http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/25/technology/ford-speed-limit/index.html

New Ford car automatically obeys speed limits

Ford says it has the answer for speed demons who can't keep their gas pedals off the metal: A car that reads speed limit signs and automatically slows down.

Ford (F) says that the newest edition of its S-Max car has "a new technology that scans traffic signs and adjusts the throttle to help drivers stay within legal speed limits and avoid fines."







The new system, called the intelligent speed limiter, was unveiled by Ford of Europe in Germany on Tuesday. But Ford's European division said the technology will be available worldwide.

The S-Max can read signs with its traffic sign recognition system and adjusts for speed accordingly. And it doesn't need to pull down the brake to slow down the car.

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Now that is scary! What if this car gets so smart it decides that it wants to hold you captive inside!! Just sayin!!

What if I'm driving 55 MPH down state highway 15, and it confuses that route marker with a speed limit sign?

What happens when you drive past a speed limit sign that has been vandalized with spray paint to change 35 to 85????

What happens if I'm flying down back roads and the speed limit is technically 45 but everyone knows it's really 60? I don't like this at all. I hate when my car thinks it's smarter than I am.

::like::

What happens if there is no speed limit sign? Does the car just keep accelerating?

people, people, people...relax, there is no need to panic...if you read the article, it says FORD...hello, have you driven a Ford lately? Yeah, neither have I...nor, apparently, has most of America...

So the management at ford is going to change all the signs to zero?

Found
on
Road
Dead

Fix
or
Repair
Daily

And backwards - Drivers Return on Foot.

The euro already have automated ticketing for speeding, so this is just a way to fight back. The version of the article I read on Yahoo had no mention the tech would come stateside. But all the fully automated cars we are building for the states will lock in on the speed limit for sure.

Once we have both humans and computers driving on the same roads it becomes a matter of liability and lawsuits and the human will loose most of the time because we like to drive "just past" the limit all the time.

Tell me that they do not have an automated giving the finger function in the auto cars.

Straight into oblivion. The car will accelerate. . . into oblivion.

The stereo system will come pre-loaded with Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55" (because my stinking car won't let me).

Get a nail, get a board, put it together and you have a Ford.

I pink puffy heart Fords and I don't care who knows it. My daddy only ever drove Fords. My mama drives Fords. My baby brother works for Ford and both hubby and I drive Fords. We look like a dealership at family gatherings.

I strayed for a couple years and had both a Honda and a Nissan that I couldn't wait to get rid of!

^^^what she said.^^^ I have driven Fords for years, and although I will concede that my latest car (2014 Fusion) has had some computer issues, I still love the product and will continue to buy them!

Let's make it a Trifecta, I like my Ford and only drive Ford. (Started with my Pinto, then my ranger, then my Explorer, and now my F-150) Looking to go back to the Explorer.

Now, my wife is Honda babe.

I realize that I'm a Luddite but we sure do seem to be rushing to surrender our thinking, our control, and our liberty to computer technology.

What ^^^^ he said.

My first car was a '88 Ford Escort and was a great little car. My second was a '04 Taurus. It was ok, had more problems out of that one than any car I've owned. My third car was a '07 Taurus and still going strong at well over 150,000 miles. Just needs a little routine maintenance done on it and it will be ready for my son to drive next year.

I actually like Fords, but will admit, I defected and bought myself a Mazda 6 this year and LOVE it so far.

We have a Navigator that's had its' share of problems, and my step daughter has a 2011 Mustang that is already having A/C blend door issues with only 20k miles, so I'm not sure how great Fords are now.

I grew up in a Chevrolet and GM family and until the 80's, they were reliable cars. My sister had an 82 Camaro and an 86 Olds that were two giant POS's, and I had an 89 Camaro that had to get a new engine at 9000 miles. After those fiascoes, I switched to Euro and Japanese cars primarily and those were good, but even those had issues (Euro ones primarily). I like fun cars, and the BMWs and MB's I've had were fun, but after some miles, required some (unreasonable to me) repairs that I usually did myself.

So now I find myself ready to replace my current vehicle (10 yrs old with 150k miles) with a reasonable "fun" car again, so I am searching for a newer 2012-ish convertible and it's been quite a challenge to find a 4 seater that is reliable yet offers some fun. After looking at 3 series and 6 series BMW (have been reading about them and they appear to be nightmares in many cases), an E-class MB (just not a fan of the design), a Mustang 5.0 (daughter has a 2011 w/20k miles and it's already issues as stated), etc. Seems they all have issues that I'd rather not deal with except for the 2012 and newer Camaro SS. From everything I've read, they have exceptional reliability (with the V-8), and minimal complaints so that's the direction I'm heading right now. Should this be in the 1st World Problems thread?

It seems totally random whether a car will be reliable or not. I just read that some couple drove to every county, yes county! in the continental US in a Dodge Intrepid. We had a Dodge Intrepid and could barely drive to the grocery store without something going wrong.

This is pretty impressive:

Chevy Malibu will become 45-mpg strong hybrid with next update

Come next year there'll be no more mild hybrid pretensions for the Chevrolet Malibu - the next-generation sedan will borrow technology from the 2016 Volt and get a proper hybrid powertrain. A 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine gets help from a two-motor drive unit adapted from the Volt for 182 system horsepower, the motor drive powered by an 80-cell, 1.5-kWh lithium-ion battery.

Chevrolet says that when combined with features like grille shutters and a lower ride height, it expects the Malibu Hybrid will post a combined fuel economy rating of more than 45 miles per gallon, which would best the hybrid trims of the Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata.


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http://www.autoblog.com/2015/03/25/chevy-malibu-will-become-strong-hybrid-with-next-update/