeing what happens when a system like this is thrown against some really nastily tight spots where even if the car was slid in on rollers, there would only be an inch or two on either end. Can it handle that? What about if you try an park in a spot clearly too small?

chaos -

If the space is too small, both the Ford and Lexus systems will recognize that and won't invite you to park there. The driver moves on to the next available space.

Regards,
Albert

for all of you complaining about the dumbing down of driving. dont use the system but for us city dwellers stuff like this is godsend it does several things for us.

1. saves time
2. saves frustration
3. makes life easier

and its truly an inexpensive price to pay for something so effective. I have no problems parralell parking but its just such a hastle when you have to do it so many times a day just to get around. If I want a fun driving experience ill buy a mustang or something like that.

The ability to parallel park a car manually is now one more way to separate the drivers from the transportation appliance owners/operators.

Let's be honest. Gimmicks like this ARE intended to impress your friends.

I'm with dino6. I *can* parallel park (sometimes even in one try!) but for as much hassle as it is, I think I'd welcome the option to turn over control to the computers. And with such a reasonable price (on par with a sunroof or mid-level stereo) it's almost a no-brainer.

lol estreka said it best...this is a GIMMICK. just like hyundai gloating about its speakers that it shares with rolls royce, and its such on par with lexus qualities. I dont understand why lexus seems to be the bench mark, can you set your bar higher...not that lexus is bad, but there are better, BMW, MB, Audi, Volvo...X60.

@windsor5

what city are you in, city dweller? I hope you're not in San Francisco because such system would be useless. And how is it going to a) save time, b) save frustration, and c) make life easier?
if parking is such a hastle, perhaps taking a cab or the bus is your solution.

alman -

Ford says their system will work in San Fran on steep grades and conducted a demo there; they have video. If they send me the video I will post it.

Regards,
Albert

It's amazing what people will spend just to avoid spending an hour or two practising a skill.

Sure it makes it easier but so does taking a taxi and letting someone do all the work for you.

Someone needs to develop "cell phone assist" which is a hand that would come out of the dash and slap the phone out of the drivers hand.

I happen to be a great driver and I will be the first to admit that I suck at parallel parking. I live in Houston were we have parking lots in abundance and I only have to park on the street once or twice a month (maybe). The option is priced so low that I wouldn't think twice about getting it on my new car if it were available, and worked as quickly and easily as this one.

I thought Toyota/Honda already had that feature on their cars (or at least on their cars in Japan). I just don't get why Ford decided to follow that path.

+1 Dino6

Parallel parking in all but huge spaces is a huge pain in the ass. I'd add this to my car for $500.

ok, snakedoctor, I would like to see that video also, however, you know what it's like to try to locate a parking spot in the residential districts in San Francisco? From my understand, and maybe I read it wrong, this system is supposed to search and locate the parking space for the driver as well as parking the car into the spot. well, here we are going to have (parking spot)(parking spot)(garage access)(parking spot)(garage access) in this kind of set up on the same block for many many many blocks. How is the system going to determine if the spot is a legit parking spot and not the garage access?

and this is a side note... to that certain someone, please do not call yourself a great driver when you claimed you suck at parallel parking. it's part of the deal.

when is someone going to invent a system which the car will drive itself around the block and pick me up while I go inside a store real quick? it sure would help me a lot of time trying to find parking, feed the meter for a 2 min errand.

alman -

When you are ready to park, you push the switch and drive slowly. The system tells you if the space is suitable and guides you from there.
Garage access and driveways may be recognized by the system, but it's better recognized by you, the driver.

Technology is great, but we must also have common sense, yes?

Most street parking in SF is not too bad.
What neighborhood are you in? -- the Marina? If so, yeah, parking is horrible there and some other SF neighborhoods.

Regards,
Albert

Kudos to Ford for making a system that actually works outside the lab on real-world streets. You know, the streets that have inclines and spaces that are tight enough to require a 3-point maneuver and cars that don't have champagne glasses stacked upon their hoods.

I (kind of) agree with alman... don't claim to be a great driver if you can't parallel park. Just because your insurance company says you're great driver doesn't mean you have any skill. But c'mon man. Knowing whether a [space] is a [parking space] requires human intervention. It can't make decisions for the driver (thank God) but will assist with the parking maneuver once engaged. Your concern is tantamount to "I set the cruise, then my stupid car crashed into the car in front of me..".

Lastly, if this system gets SF tourists into parallel spots and outta my way that much faster (vs. try, try again, ok try again) I'll be thrilled! :-)