So our Bronco Sport Base is AMAZING in the snow, but...

[ZeroCool]

It‘s not a gimmick or a fad. Self driving cars are getting better every year. Technologies like Forward Looking Infrared could help mitigate some of the weather problems, as would sensors that are heated (note that both of those solutions are used, to some extent, on aicraft).

Besides, even if full self-driving cars couldn’t get past the problems associated with inclement weather, it doesn’t mean that is a failure. Ever have a flight cancel because of weather? Airplanes have weather limits, are they considered a fad? A gimmick? Certainly not. They have their limits and we learn to live with them, just like any other machine.

Airplanes have pilots. They’re not “self flying”
But, they have autopilot, so maybe we can argue that self driving cars are comparable because they have a driver? I think the idea of cars getting you from point a to b without any interaction or instruction from the driver is a long way off. I welcome driver assistance though, all these new systems are pretty awesome imo. I’m ready to program my car destination, drink as much as I want at the bar, and let that wonderful intelligent machine drive me home lmfao.

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[MJE]

I’m ready to program my car destination, drink as much as I want at the bar, and let that wonderful intelligent machine drive me home lmfao.

Now this use case will be the killer app for self driving cars!

 

[Tall Timbers]

Airplanes have pilots. They’re not “self flying”
But, they have autopilot, so maybe we can argue that self driving cars are comparable because they have a driver? I think the idea of cars getting you from point a to b without any interaction or instruction from the driver is a long way off. I welcome driver assistance though, all these new systems are pretty awesome imo. I’m ready to program my car destination, drink as much as I want at the bar, and let that wonderful intelligent machine drive me home lmfao.

Last year I was jogging against traffic on a rural highway. A car approached going my way and I looked back jut to make sure the car was where it should be... a second later I heard screeching and watched as the car appeared to want to go into the ditch on the other side of the road but corrected and came towards me. Only about 10 feet in front of me and on the shoulder of the road the car ended up on two wheels right about at the tipping over point as the driver fought to get control. Seemingly at the last possible moment the car tires in the air dropped back down and the car shot back to the other side of the road and came to a complete stop. Where this occurred there was a bend in the road and I''m guessing that the whole incident was related to a collision avoidance system on the foreign branded car (not a Ford). At one point I was probably directly in front of the car as it entered the bend and the collision avoidance screwed up and reacted when there was no need to. I too think we're a long way off from having cars that can safely drive themselves without assistance.

 

[NellyNelsman]

I got a Frost guard for my Baby bronc so no more snow in that Grand Canyon you speak of.
The sensors in my side mirrors set that off when iced or frosted over. My frost guard has side mirror cover bags. So no sensor set off for me..
Google it (Frostguard) and don’t settle for imitations…

What size did you get? Don't see Bronco Sport as an option on their website. The Escape comes back with XL recommended.

 

[Osco]

What size did you get? Don't see Bronco Sport as an option on their website. The Escape comes back with XL recommended.

Frost Guard DELUXE
Here ya go:

my standard size is 59” wide x 41” long.
With mirror bags to keep your collision sensors in the mirrors working.
It covers the wind shield but side to side leaving about four inches short on each side with Plenty to cover our Grand Canyon at the bottom so we don’t have to dig out the windshield wipers.
Total cost including tax and shipping $47.56
Current QVC item number
#V39506.. note the item numbers change ALSO stay away from the rear cover it is getting bad reviews..

 

[jazzdab]

At one point I was probably directly in front of the car as it entered the bend and the collision avoidance screwed up and reacted when there was no need to. I too think we're a long way off from having cars that can safely drive themselves without assistance.

After driving 4 different vehicles with varying driver assistance packages - 2016 Mazda 6, 2018 Subaru Forester, 2019 Kia Stinger and now 2021 Ford Bronco - I have decided I like warnings and notifications and prefer to keep any system where the car might take drastic action disabled.

The Stinger had the best lane keeping and adaptive cruise. It was subtle and adjustable. Both the Mazda 6 and the Forester were overly aggressive. The 6 once dropped me from 70 mph in the left lane of a 3 lane highway because of a sharp shadow from an overpass. Scared the crap outta me. The Forester would lock the brakes while I was backing into the garage even though I had sufficient clearance; it would also fight me when I veered the slightest bit out of my lane to give a vehicle or obstacle a wide berth. I'm glad the Bronco has these systems but I will keep them set as much as possible to provide warnings only.

 

[Jrl]

Frost Guard DELUXE
Here ya go:

my standard size is 59” wide x 41” long.
With mirror bags to keep your collision sensors in the mirrors working.
It just covers the wind shield side to side with Plenty to cover our Grand Canyon at the bottom so we don’t have to dig out the windshield wipers.
Total cost including tax and shipping $47.56
Current QVC item number
#V39506.. note the item numbers change ALSO stay away from the rear cover it is getting bad reviews..collision

Did not know of the collision sensors in the mirrors , always thought they are in the center of grill or in back of the window mirror . Learn something new everyday, thanks .

 

[BigBend]

Airplanes have pilots. They’re not “self flying”
But, they have autopilot, so maybe we can argue that self driving cars are comparable because they have a driver? I think the idea of cars getting you from point a to b without any interaction or instruction from the driver is a long way off. I welcome driver assistance though, all these new systems are pretty awesome imo. I’m ready to program my car destination, drink as much as I want at the bar, and let that wonderful intelligent machine drive me home lmfao.

What happens with a self driving car and you want to drive 85mph in a 70mph zone, because you are running late? What happens if it doesn't take the route you want it to take? I am talking about a real autonomous system where you climb in the car and tell it where you want to go, and it does the rest. All I am saying is we as drivers have always controlled our own destiny behind the wheel. Speeding, or going through a yellow light, or changing our route at a moments notice. Driving will still require human intervention, people will have to learn how to operate a vehicle. I refuse to kneel at the altar of science and technology, they have been wrong as often as they are right.

 

[WoodmanMN]

After driving 4 different vehicles with varying driver assistance packages - 2016 Mazda 6, 2018 Subaru Forester, 2019 Kia Stinger and now 2021 Ford Bronco - I have decided I like warnings and notifications and prefer to keep any system where the car might take drastic action disabled.

The Stinger had the best lane keeping and adaptive cruise. It was subtle and adjustable. Both the Mazda 6 and the Forester were overly aggressive. The 6 once dropped me from 70 mph in the left lane of a 3 lane highway because of a sharp shadow from an overpass. Scared the crap outta me. The Forester would lock the brakes while I was backing into the garage even though I had sufficient clearance; it would also fight me when I veered the slightest bit out of my lane to give a vehicle or obstacle a wide berth. I'm glad the Bronco has these systems but I will keep them set as much as possible to provide warnings only.

The Bronco Sport is the first vehicle I've owned with lane departure warning or the pre-collision assist. I have it set to vibrate the wheel in case of lane departure, but not to take action. Because of things like you mentioned, I don't want the car steering me out of my intended path because it thinks a shadow is a car. At worst so far, if I apex a corner in the Bronco Sport it vibrates at me a little. Not enough to cause an issue, but a reminder that I'm "not in my lane".

 

[fastlax16]

For the sensor thing nothing can be done when your car is covered with a layer of snow except to maybe disable it from the options menu. This is the reason why I tell people self driving cars is just a fad. It just can't be done unless it's perfect weather. It's just a gimmick. When a computer can't see lines on the road and detect objects on the road when it is raining or snowing then it is useless.

Adding a heating element to the sensors is a pretty simple engineering ask. Tesla already does it. Surprised the car doesn’t at least auto disable. If snow built up on my vw id get one warning and letting me know the system was unavailable and then a light similar to the cel would stay on until it was cleared off. No manual inputs needed from behind the wheel to prevent constant reminders or turn anything off.

Lines on the road being obscured is problematic but can be solved for with infrastructure improvements (feasible in some areas not others). I think you’ll see true self driving tech viable/realized on highways/interstates in the not so distant future. It’ll be awhile, possibly never, before it comes to city streets, especially less affluent areas with poorly maintained roads where residents are going to be unlikely to afford cars with the feature anyway.

 

[Tawnygal]

A couple weeks ago, my brother-in-law asked us to join him in the sticks for a bonfire in the season's first snow. We're in north central washington and get a ton of it. He dropped a pin on a Google map and sent it our way. We clicked it and set out. We followed those directions through increasingly iffy "roads" (ahem, trails) and twice called him to ask if they were right because there was NO WAY he'd pulled a trailer over them. Not knowing that Google was taking us the "scenic route" to put it nicely, he assured us we were fine. Right about the time my husband declared "we gotta' get out of here, this is sketchy AF" we saw his brother's trailer at the bottom of a really steep, narrow, snowy/icy/muddy hill. We decided continuing forward was safer than reversing, so put it in Slippery GOAT mode and continued. At the bottom of the hill, we see him waving his arms, we think in greeting, only to learn at the bottom he was trying to stop us. We arrived, none the worse for wear, to "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET DOWN THAT?? THAT'S AN ATV TRAIL!" Sure enough at the bottom, facing where we'd just come out, is an ATV ONLY sign. That little Bronco did good!

 

[DMEARC]

What happens with a self driving car and you want to drive 85mph in a 70mph zone, because you are running late? What happens if it doesn't take the route you want it to take? I am talking about a real autonomous system where you climb in the car and tell it where you want to go, and it does the rest. All I am saying is we as drivers have always controlled our own destiny behind the wheel. Speeding, or going through a yellow light, or changing our route at a moments notice. Driving will still require human intervention, people will have to learn how to operate a vehicle. I refuse to kneel at the altar of science and technology, they have been wrong as often as they are right.

The problem with that logic is that human error causes the vast majority of accidents. The more we let technology help out, the better. There has already been a marked decline in rear end collisions due to the implementation of automatic emergency braking systems.

 

[DMEARC]

Airplanes have pilots. They’re not “self flying”
But, they have autopilot, so maybe we can argue that self driving cars are comparable because they have a driver? I think the idea of cars getting you from point a to b without any interaction or instruction from the driver is a long way off. I welcome driver assistance though, all these new systems are pretty awesome imo. I’m ready to program my car destination, drink as much as I want at the bar, and let that wonderful intelligent machine drive me home lmfao.

My point is that technology has limits. We don’t simply throw away an idea because it has limits, we learn to deal with them.

 

[AmazingSieve]

The problem with that logic is that human error causes the vast majority of accidents. The more we let technology help out, the better. There has already been a marked decline in rear end collisions due to the implementation of automatic emergency braking systems.

Imagine how stupid and uncoordinated the average person is. Great. Now imagine them driving a 2 ton piece of metal moving at 70mph that they’re supposedly in control of….

The more passive safety systems and electronic safety devices installed in cars the better.

 

[ZeroCool]

My point is that technology has limits. We don’t simply throw away an idea because it has limits, we learn to deal with them.

I absolutely agree. I meant my post to be more both sided then it sounded I have no desire to throw away any of the tech. @BigBend I've got one knee down already at that alter lol kneel before Bronco!

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