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Ford BlueCruise 146  Brings You Hands-Free Highway Driving

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Ford BlueCruise Removes the Hands from Highway Driving

We try out Ford's new hands-free system, a competitor to GM's Super Cruise and Tesla's Autopilot. It's available on some 2022 F-150 and Mustang Mach-E models.

Long story short: it works as advertised. Ford isn't promising commuters the chance to catch up on Instagram on their drive to work. But it is giving drivers the chance to lessen fatigue on the slog that is many Americans' rush-hour drive home. BlueCruise may be able to keep the car in a lane and a safe distance from traffic in front, but that doesn't mean it is driving. The driver still needs to pay attention and be ready to resume control if any number of virtually infinite possibilities arise that the computer can't compute.

BlueCruise, much like Super Cruise, is geofenced and limited to divided highways. Ford calls them Blue Zones, but know that it includes over 100,000 miles in all 50 states and southern Canada. Activate adaptive cruise control and BlueCruise takes over once it has a good sense of its surroundings. Ford leveraged the digital instrument cluster to totally change its appearance when BlueCruise is active. This is one of the best uses of a digital cluster, and it avoids any confusion. There's a camera and two infrared light emitters in the cabin to keep track of what you're keeping track of. If your eyes wander too long from the task at hand, which is driving, BlueCruise will shut down.

The system worked great for us. Only when we wore a mask and sunglasses did BlueCruise think we weren't paying enough attention. In addition to tracking eyes, the camera tracks the whole face. (We had a minder from Ford in the car with us and we were trying to be respectful.) Once we removed the mask, there wasn't a single warning to pay better attention.

We got to sample the Level 2 autonomy system in Dearborn, Michigan, while behind the wheel of an F-150. The camera and dual IR emitters are totally integrated with the pickup's dash. In the Mach-E, however, there is a camera wart on the steering column. There is no relative limit as to what speed you can set BlueCruise to maintain. We didn't confirm that the F-150 could achieve it, but we did set the system to 106 mph while cruising at 55 mph behind a tractor-trailer on the Southfield Freeway. We're guessing the top speed of the pickup is 106 mph.

If you have a 2021 F-150 or Mach-E with the ADA prep pack, you can pay a one-time $600 fee to upgrade your car to BlueCruise spec. This can be done over the air or at a dealership. Another over-the-air update—Ford calls them Power-Ups—that includes an automated lane-change feature will roll out at some point in the near future. For now, drivers will have to signal and initiate the lane change themselves.

This is just one step of many more that need to happen on the path to full autonomy. Ford is confident it will be put more than 100,000 BlueCruise-equipped cars on the road in the next year.

K.C. Colwell is Car and Driver' s executive editor, who covers new cars and technology with a keen eye for automotive nonsense and with what he considers to be great car sense, which is a humblebrag. On his first day at C/D in 2004, he was given the keys to a Porsche 911 by someone who didn't even know if he had a driver's license. He also is one of the drivers who set fast laps at C/D 's annual Lightning Lap track test.

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Ford BlueCruise Hands-Free Highway Driving

Benefits of bluecruise 127  .

Help Reduce Stress on Your Ride and Arrive Energized

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Consumer Reports: BlueCruise Top-Rated Active Driving Assistance System *

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With BlueCruise 1.2 and above, simply tap your turn signal to activate a hands-free highway lane switch when safe to do so.

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What is Ford BlueCruise?

How much does ford bluecruise cost.

Ford vehicles equipped with Ford BlueCruise come with either a 90-day complimentary trial period, or an included connected service plan duration, starting from your vehicle's warranty start date. Starting with the 2023 model year Mustang Mach-E produced after June 30, 2023, and for all 2024 model year vehicles equipped with BlueCruise, you have the option to purchase three years of BlueCruise access for $2,100 when you buy the vehicle or you will receive a 90-day complimentary trial. At the end of the initial complimentary trial or included plan duration, you can choose to purchase an annual plan, currently available for $800, or a monthly plan for $75 per month.

Pricing is subject to change. To purchase a BlueCruise Connected Service plan after a complimentary trial expires, visit the Connected Services tile on your Ford Account. An active Connected Service plan is required to use BlueCruise.

How do I use BlueCruise?

Watch the 'how to' video  here

One-time setup:

• Download the FordPass® App and add your VIN

•  Activate your FordPass Connect modem  on your vehicle’s center screen display

• In the vehicle’s center screen display, turn on Lane Centering with Hands-Free,  Select settings icon > Driver Assistance > Adaptive Cruise Control > Lane Centering with Hands-Free

Once you’re on the road:

• Drive hands-free with your eyes on the road

To confirm you’ve got the newest features active, check your in-vehicle settings:

For SYNC® 4* (With BlueCruise 1.2 or higher):

Select Features > Driver Assistance > Cruise Control > Lane Centering, then toggle on  In-Lane Repositioning and Lane Change Assist.

For SYNC 4A* (With BlueCruise 1.2 or higher):

Select Driver Assistance > Cruise Control > Lane Centering, then toggle on In-Lane Repositioning and Lane Change Assist.

*Don’t drive while distracted or while using handheld devices. Use voice-operated systems when possible. Some features may be locked out while the vehicle is in gear. Not all features are compatible with all phones.

How do I know if my vehicle has Ford BlueCruise?

Which ford vehicles are equipped with bluecruise.

Ford BlueCruise is currently available on these select Ford models:

Explorer® SUV (2025) Mustang Mach-E® SUV (2021 and newer) F-150® Lightning® Truck (2022 and newer) F-150 Truck (2021 and newer) Expedition® SUV (2022 and newer)

Why is BlueCruise so impressive?

Where can i use ford bluecruise, what’s the difference between bluecruise versions 1.0, 1.2 and 1.3.

BlueCruise 1.0 – Builds on available Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Centering to add hands-free driving capabilities on prequalified sections of divided highways called hands-free Blue Zones.

BlueCruise 1.2 – Adds new features including In-Lane Repositioning (which can give you more space by subtly shifting away from vehicles in adjacent lanes) and Lane Change Assist (tapping your turn signal to initiate a hands-free lane change).

BlueCruise 1.3 – Helps you stay engaged longer in hands-free mode by improving performance, with greater ability to navigate narrow lanes and curves.

What’s the difference between BlueCruise and Ford Co-Pilot360® Technology?

How do i know which bluecruise version is available on my ford vehicle, how do i know which version of bluecruise my vehicle has currently.

To see which Ford Power-Up software update you currently have, go to the SYNC® screen in your vehicle — go to Settings and select Software Updates. The Update Details section will include the latest Ford Power-Up software update that your vehicle has received.

Vehicles eligible for newer versions of BlueCruise will receive those updates via Ford Power-Up software updates on a rolling basis. The table outlines which Ford Power-Up software update delivers the corresponding version of BlueCruise. If you do not see your vehicle listed here, that means it isn't yet eligible to receive an updated version of BlueCruise. 

To make sure you are able to receive the latest Software Updates, turn ON Automatic Updates and set a recurring schedule for a time that your vehicle is typically parked (like overnight). Visit our Ford Power-Up software updates page for more details.

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News has surfaced the Ford Motor Company is planning to build an outsized number of 2024-model-year vehicles with the hardware required to run BlueCruise, a semi-autonomous driving aid intended to compete with GM’s SuperCruise and the so-called Autopilot from Tesla . But in order to use the feature, it seems buyers will still have to front some cash.

Ford reveals subscription pricing for semi-autonomous BlueCruise Back to video

That’s thanks to an ecosystem in which the hardware on some future Fords may not be activated without paying an extra fee. This is the case currently with a few of the Blue Oval offerings, such as the Mach-E Premium, which commands CDN$2,500 up front to activate BlueCruise upon the car’s delivery. At present, buyers who did not check that pre-pay option box are given a 90-day trial of the service, after which it packs up and leaves faster than Doug Ford sticking shovels in the Greenbelt.

South of the border, American shoppers can choose to reactivate BlueCruise for US$75 per month, or US$800 per year if they bypassed the pre-pay option, which costs US$2,100 for three years in that market. Given the price spread between our two countries, we estimate Ford may charge CDN$100 a month or CDN$975 a year for BlueCruise in this neck of the woods. We’ve reached out to our contact at Ford Canada and will update this post with any new information.

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[ UPDATE: per contacts at the Blue Oval, BlueCruise activation for 2024 Ford vehicles equipped with BlueCruise in Canada costs $2,750 for three years at time of order or vehicle purchase. If a customer chooses not to activate upfront, they will automatically receive a 90-day complimentary trial, then have the option to select a $1,050 annual plan or a $100 monthly plan .]

It is worth noting that BlueCruise has yet to map large swaths of Canadian highways, especially compared to their efforts in America and what’s on tap with GM’s SuperCruise. Using an online tool straight from Ford , it seems BlueCruise-mapped roads (Ford calls them “Blue Zones”) are concentrated in southern Ontario, with a few tendrils sticking out east and a few pockets out west. Driving from Halifax to Toronto or Ottawa is 95 per cent covered, but heading west of those destinations will flummox the BlueCruise system. Ottawa to Edmonton is only 3 per cent mapped, for example.

We’ve covered this ground before, of course. BMW made all hands apoplectic when the spectre of paying a subscription fee for heated seats came to the fore , and it is widely known some Tesla models have features baked into their construction which are only officially accessible by sending Elon some extra cash. We say “officially accessible” because hackers have recently shown the ability to unlock items like heated rear seats in a Tesla by tricking the car’s computer using methods far beyond this writer’s comprehension. Could the same thing happen to Ford at some point in the future?

Regardless of that wrinkle, it sure seems like car companies are eager to get on board with this new revenue stream of monthly recurring charges that permit owners to use hardware which is already on their car.

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What is ford bluecruise, how does it work and what's it like to drive with.

A step closer to self-driving cars. But how does Ford's autonomous system actually work?

Ford BlueCruise is a driver assistance system. Launched originally in the US and Canada in 2021, the system has enabled over 68 million miles of hands-free driving, on over 193,000 vehicles. It's also now spreading its wings outside North America, coming to the UK in 2023 - and being the first such system to get regulatory approval for use hands-off driving on the UK's roads.

So is a car with BlueCruise a self-driving car?

"Self-driving" is a term that's popular, but it's a term we need to be careful using. Technically, BlueCruise enables Level 2 hands-free driving. It's a driver assistance system, rather than being about the car driving itself. You still need to be in control of the car and you need to keep your eyes on the road, even if your hands can be off the wheel.

Level 2 refers to the level of autonomy the car can achieve, based on a system devised by the Society of Automotive Engineers . When someone refers to autonomy levels, this is what they are talking about. Level 2 isn't new because it covers a range of functions, technically that the car has systems that can handle all aspects of driving: steering, acceleration and braking. But importantly, the driver has to be able to intervene at any moment.

Isn't this the same as Tesla Autopilot?

Yes and no. Tesla Autopilot is a similar driver assistance system that will do many of the things that Ford BlueCruise will, but the important difference for those in the UK is that Ford has received regulatory approval in the UK for hands-off driving, whereas Tesla has not.

If you're in the US or Canada, however, then yes, BlueCruise is basically the same. In 2023 models that includes automated lane changing - another feature that Tesla is known for. However, for those in the UK, lane changing is not currently offered, you still have to do that manually.

How does Ford BlueCruise work?

BlueCruise is an extension of a number of existing systems that Ford already offers. The most important parts are adaptive cruise control and the lane-keeping assistant. Both of these will be familiar to drivers of recent vehicles, with adaptive cruise control managing the vehicle's speed and distance from the vehicle in front, while the lane-keeping keeps the car between the lines.

Both of these are critical, because from those systems, the car knows what's happening on the road. Being able to see the lines is critical to BlueCruise so it can steer the car and keep it in the correct position on the road, while adaptive cruise control keeps a safe distance from the car in front, while maintaining the correct speed for that road.

Yes, it can read the speed limit from road signs and adjust accordingly, but BlueCruise will work at speeds up to 80mph in the UK - not that you'll ever be driving that fast, of course. Like other cruise control systems, you can knock the speed up or down to your preference, just as you can adjust the distance it will keep from the vehicle in front.

By pulling these systems together the car can take over the controls and you can take your hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals, but you need to stay attentive to the road: there's a camera that monitors your head position and your eyes, so if you look away from the road for an extended period, or close your eyes, it will give you a warning to bring your attention back to the road. Beyond that, warnings escalate and if you fail to respond, the car will start to slow to a safe stop. Essentially, you need to stay in control of the car, with your attention to the road. However, if something happens to the driver, the car will bring itself to a safe stop.

Can I use BlueCruise on all roads?

No you can't. The system uses GPS geofencing defining what Ford calls Blue Zones. When you're in a Blue Zone, the system will be available and if you have cruise control activated, it will offer to switch to BlueCruise. In the UK, the Blue Zones cover over 2200 miles, which is the entire motorway network - basically, if it's a road starting with an M, you'll be able to use BlueCruise.

Ford said it's going to be expanding this to include other roads in the UK and that's likely to include A roads that behave more like motorways.

In the US, over 130,000 miles of highways are within the Blue Zones.

How to engage Ford BlueCruise

BlueCruise is a really automated system, so you don't have to think about whether you're going to use it specifically. In reality, you'll engage cruise control and if you're in a Blue Zone and the conditions are met, BlueCruise will be offered to you automatically. But here's a step-by-step of what you need to do:

• Make sure you're on a Blue Zone road: the lines need to be clearly visible.
• Engage cruise control with a press of the steering wheel button.
• Cruise control will turn on at the speed you're travelling when you press the button.
• The driver display will show a blue balloon indicating that BlueCruise is available, you can press OK on the steering wheel.
• You'll get a message that you can take your hands off the wheel.

That's all there is to it. If, for whatever reason, BlueCruise cannot operate - if you're not in a Blue Zone or if the lines are clearly visible - then you'll remain in regular cruise control and have to keep your hands on the wheel.

What's it like driving with Ford BlueCruise?

We tested Ford BlueCruise in the UK at launch in the Mustang Mach-E . It's a system that's incredibly easy to use as we've detailed above. Once on the motorway, all it takes is a tap of the cruise control button and when BlueCruise was ready - a couple of seconds later - we were free to take our hands off the wheel.

At first this is a little alien, but this isn't the first time we've used such systems. Indeed, if you've taken your hands off the wheel when using some of the existing systems you'll know what it's like. We found the Mach-E reliably stayed in lane, steered smoothly around bends and adjusted speed to keep in position behind other vehicles. The advantage of using a system like this is you can relax a little more on longer journeys. If you're tired, it's an additional safety measure and over long drives, you'll find that something like BlueCruise is an additional measure to keep you safely on the road. Technically, you can't do anything else that distracts you from the road, so you can't legally use your phone or read a book, so you might find that you're left wondering what to do with your hands.

It's not hugely different in experience to the likes of Nissan ProPilot or BMW's Level 2+ system - or indeed Tesla Autopilot, but the omission of lane changing in the UK seems strange. It's offered by Tesla and Mercedes in the UK, for example, so why not Ford? The big difference in experience for UK drivers is that this is the only system you're allowed to legally use without your hands off the wheel. We suspect others will follow soon, but in the short term, Ford has something of a victory on its hands.

What cars will I be able to get BlueCruise on?

The Mustang Mach-E is the headline model for Ford BlueCruise. That was the original launch model in North America and it's the launch model in the UK. In the UK, it's available on 2023 models, so that's any built after November 2022.

In the US, it's also available on the Ford F-150 Lightning and Ford Expedition. There's a similar system available from Lincoln called Lincoln ActiveGlide, which is available on the Lincoln Corsair.

How do I get Ford BlueCruise?

BlueCruise is a subscription option. If you buy a new Mustang Mach-E, you'll get a 90-day trial in the UK, after which you'll have to subscribe for £17.99 a month through the Ford Pass app. You'll be able to subscibe month by month too, so if you only want it for the holidays, for example, you can just subscribe at that time.

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Ford Blue Cruise, your new driving assistant

Autonomous driving is not yet a reality. The day when your vehicle will drive itself is not here yet. But more and more driving assistants are allowing you to enjoy a safer ride. That’s the case with Ford’s latest technology, the Blue Cruise system.  Blue Cruise is a system that allows you to have your hands free while driving your Ford.

Be careful though, you have to stay alert, and the system is only available on previously registered roads. This is not insignificant since the network covers more than 300,000 kilometres, crossing Canada and the United States and even including some of Canada’s national parks.

A cutting-edge technology

To navigate, the Blue Cruise system uses cameras and radar detection.  Building on the existing Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with stop and go, lane centering and speed sign recognition, Blue Cruise will allow the driver to drive hands-free.

However, the system will only activate on sections of divided highways pre-qualified for the “hands-free blue zone.” Obviously, this mapping will be extended to other roads over time.

When you’re behind the wheel, you don’t have to wonder for long if Blue Cruise can be activated.  The system uses a blue light on the digital instrument cluster to indicate when the vehicle is in a hands-free zone.

Unlike other systems, the dashboard indicates that the feature is in hands-free mode with text and blue light signals that are effective even for colour-blind drivers. A visual message on the dashboard alerts the driver when he or she needs to return attention to the road and/or regain control of the vehicle.

Easy to use

The Blue Cruise system, while a marvel of technology, doesn’t require much driver knowledge.  It is activated like a conventional cruise control system.  All you have to do is press a button on the steering wheel. The selected speed can be increased or decreased in increments using plus/minus buttons, and it can be deactivated by pressing the brake and then resumed by another button. It also lets you choose how much distance you want to maintain from the vehicle in front of you.

But what sets it apart is  its ability to take control of steering and keep you centered in your lane as long as its cameras can clearly see lane markers on a pre-qualified highway – and as long as you’re paying attention . A camera in the instrument cluster watches your eyes to make sure they stay on the road.

No need to get absorbed in reading your favourite newspaper. Safety first! The proof is that if you’re  too engrossed in your infotainment screen or your passenger, and you turn your head too long, your Ford will give you a warning . Visually first, then with a sound. If you choose to ignore it, Blue Cruise will raise the tone, increase the volume of the alarm and eventually deactivate itself.

And Blue Cruise is effective in all road conditions. A dozen Ford vehicles went on a real rally across America, in all conditions, to test it. Even in the cold and snow!

Blue Cruise won’t really drive your car for you. But it will undoubtedly be a pleasant companion for long rides while guaranteeing the safety of your family.

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• Following 805,000 kilometres of development testing, Ford embarked on a 177,000-kilometre “Mother of All Road Trips” across the United States and Canada to prove out BlueCruise hands-free highway driving technology in a wide range of driving and weather conditions
• 2021 Ford F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with the available Ford Co-Pilot360 ™ Active 2.0 Prep Package can receive BlueCruise later this year through over-the-air software update.
• BlueCruise will give drivers the comfort and confidence of hands-free driving on prequalified sections of divided highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones that make up more than 160,000 kilometres of North American roads
• Additional Ford vehicles to receive BlueCruise technology in coming years as Ford continues to add additional highways and deliver new hands-free driving capabilities to F-150, Mustang Mach-E and more

DEARBORN, Mich., April 14, 2021 – Ford will begin offering its new BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system to customers later this year after 805,000 kilometres of development testing and fine-tuning the technology on a journey across the United States and Canada.

Last year, Ford sent a fleet of 10 test vehicles – five F-150 pickups and five all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs – to complete what test drivers dubbed the “Mother of All Road Trips.” The trek covered more than 177,000 kilometres through 37 states and five Canadian provinces to challenge BlueCruise against a wide range of road, weather and traffic conditions.

“There are highway intricacies and driving conditions that you simply cannot replicate in a lab,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford chief product platform and operations officer. “Sending these vehicles out for real-world driving experience is just one of many ways we ensured that BlueCruise technology offers confidence and convenience for drivers all across the continent.”  

Via over-the-air software updates, BlueCruise will be offered later this year on 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E models equipped with the available Ford Co-Pilot360 ™ Active 2.0 Prep Package. Over-the-air software updates allow owners of select Ford vehicles to update software from the convenience of their own garage.

Ford is targeting to sell more than 100,000 vehicles equipped with BlueCruise in the first year, based on company sales and take-rate projections.

Mother of All Road Trips becomes the ultimate Ford test drive

All 10 test vehicles – one departing from Palo Alto, California, the others from Dearborn, Michigan – spent much of last November and December winding their way across the United States and Canada. Test drivers searched for every conceivable road condition and highway driving scenario, monitoring the system’s performance, collecting data and highlighting areas where improvements could be made.

The trip marked the final leg of a development process that ran up more than 800,000 kilometres in a series of shorter test drives, each designed to evaluate a specific aspect of BlueCruise. As real-world validation of those earlier tests, road trip enabled the system to scan for variances in road signage, lane markings, exit ramps, traffic patterns and weather.

“I drive long-distance quite often, whether out to Boston or down to Florida to visit family or friends, and usually I mentally tire out on drives that far,” said Alexandra Taylor, BlueCruise feature development engineer, who logged more than 4,800 kilometres in an F-150 on the trek. “The one thing that became clear is that, when using BlueCruise, long drives aren’t nearly as mentally taxing to me.”

Taylor and fellow BlueCruise engineer Shruti Gotadki set out on an eight-day journey that wound through the southeast United States, targeting driving differences between Jacksonville, Louisville, Atlanta and other major urban areas.

Back at the Ford lab, driver-assist technology supervisor Justin Teems monitored the progress of the entire fleet, corralling important data that will help shape BlueCruise driving experience in the months and years ahead.

“It was like mission control,” Teems said. “We really wanted to push BlueCruise to its limits. Every state builds roads a little differently. When you include factors like lane line degradation, weather and construction, building a hands-free driving system becomes extremely complex. Those complexities are why Ford has the best team of engineers in the world working on it.”

BlueCruise, the evolution of Ford Co-Pilot360 Technology

Using both advanced camera and radar-sensing technologies and building upon Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go, Lane Centering and Speed Sign Recognition, BlueCruise adds a new level of convenience for drivers with vehicles equipped with Ford Co-Pilot360 Technology. The feature allows a driver to operate truly hands-free on prequalified sections of divided highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones. A driver-facing camera in the instrument cluster monitors eye gaze and head position to help ensure the driver’s eyes remain on the road.

Currently, more than 160,000 kilometres of highways across North America are dedicated Hands-Free Blue Zones in the Ford GPS mapping system. BlueCruise uses blue lighting on the digital instrument cluster to indicate when the vehicle is in a hands-free zone.

In addition to the full hands-free mode, equipped vehicles will also feature Lane Centering mode. Lane Centering works on most roads with lane lines and can help keep the vehicle centred in its lane but requires drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. In either mode, a visual prompt on the instrument cluster notifies drivers when they need to return their attention to the road or resume control of the vehicle.

BlueCruise is an SAE Level 2 driver-assist technology, similar to Tesla Autopilot but with the advantage of offering a true hands-free driving experience while in Hands-Free Mode that does not require a driver’s hands to stay in contact with the steering wheel, unless prompted by vehicle alerts.

And unlike other approaches – such as GM’s Super Cruise, which uses red and green lighting, or Tesla’s Autopilot, which requires a driver keep their hands on the steering wheel – BlueCruise communicates with drivers in different ways. The instrument cluster transitions to communicate that the feature is in Hands-Free mode through text and blue lighting cues, effective even for those with colour blindness.

More highways and features to come

Beyond the 2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E, additional Ford vehicles will also receive BlueCruise hands-free driving technology, while current owners continue to receive over-the-air software updates to add new features and capabilities in the coming years.

Future enhancements are planned to include Lane Change Assist that will let the vehicle change lanes with just a tap of the turn signal indicator, and Predictive Speed Assist that will adjust vehicle speed for road curves, roundabouts and more.

Ford also plans to offer regular mapping updates for the technology to recognize changes plus thousands of kilometres of planned new road additions.

Affordable hands-free highway driving technology

2021 F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E customers will be able to purchase BlueCruise software – plus a three-year service period – for $750 in the second half of 2021, when it’s ready to launch. Hardware pricing varies by vehicle.

For F-150, BlueCruise is available as a part of the Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package for a total price of $2,100– $750 for the software and $1350 for the hardware. The Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package is standard on F-150 Platinum and Limited and available as an option on Lariat and King Ranch models.

For Mustang Mach-E, BlueCruise comes standard on CA Route 1, Premium and First Edition variants. It’s an available package on the Select trim for $4140 – $750 for the software and $3,390 for the rest of the package –as part of the larger Comfort and Technology package, which includes features such as a 360-degree camera, heated front seats and heated steering wheel

Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. BlueCruise is a hands-free highway driving feature. Only remove hands from the steering wheel when in a Hands-Free Blue Zone. Always watch the road and be prepared to resume control of the vehicle. It does not replace safe driving. See owner’s manual for details and limitations. The BlueCruise Prep Kit contains the hardware required for this feature. Software for the feature will be available for purchase at a later date. BlueCruise functionality is expected in the third quarter of 2021. Separate payment for feature software is required to activate full functionality at that time.

About Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited

Ford of Canada’s operations include a national headquarters, three regional offices, three vehicle assembly and engine manufacturing plants, two parts distribution centres, two R&D sites, and three Connectivity and Innovation centres. Ford employs approximately 7,000 people in Canada, while an additional 18,000 people are employed in the more than 400 Ford and Ford-Lincoln dealerships across the country. For more information, please visit www.ford.ca .

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Ford BlueCruise v1.2 Review: Hands-Off Highway Driving Gains Some Impressive New Skills

• Marked improvement in consistency since launch
• Hands-free driving is more relaxing
• Drives more like a sensible human now
• Rivals have more highway coverage
• Driver still needs to initiate lane-changes
• Auto speed adjustment can be aggressive

There are no fully-autonomous cars on sale today, but that's not to say you're completely on your own when it comes to driver assistance on a road trip. Advanced Level 2 systems  like Ford BlueCruise can't take responsibility away from the person behind the wheel, but they can let them take their hands off that control. All in the name of a smoother and more rewarding drive.

The system launched in early 2022 on select models. With version 1.2, which debuts first on the 2023 Mustang Mach-E and will arrive on the Lincoln Corsair shortly, BlueCruise gains two significant talents. The first is Lane Change Assist, which allows BlueCruise to move the car between lanes with a tap of the indicator stalk. The second is Lane Repositioning, intended to build confidence in the system when you're surrounded by other — often larger — vehicles.

Back when I first tried BlueCruise — in the guise of its Lincoln ActiveGlide version , on the 2022 Navigator — I was generally hopeful, if a little underwhelmed in places. Ford's system arrived when GM's Super Cruise had already seen a number of updates, not least the two headline talents in this version 1.2. That, plus a number of unexpected deactivations in highway corners, left me expectant that Ford would refine the experience using over-the-air (OTA) updates.

Mustang Mach-E first, OTA later

BlueCruise v1.2 isn't being pushed out OTA yet — for the moment it's just on newly-built cars — though the automaker expects that will come later in 2023. Existing vehicles that have BlueCruise or ActiveGlide will get the latest update free, as long as they're within their original warranty period.

From behind the wheel of a 2023 Mustang Mach-E Select , though, I'd say it's worth the wait. While the headline features of v1.2 are useful, the system in general feels more stable and predictable than when I first tried it. For a start, there were none of the unexpected moments where BlueCruise decided it simply couldn't handle an otherwise-regular corner and threw control back to me in short order.

That's not to say it's perfect — and, given all of these systems are Level 2 despite being hands-off, there's no claim that you can stop paying attention — and highway lane shifts can still cause some fumbles. The change from two to three lanes, for example (or vice-versa), can cause BlueCruise issues at times, though the system is swift to resume once you're back to more predictable roads.

BlueCruise is watching you

As before, BlueCruise relies on a camera to make sure you're paying attention to the road. It's mounted just above the steering column, and — while you can't see them — there are infrared lights in there to allow the system to keep working even at night. It'll play nicely if you're wearing eyeglasses or sunglasses, too.

If you're on one of the roughly 130,000 miles of divided highways in the U.S. and Canada that Ford has pre-mapped, and you're deemed to be suitably alert, BlueCruise activates with a press of a button on the steering wheel. It'll automatically default to the highest level of automation it can: press it on an unmapped road and you'll get regular hands-on adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assistance. If you're on a "Hands-Free Blue Zone," as Ford calls them, it'll bypass that and switch straight into hands-free mode.

Just how long you can look away depends on a number of factors, but generally after a few seconds of inattention you'll get an audio warning and a message displayed on-screen. There's an escalating series of beeps and visual alerts, and finally BlueCruise will deactivate completely if it deems the driver isn't playing their part.

Automated Lane Changing makes life much easier

BlueCruise's driver-facing interface is clean and makes good use of the Mustang Mach-E's relatively small cluster display. Engage the system, and a large steering wheel graphic appears; big text confirming you're in "Hands Free" mode underneath makes understanding whether you should be touching the wheel or not straightforward. Ford's graphics show whether there's a car ahead, though you don't get the birds-eye view of traffic that, say, Tesla's Autopilot UI includes.

Tap the turn signal — you don't have to press it all the way, and if you do, it won't auto-cancel once the lane change maneuver is complete — and a "Preparing lane change" message appears. A second or two later, assuming there's nothing in the adjacent lane, and BlueCruise moves across. Another graphic showing the direction of the maneuver appears while that's happening.

Ford's system feels like a sensible, fairly conservative driver from behind the wheel. There's a definite pause, as BlueCruise does the positioning math, and it's enough to miss narrower gaps that human drivers might feel confident taking advantage of in order to get out from behind a slow-moving truck. On the plus side, even if you're adjacent to said truck when you hit the turn signal, BlueCruise will generally wait for a gap to clear rather than instantly canceling the move.

A little more breathing room in the lane

That proximity to other traffic is the other big change in BlueCruise v1.2. In-Lane Repositioning aims to mimic the natural tendency of human drivers to shift over, giving more space to other — typically larger — vehicles when possible. It's as much a psychological thing as a practical one, if not more so: there's definitely a degree of discomfort when you're pinned in the middle of a lane while a hulking tractor-trailer looms to one side.

It's with those highway behemoths that you notice it in action most. Ford says that more extreme lane bias will prompt an on-screen message, explaining what's happening, but I never saw that appear in my test driving. That's despite the Mustang Mach-E shifting very close to the edge of the lane at points, away from the neighboring truck.

Smaller vehicles alongside lead to lesser offsets. In my experience, BlueCruise began to move over once the side sensors picked up on something in the adjacent lane: that meant I'd typically be already next to a trailer before the electric Mustang swung away.

A more cautious driver than most humans

Ford's other tweaks in BlueCruise v1.2 include Predictive Speed Assist, which promises to change the speed setting ahead of places where human drivers might typically slow down. That might be as you enter a curve, for example, or as the speed limit on a stretch of highway changes. It'll work in both hands-on and hands-off modes.

In practice, I noticed it most when BlueCruise suddenly overruled the speed I'd set it to. Certainly, I can't argue with being reminded that I was exceeding the current limit — which the system will still allow in hands-off mode — but suddenly cutting the target pace without warning felt like a problematic way of communicating it. That was particularly the case when it led to the Mustang Mach-E slowing aggressively while I had another vehicle close behind me.

For the most part, you can switch these settings on and off piecemeal. Lane Centering, Predictive Speed Assist, In-Lane Repositioning, and Lane Change Assist can all be enabled or disabled while the vehicle is in motion, through the Driver Assistance section of the settings pages.

Ford's rivals aren't waiting for it to catch up

While Ford has been working, its rivals haven't stood still, of course. We've seen hands-free highway assist systems arrive on cars from Nissan, for example. The all-electric Ariya can do the same lane- and speed-holding as BlueCruise, though currently lane maneuvers are completed manually.

The big challenge remains Super Cruise . That, for example, could already change lanes for you without the system deactivating; these days, it can automatically do so if you find yourself stuck behind slower traffic. GM's system can also be used in towing situations, and the automaker boasts more than 200,000 miles of compatible roads. Both Ford and GM are working on versions of their tech that can do unsupervised Level 3 highway driving, though for the moment that's still beyond either Super Cruise or BlueCruise.

In fact, only one system in the U.S. promises Level 3 functionality:  Mercedes-Benz's Drive Pilot . Even then, it's only offered on a very small number of the automaker's most expensive cars; it'll only work at low speeds; and at the time of writing, it's limited to select highways in a single state, Nevada.

Ford BlueCruise Verdict

While hands-free Level 2 systems remain controversial, not least because of the potential for drivers to overestimate just how capable (and autonomous) they really are, I'm still a fan overall. BlueCruise feels far more mature and stable than when it did when I first tested the technology. Though my hands and feet may have been poised and ready, the only times I actually needed to get involved were when I intentionally triggered the attention monitoring system by making it appear like I was looking away.

Currently, BlueCruise is available on the Mustang Mach-E, the F-150, the F-150 Lightning, and the Ford Expedition. ActiveGlide is offered on the Lincoln Corsair and Navigator. That's not the full extent of Ford and Lincoln's line-ups, true, but it's a strong cross-section of them. Perhaps more notable, you don't have to buy the fanciest trim in order to add BlueCruise.

Despite all the hype around autonomous driving, the reality is that we're still a long way from cars that can operate themselves completely. And, while it's easy to consider systems like BlueCruise as a step toward such a degree of self-driving, in reality they're no more that than blind spot warnings are a replacement to looking over your shoulder, or that parking sensors mean you don't need to watch while you reverse. Trust the tech too enthusiastically, and you're going to get burned.

Nonetheless, highway driving is a chore, and I undoubtedly feel more comfortable at the end of it with a system like BlueCruise to support me. The challenge — as with most advanced driver assistance — is ensuring attention without nagging so aggressively that it's not worth having the tech turned on. For my taste, Ford's approach strikes that balance, and though BlueCruise v1.2 may not have quite the capabilities or the confidence of its most full-featured rivals yet, it's a good example of how OTA updates can progressively make a good system even better.

We Tested Ford's BlueCruise Hands-Free Driving and Here's What It's Like

I, for one, embrace our new robotic overlords.

• Ford's hands-free BlueCruise tech is coming to the 2021 Mustang Mach-E and F-150 later this year.
• We've driven both vehicles with BlueCruise equipped, so we're here to tell you what it's like on the road.

General Motors got the jump on its rivals when it unveiled Super Cruise back in 2018, taking features like adaptive cruise control and lane centering to new heights with a hands-free mode that only works on certain premapped highways. Now Ford is getting into the hands-free game with its BlueCruise technology suite.

Is this a case of better late than never? Join us as we take an in-depth look at how BlueCruise works and — based on our seat time in an F-150 and a Mustang Mach-E — what it's like on real American roads.

How does Ford's BlueCruise work?

BlueCruise operates on the same principle as Super Cruise. Once the vehicle is traveling on one of the 100,000 miles of qualified roadways (Ford dubs these Hands-Free Blue Zones) and certain conditions have been met, a graphic appears in the instrument panel to let you know that BlueCruise is ready for activation. Simply press the cruise control button on the steering wheel and you can take your hands off the wheel to let the vehicle drive itself.

Like Super Cruise, Ford's BlueCruise system is not autonomous. As the driver, you have to be alert and prepared to take the wheel at any time. BlueCruise will not take evasive action if there is a small obstruction in the road — a box on the freeway, for instance — and you must be ready to perform advanced maneuvers if necessary. To that end, BlueCruise includes a head and eye position sensor to make sure you're watching the road ahead. Divert your attention for too long and the system will deactivate. And because BlueCruise relies on clearly visible lane markers, traveling on highway sections that lack them will deactivate the system.

With these limitations in mind, here are the first vehicles to receive BlueCruise — and we've driven both, so keep reading to find out what BlueCruise is like in the real world.

Which Ford vehicles have BlueCruise?

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The first vehicles to receive BlueCruise functionality will be two of Ford's newest models — the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E and 2021 Ford F-150 . In both cases, the BlueCruise hardware is tied to the Ford Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 package.

For the Mustang Mach-E, all trims except the base Select model come standard with Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0, while the Select can get it as part of the optional Comfort/Technology package. Buyers speccing out fully loaded F-150s will find that Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 is already included in the top-trim Limited model. The package is also available on the Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum trims.

Each 2021 Ford vehicle with the Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0 package will be outfitted with the hardware necessary to activate BlueCruise. However, BlueCruise isn't available just yet — it'll come online in the next few months via an over-the-air software update. For Co-Pilot360 Active 2.0-equipped models produced earlier in the 2021 model year, the hardware is included, and to activate BlueCruise, you'll have to pay a subscription fee. That fee is $600, which will cover the first three years of service. Models with the above package that launch after the software comes online will come with both the hardware and the software (though the price of the vehicle may rise with the software's inclusion).

Though we don't love the idea of subscriptions services in vehicles overall, it makes sense for Ford to charge a recurring rate. BlueCruise will constantly be updated with improvements to expand coverage and add features. For example, automated lane changes and slowing down for upcoming road curves are already being planned as post-launch additions.

What is BlueCruise like on the road?

I had the opportunity to drive both an F-150 and Mustang Mach-E with BlueCruise, and there was no functional difference in how the system behaved in each vehicle. The system itself melds several driver aids that are already present on the majority of cars today, but with a head- and eye-tracking component that makes sure you're paying attention. Once this is established — and you're driving on a preapproved road — a ring will appear around a graphic of the vehicle in the digital instrument panel. This lets you know that BlueCruise is ready to activate. Simply press the cruise control button and acceleration, braking and turning is handed over to BlueCruise.

In this way, BlueCruise functions similarly to GM's Super Cruise. The primary difference is that GM vehicles with Super Cruise have an LED light bar integrated into the steering wheel to let you know when Super Cruise can be activated. Ford's system isn't so obvious in letting you know when it's ready. When you press the cruise control button, however, the instrument panel graphics turn blue to inform you that BlueCruise is active and you can take your hands off the wheel.

The other difference between the two competing systems is that GM's Super Cruise has one prescribed distance for the adaptive cruise control (ACC) aspect. Ford has decided to treat BlueCruise like a typical ACC system in which you can choose one of four following distances.

When engaged, BlueCruise does a good job at approximating typical human driving behavior. I never had to adjust the following distance from one of the medium settings, and the system gives you a few beats to put your hands on the wheel when it needs you to resume control.

I didn't experience many technical issues in either vehicle on my limited test drive, but there was one instance in which I was forced to make an emergency maneuver. A Civic driver with little concern for their personal safety accelerated to merge right in front of my F-150, and the truck didn't slow down quickly enough. This wasn't necessarily a fault of BlueCruise itself — I have found that ACC systems in general are slow to react to vehicles merging into or out of my lane — but it goes to show that you still need to have your wits about you at all times.     

Edmunds says

Like GM's Super Cruise, Ford's BlueCruise provides a hands-free driving experience on certain limited-access highways. It certainly takes some stress out of driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and should be similarly pleasant on long-distance road trips. But these are not autonomous systems, and drivers need to be ready to take the wheel at any time to react to changing road conditions.

Cameron Rogers has worked in the automotive industry since 2013. He has tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Today, he leads the news team in developing cutting-edge news articles, opinion pieces and sneak peeks at upcoming vehicles. Favorite cars that he's driven during his tenure at Edmunds include the 991-era Porsche 911 Turbo S, Rolls-Royce Ghost and several generations of Honda Odyssey (really).

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Ford’s hands-free BlueCruise feature is now available as a monthly or annual subscription

Ford owners can decide to activate the level 2 driver-assist feature after buying their car as a $75 a month or $800 a year subscription..

By Andrew J. Hawkins , transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.

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Ford is changing how it sells its hands-free BlueCruise driver-assist feature to its customers.

Previously, customers had to decide at the dealership whether they wanted to purchase a new Ford vehicle with BlueCruise hardware installed — and they couldn’t go back and change their minds if they opted not to include it. Now, the hardware will come standard on many new vehicles, and customers can decide at any time whether they want to activate it. Most notably, they can choose to pay for it as a monthly or annual subscription.

Most notably, they can choose to pay for it as a monthly or annual subscription

The news comes as the broader auto industry is shifting to subscription products as a major new source of revenue. Everything from driver-assistance features to heated seats is on the table — with customers growing increasingly nervous about having to pay more often for services they previously only had to purchase once.

BlueCruise is a Level 2 system, meaning the vehicle controls major functions like acceleration and braking as well as lane centering and automatic lane changing. And it only works on divided highways in the US and Canada. But while drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel and their feet off the pedals, they need to keep their eyes on the road and be ready to take control at a moment’s notice. Ford said that BlueCruise-equipped vehicles have already traveled over 100 million miles.

Ford says, at present, 225,000 vehicles are equipped with BlueCruise. And it projects that an additional 500,000 vehicles will have it by the end of 2024. The company also says the feature works on 97 percent of controlled access highways in the US and Canada — which translates to around 130,000 miles of road.

Now, customers will have several new ways in which they can get access to the feature. They can pay for it when they order their vehicle online or from a dealership, with a three-year commitment costing $2,100. If a customer doesn’t choose this option, they can also activate a $75 a month or $800 a year subscription — with a 90-day complimentary bonus.

The new payment structure will first come to all trims of the Ford Mustang Mach-E and will soon be available to all 2024 model-year vehicles where BlueCruise is available, like the F-150 Lightning, Ford F-150, and Ford Expedition.

The news also comes on the heels of Ford’s announcement of the hiring of former Apple executive Peter Stern to oversee the automaker’s software services.

Ford is not the only company shifting to subscription payments for its advanced driver-assist products. Tesla started offering its Full Self-Driving feature as a $199 a month subscription in 2021. GM’s Super Cruise costs $2,500 to install upfront as well as a monthly rate to keep it active.

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Lincoln BlueCruise *

HOW LINCOLN BLUECRUISE WORKS

• Hands-Free Highway Driving Technology</div> " }" data-fd-metrics-open="{"id":"action0018","app":"Brand","variables":{"onclick_onclickLinkName":"{($sitePrefix)}:bluecruise:lp:content:action","onclick_onclick":"bluecruise:lp:content:accordion:hands-free highway driving technology"}}"> Hands-Free Highway Driving Technology Lincoln BlueCruise † allows the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel while keeping their eyes on the road on certain roadways, while the system accelerates, brakes and steers the vehicle in the lane. The system uses a driver-facing camera to ensure that the driver is paying attention to the roadway while the system is actively providing support.
• Blue Zone Indication</div> " }" data-fd-metrics-open="{"id":"action0018","app":"Brand","variables":{"onclick_onclickLinkName":"{($sitePrefix)}:bluecruise:lp:content:action","onclick_onclick":"bluecruise:lp:content:accordion:blue zone indication"}}"> Blue Zone Indication When activated, a mode indicator in the display cluster will show a graphic of a steering wheel with the text “Hands-Free” when it’s safe to remove your hands from the steering wheel, then indicate when you need to put your hands back on the steering wheel to take control. † ††
• Attentive Driving Alerts An infrared driver-facing camera will track eye gaze and head position to ensure drivers are paying attention to the road while in Hands-Free Mode. Drivers will be notified by visual prompts on their instrument cluster when they need to resume control of the vehicle. † ††

† BlueCruise requires a Connected Service plan that provides regular map updates, Lincoln Way® app, and modem activation. Lincoln BlueCruise-equipped vehicles come with either a 90-day trial or a 2- or 4-year BlueCruise Connected Service plan, after which purchase is required. See your retailer to confirm BlueCruise Connected Service plan options for your vehicle. Owners, see the Connected Services section of your Lincoln Account for your BlueCruise Connected Service plan status. Driver-assist features are supplemental and do not replace the driver’s attention, judgment and need to control the vehicle. Lincoln BlueCruise is a hands-free highway driving feature. Only remove hands from the steering wheel when in a Hands-Free Blue Zone. Always watch the road and be prepared to resume control of the vehicle. It does not replace safe driving. See Owner’s Manual for details and limitations.

†† U.S. Model Shown.

2024 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR

2024 LINCOLN CORSAIR

2024 LINCOLN NAUTILUS ‡

2023 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR

2023 LINCOLN CORSAIR

HANDS-FREE BLUE ZONES

Lincoln co-pilot360™ 2.1.

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GM's Super Cruise vs. Ford's Bluecruise: Compare hands-free driving systems

Cadillac Super Cruise

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A new battlefield has emerged in the century-long tussle between General Motors and Ford: hands-free driving technology.

In recent testing of GM's Super Cruise in the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado and Ford's Bluecruise in the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning , one thing became clear. GM is far ahead of Ford when it comes to limited hands-free driving, which is an evolution of adaptive cruise control.  

Cruise, or speed, control dates as far back as the rivalry between America's top two automakers. Yet, the first car to feature a modern version of cruise control was the 1958 Chrysler Imperial that was advertised as "Auto-pilot." That's the same and now controversial name Tesla uses for its semi-autonomous drive system. History may be recursive, but this technology has come a long way.

Ford BlueCruise

The promise of a car driving itself in traffic while the operator tends to other business has never been closer to reality. And while the technology exists, the current infrastructure and legal framework keeps it at bay. To be clear, there is no such thing as a fully self-driving car on sale today. That threshold of being able to enter a destination and go from point A to point B with no interaction between car and passenger has been identified as a Level 5 advanced driving assistance system (ADAS) by the Society for Automotive Engineering. Super Cruise, Autopilot, and Bluecruise, among others, are considered Level 2, nudging towards Level 3. 

Level 2 has been identified as using active lane control and adaptive cruise control at the same time, with the driver maintaining control of these functions even if their hands are off the wheel. Most new cars offer this level of technology, with adaptive cruise control maintaining the gap between a lead car and providing a nice respite on highways; active lane control keeps the car centered in its lane, but can be obtrusive to some drivers, based on the latest customer satisfaction survey from J.D. Power. 

Level 3 essentially means that once the driver initiates the system and sits behind the wheel, the system takes over for the rest of the way without any intervention from the driver, until the system demands. We're not there yet.

SAE levels of driving automation, from none to fully self-driving

Compared to Super Cruise, Ford's Bluecruise isn't quite there yet either. Here's why.

How it works

Both systems use forward-facing cameras as well as navigation info pulled from the GPS and a map database that gets updated routinely (GM says about 7-8 times a year). First launched in 2017, Super Cruise has a significant advantage in tech development. It employs lidar mapping, whereas Ford uses radar, which isn't as accurate or precise in detecting smaller objects. Originally called Active Drive Assist, Bluecruise (or Activeglide on Lincoln vehicles) didn't launch until the second half of 2021. 

The difference in mapped miles is significant as well, since, unlike Tesla, Ford and GM will not let their systems engage unless it's part of the mapped database limited to divided highways such as interstates and state highways. GM claims more than 200,000 miles of mapped highways for hands-free driving in U.S. and Canada, and Ford claims to have 130,000 miles. Both automakers say the availability expands with more mapped highways via frequent over-the-air updates.

In practice, they both are an extension of adaptive cruise control with a couple more icons, messages, and warnings mixed in. Also unlike Tesla's Autopilot, GM and Ford employ a driver-facing camera to monitor eye position and engagement with the road. The monitor for Super Cruise is a tiny camera on the top of the steering column, and the top of the steering wheel itself houses a light bar that's green when active, or pulsing red when it demands driver intervention.

A similar camera sits on the steering column of the Mach-E, but on the F-150 there are two driver-facing cameras: one is on the left A-pillar by the door, and the other is offset to the right of the steering wheel on the dash between the instrument cluster and touchscreen. 

How Super Cruise performs

Super Cruise in the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado High Country

2023 Chevrolet Suburban with Super Cruise

It's possible to travel hours in a GM vehicle with Super Cruise activated without needing to intervene, or just by tapping the wheel. To engage the system, press the cruise control button on the steering wheel. A gray steering wheel icon in the center of the instrument cluster or at the top of it will turn green when its in Super Cruise territory. The lightbar in the steering wheel activates from nothingness to green. If the vehicle is not centered in its lane to start, the lightbar appears blue until the conditions are met for it to turn green. It's unmistakable that it's on, especially when the voice commands confirm it. 

The latest update to Super Cruise includes an automatic lane change function for passing. The driver no longer has touch the indicator stalk. If you're in the right lane with Super Cruise set at 70 mph, say, and the lead car is going 65 mph, the system will check to see if the passing lane is open, and if so, it will begin a lane change. Before it does an alert flashes in the cluster and the seat side vibrates, so if you’re shifting to the right the right side of the seat will vibrate. Then it activates the blinker, checks the blind spot, and even hustles a few mph over the setting to then clear out of the passing lane and back into the right lane once well clear of the passed car. It's more considerate than most drivers, and better. And it makes Super Cruise super cool. 

Most importantly, it instills confidence and acts as a reassurance. Of all the systems I've tested, including earlier iterations of Tesla's Autopilot, Super Cruise fills dreams of safe, relaxed, open highway cruising. Iterations of Super Cruise with trailering support don't have the automatic lane change function, but do enable Super Cruise to work while towing. 

How Bluecruise performs

Ford BlueCruise in the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT.

Because its iconography is blue in the spirit of the Blue Oval, Ford's Bluecruise is not as clear. Add in a blue background on the Mach-E Mustang and F-150 Lightning, and it's not as obvious as the green iconography or steering wheel lightbar on Super Cruise. A blue steering-wheel icon with "Hands-Free" appears on the left side of the cluster, which is tiny on the Mach-E Mustang, and a wee little green icon also appears in either the lower or upper corner. 

Bluecruise is not as confident or sophisticated as Super Cruise. Super Cruise uses an HD GPS receiver that locates the vehicle within about six feet of its lane, so it knows where it is. Ford relies on cameras and sensors alone, so it is less aware of where it is.   It can get confused near off ramps and wary of merging lanes. In my testing on both the Mach-E Mustang and F-150 Lightning, it tended to pinball between the lane for a longer period of time than some cars equipped with only active lane control. It seems to take longer to learn the road patterns, and on curves, ramps, merges, it can be as dodgy as a teenager in a driving test. It doesn't hesitate in requesting the driver to take over, and it's not as relaxing because the steering wheel sensor relies on a tug or some degree of torque from the driver, instead of the touch capacitive steering wheel on Super Cruise. 

Bluecruise does not have an auto lane change function yet, but Ford hasn't rolled it out yet. 

What if something goes wrong?

Ford BlueCruise in the 2022 F-150 Lightning, with the driver monitor camera to the right.

Both driver-facing cameras read head and eye position to make sure eyes are on the road. If it detects otherwise, Bluecruise will flash an alert in the instrument cluster that says "Watch the Road," and there may be an audio reminder. If you don't respond to the warning, Bluecruise shuts down and automatically slows the vehicle while maintaining the center lane. To turn it off manually, just press the cruise control button. 

Ford BlueCruise warning in the F-150

If Bluecruise can't read lane markings or the lane becomes too narrow, and it detects that the driver's eyes are not on the road, it will brake and maintain the lane until the driver reengages. 

GM Super Cruise warning alert graphic

Super Cruise requests intervention when encountering unusual traffic situations, when exiting the highway and when merging into traffic, or at a stop or intersection, railroad crossing, or pedestrian crossing. If the system detects the driver's eye or head position away from the road (such as looking down at a phone), the lightbar flashes green for a few seconds and requests the driver to pay attention and tap the steering wheel. If the driver does not pay attention, audible chimes, seat vibrations, and messaging in cluster will appear, before the lightbar flashes red.  and the other alerts intensify. If there's still no reaction, Super Cruise goes into emergency mode and activates the hazards, applies the brakes to a stop, and alerts emergency services.   

Available vehicles

Super Cruise

GM will offer Super Cruise on a total of 22 vehicles by 2023. Currently, it can be had on the 2022 Cadillac Escalade, 2022 Cadillac CT4, 2022 Cadillac CT5, 2022 Cadillac XT6; 2022-2023 Chevrolet Silverado, 2023 Chevrolet Suburban, 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV; 2022-2023 GMC Sierra, 2023 GMC Hummer EV Pickup.  

2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E, 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning. 

Activeglide

2023 Lincoln Navigator. 

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Nothin' but blue skies in the new Calgary brand

How optimism and inclusiveness inspired boosters' new slogan and a move beyond traditional calgary red.

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The weather gods were kind to Calgary boosters, and the clouds parted Wednesday after the spring-stormy days to match their civic rebranding exercise.

Say goodbye to "Be Part of the Energy" after about 12 years, and look upward. Calgary will now be "Blue Sky City."

Calgary Economic Development (CED) and its partners haven't released the logos and visual elements yet to go with this new brand. But predicting its dominant hue is a safer bet than "Maple Leafs lose to Bruins in first round."

And here's how they promoted the event where they launched it. 

It’s two days to Report to the Community, presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/WestJet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WestJet</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/TELUSBusiness?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TELUSBusiness</a>! Join us on April 17 to celebrate everything Calgary is and can become. Get your tickets️➤ <a href="https://t.co/eJwFz4Pmwe">https://t.co/eJwFz4Pmwe</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RTC2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RTC2024</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewEconomy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewEconomy</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FutureProof?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FutureProof</a> <a href="https://t.co/yHeGNDHEc6">pic.twitter.com/yHeGNDHEc6</a> &mdash; @calgaryeconomic

Calgary turning blue appears a dramatic move away from the city's long-standing institutional embrace with the colour red. Think of the Calgary Flames, Stampeders, the Calgary Stampede, the Peace Bridge that's ubiquitous in promotional images. The outgoing slogan, and the red hat on the bygone "Heart of the New West" sign, that more bygone slogan.

When the Peace Bridge was unveiled, this was among the rationalizations behind making it red.

• Calgary re-branded as the 'Blue Sky City'

What's blue in Calgary, aside from the giant ring near the airport, and the map on federal election nights?

Ah yes, the sky. The blueness that residents and visitors typically see 333 days per year, CED repeatedly noted Wednesday.

"We are a city of unexpected possibilities, where ambitions are as big as the blue skies we converge under," CED head Brad Parry told reporters.

Throw in references to "blue-sky thinking," and you've got this new product of various focus groups, surveys and extensive consultations with 129 organizations across 26 sectors.

Boosters prefer to accentuate where we're going and what we're gaining, and Parry insisted this big civic rebrand isn't a departure from anything — not red, and not "energy."

The red will still be in the iconography, he said. Indeed, there was a band of rouge in between the sun and the dominant sky in the new banner image, a version that he and several organizational leaders stood in front of, many wearing bold blue blazers, scarves or eyeglass frames (while Parry went grey jacket, black shirt).

He also declared this wasn't an abandonment of the old tagline's nod to the oil and gas sector. "We'll always be the energy city," he said in an interview.

But at the same time, the city agency's branding review told officials that too many Calgarians didn't feel that the current slogan covered what they're doing in a city and world of transition, where diversification is ever the buzzword.

"We learned that 60 per cent of Calgarians don't feel like they belong in Calgary," Calgary Arts Development CEO Patti Pon told the news conference.

That finding may jar longtime Calgary residents, but also get vigorous nods from more recent arrivals.

Inclusion is a big part of this revised Calgary pitch. The consultations and announcement deliberately reached beyond the traditional tourism and business sectors to groups representing immigrant, 2SLGBTQ+ and Indigenous communities.

They emphasized the collective nature of all living under the same sky for "Blue Sky City."

One doesn't typically hear remarks about a city's racism and marginalization in an economic developers' event, but Anila Umar of the Centre for Newcomers wasn't shy about confronting those issues at CED's event.

"For me, the whole blue-sky piece of this is: How do we work together with that hope?" she said. "Because without hope, without working together, we're never going to actually achieve that ideal."

Who isn't aware of this city's blue-sky tendencies, and Calgary's routine optimism and sense of possibility? But to recognize that is to also know there's a binary here in Boom and Bust City.

As the late singer Prince and any Calgarian this week can testify, sometimes it snows in April .  Last year, the wildfires brought the city a distressing glut of smoke-sky days, and this year is threatening to be more dire .

Expect to hear a bunch of quippers ask "What happened to Blue Sky City?" every time Calgary betrays that moniker.

But, Parry notes, the haze and clouds ultimately lift and the blue returns. (In times of struggle, a city always carries that faith, doesn't it?)

Rebranding efforts always provoke debate, conversation and cries from those who grew fond of existing slogans. It happened a decade ago as the "energy" tagline dawned.

Sometimes, slogans get tried out — blue-skied? — and don't work. Fifteen years ago, a CED rebranding exercise came up with "The Most Dynamic City in Canada," and that quickly found history's dustbin. 

• Analysis Signs of the times: Calgary's evolving identity

Poor Edmonton, meanwhile, keeps trying , and nothing ever seems to stick.

Calgary's leaders intend to go big with this new identity, unveil it across various local agencies in coming months. Some will see in it an endless expanse of potential, while it will make others feel blue.

And yes, we writers will have a field day with puns. Endless possibilities there, too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Producer and writer

Jason Markusoff analyzes what's happening — and what isn't happening, but probably should be — in Calgary, Alberta and sometimes farther afield. He's written in Alberta for more than two decades, previously reporting for Maclean's magazine, Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal. He appears regularly on Power and Politics' Power Panel and various other CBC current affairs shows. Reach him at [email protected]

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