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What would you ask Ford to add?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ford Motor Co. just answered your parental prayers.
Ford plans to roll out a new feature on many 2010 models that can limit teen drivers to 80 mph, using a computer chip in the key, according to AP
Parents will also have the option of programming the key to limit the audio system’s volume, and to sound continuous alerts if the driver doesn’t buckle up.
There are probably other parental-inspired features that Ford forgot to add. So what would you like to see? Perhaps, an alarm feature that sounds when there are more than four passengers. Or, what if the car ignition disengages if sensors detect the aroma of weed or alcohol? Teens drivers can weigh in as well. Some of this technology may not even exist yet, but it’s OK to get futuristic.
Comments
By bobdole
October 6, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this
Pffft. why don’t we just add a fun detector and have a light come on if they go over the set limit.
It’s call parenting people.. the car can’t do it for you…
By katzenjamer
October 6, 2008 5:38 PM | Link to this
How about a repetitious “put on a damn condom” warning if the cars parked with the motor running for more than 10 minutes!
By jon
October 6, 2008 7:02 PM | Link to this
If the car detects bodies in the back seat and none in the front, the stereo begins blaring Beach Boys music at a high level.
By M. R. Biggins
October 6, 2008 7:53 PM | Link to this
It should say “put some dam gas in the tank” over and over.
By Big Jim and the Twins
October 6, 2008 8:01 PM | Link to this
I’m not sure if my parents loved me or not. I had a Mustang GT at 16, and when I turned it into a horseshoe shape by hitting a deer, they got me a Camaro.
By Kaye
October 6, 2008 8:09 PM | Link to this
I am a parent of two. One is 21 and the other 19. I am a parent and let me tell you that if Ford can make a key to keep speed down then so be it. I would use it and I still trust my kids. Then why use a key? Because I am an adult. I know that teens think they are unbreakable. They think it will never happen to them. Because of a dare and a monent of mental lapse. Any good reason. The most important is because I love my kids and dont in any way think they are perfect.
I would want a key not 80 MPH as thats speeding. More like 70. I would want the controls too. Blaring radios not only distract from your driving but they irritate homeowners relaxing, other vehicles and emergency transports of any type.
Parents need to be parents. You have the option take it. I personally dont think teens need to be driving anyway. Permit at 16 and one month, license after drivers training and a year and half permitted. Lets stop being lazy and save our kids. I think there are worth it.
By Mike D
October 6, 2008 8:13 PM | Link to this
I would like them to add quality. That might also save them as a company.
By KJ
October 6, 2008 8:24 PM | Link to this
I guess I’ve never understood why ALL cars, with the exception of cops/emergency vehicles, aren’t programmed to limit speeding. Are we saying that it’s OK to drive 100+ as long as you’re over a certain age?
Also, Hondas already alert you continuously if you don’t put your seat belt on. Ford is (once again) behind the curve on this one.
By Brad
October 6, 2008 9:30 PM | Link to this
KJ, just about all cars within the last few years have seat belt warnings. Don’t know what Ford you drove, but our 2004 F-150 annoys the p** out of you if you don’t buckle up. Then again, do we really need machines to teach us common sense??
By Burdell
October 6, 2008 9:35 PM | Link to this
To me this sounds like a marketing ploy. Nothing more nothing less.
By What crap
October 6, 2008 9:51 PM | Link to this
Why should the cost of all this crap be passed on to everyone that buys a car because your spawn don’t know how to behave when they get behind the wheel. Let them die and take their defective genes out of the pool at an early age before they reproduce.
By jabster
October 6, 2008 10:47 PM | Link to this
I used to disconnect the seat belt buzzer in every car I owned (yes, I know, it’s a federal crime, come arrest me already) because I usually cranked the car up before I had the seat belt on so the heat/AC could run while I got buckled up. This messes up the airbags in newer cars, so I wouldn’t try this with a late model.
I don’t believe that KJ obeys all speed limits all the time. I’m just saying. Doing 80 on an interstate is NO BIG DEAL. I blew a tire going 75 and because I had my hands at 9 and 3 nothing bad happened. Kids would obey speed limits if they weren’t such a universal joke. Bad laws make all laws look bad.
That’s an idea! Put a touch sensor on the steering wheel that sounds an alarm if there’s not skin somewhere between 9 & 10 AND 2 & 3 for more than a couple seconds.
Another good idea—if the stability control detects wheel spin, activate a governor on the car for a predetermined period of time, because you’re either going too fast (such as in the rain) or you’re trying to be cool and peel a wheel.
In the first case, it’s to be safe. In the second case, it’s to punish you and get your friends to have the last laugh at you for being a knucklehead and trying to be cool.
I don’t think that kids think they are bulletproof. Rather, I think that the leftward drift of our society has really given them a small opinion of the value of their life and potential. I think a lot of kids take unnecessary risks because they don’t think they have that much to lose, even if they do die. If we valued success—especially at a young age—as a society more that would be a start. Now it seems like any success will either be denigrated by one’s peers or taken away by society in the name of “fairness”.
By Rich
October 6, 2008 11:12 PM | Link to this
There are a few places in the country (West Texas is one) where the speed limit on the interstate is in fact 80 mph. In a few others, it’s 75. You could also make the argument that someone might need to speed up for a few seconds to pass a semi-trailer, for example.
I would guess it’s being set at 80 mph because you don’t want to limit the top speed to a cruising speed. You need to be able to accelerate at least a little bit for those once-in-a-while circumstances.
By Frustrated
October 7, 2008 6:57 AM | Link to this
Just send all the 18 year olds to the north side and have them drive on 400. They’ll never get anywhere close to 80.
By yankee
October 7, 2008 8:04 AM | Link to this
What a waste of money.
By zeke
October 7, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this
80 miles an hour! How stupid! It should be 55 miles per jour, no more! Better yet, DO NOT ALLOW TEENS TO DRIVE, PERIOD!
By Wake Up Ford
October 7, 2008 8:46 AM | Link to this
How about a cell phone jammer? What Ford is failing to point out is that in a large number of the accidents involving teens, someone was yapping away/texting on their cell phone.
By Bobdole
October 7, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
Fart detectors in the seats , that way if they so much as fart the car can alert you!
By sharon gantenberg
October 27, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
after my 14 year old grandaughter being killed in a crash with her best friend, i deffinately would like to say thank you ford!!! i would also like to seecell phone cut off and a loud beeper if too many kids in the car…..
By sharon gantenberg
October 27, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this
after my 14 year old grandaughter being killed in a crash with her best friend, i deffinately would like to say thank you ford!!! i would also like to see cell phone cut off and a loud beeper if too many kids in the car…..
By sharon gantenberg
October 27, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
after my 14 year old grandaughter being killed in a crash with her best friend, i deffinately would like to say thank you ford!!! i would also like to see cell phone cut off and a loud beeper if too many kids in the car…..rest in peace lauren dietz and miranda phelps
By zelchiboc
November 18, 2008 4:14 PM | Link to this
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By zelchiboc
November 18, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
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