Do You Want Your Scout To Have A Hands-Free Driving System?

[eddiet1212]

Do You Want Your Scout To Have A Hands-Free Driving System?

I do NOT want my Scout to drive itself.

Part of owning a hands-on vehicle would be the satisfaction of tactile power over your destiny while enjoying the ride.

If I wanted a robo-car then I could buy a future Rivian.

Reuters
Rivian to launch hands-free driving system in 2025, 'eyes-off' in 2026

Rivian to launch hands-free driving system in 2025, 'eyes-off' in 2026, CEO says

(Reuters) -Electric-vehicle maker Rivian plans to launch its advanced hands-free driver assistance systems in 2025 and its "eyes-off" systems in 2026, CEO RJ Scaringe said on Thursday. An advanced driver assistance system that enables drivers to take their hands off the wheel and eyes off the...

ca.finance.yahoo.com

 

[Scout_Lookout]

I think the difficulty is that some of the vehicle wireless services (using an app to unlock your vehicle or remote start it) require a cell phone connection in the vehicle (some vehicles use NFC at close range, but that's a different discussion). Essentially, your car has a cell phone inside it that it uses for connected services and someone has to pay for that. Most manufacturers will bake in 3-5 years of service into the cost of the vehicle, but after that time period, the customer has to start paying for it. This is becoming a fairly common thing.

Software development is tougher. If you keep getting free updates that continue to add functionaility or even range to the vehicle, those are nice benefits that the manufacturer is continuing to bankroll behind the scenes. Apple does these updates for free as they want you to continue to buy their phones. But you could argue that with the entire vehicle system, things are a bit more complicated and thousands of hours of software development costs has to be covered along the way. Tesla charges a big premium to get access to FSD for example. Rivian usually doesn't charge money for most software upgrades. I think the automotive industry is still finding their footing in terms of covering those costs.

I can see how this is going to be a difficult choice for Scout on which direction to go in. I think to start off the main group of buyers will be hardcore Scout enthusiast that have been waiting decades for another product, and then of course people like myself that will be coming from a Rivian or other similar EV lifestyles. Its in the latter group that will expect and want the wireless connectivity (myself included) as well as the hands free driving aids, and OTA updates that we're use to. I must say one of my favorite things about EV ownership is how much a vehicle can change and get better of the course of time you own it. I currently pay Rivian for premium connectivity every month and I honestly think its worth it. However, with that being said I also dont think lvl 4 is necessary. I think for many years to come the most practical use for lvl 4 will be robotaxi's so IMO this shouldn't be main focus for Scout as lvl 2 will absolutely suffice.

 

[J Alynn]

I can see how this is going to be a difficult choice for Scout on which direction to go in. I think to start off the main group of buyers will be hardcore Scout enthusiast that have been waiting decades for another product, and then of course people like myself that will be coming from a Rivian or other similar EV lifestyles. Its in the latter group that will expect and want the wireless connectivity (myself included) as well as the hands free driving aids, and OTA updates that we're use to. I must say one of my favorite things about EV ownership is how much a vehicle can change and get better of the course of time you own it. I currently pay Rivian for premium connectivity every month and I honestly think its worth it. However, with that being said I also dont think lvl 4 is necessary. I think for many years to come the most practical use for lvl 4 will be robotaxi's so IMO this shouldn't be main focus for Scout as lvl 2 will absolutely suffice.

I agree the OTA for continuing improvements is a great benefit of owning an EV. The challenge that faces SM, to your point is the “tech” demographic that wants all things tech. The concern/hurdle is SM has already stated they want hands on for vehicles. The want touch points and buttons and the want the vehicle to be “handled” rather than simply a commuter. This will be a big challenge for them from the marketing standpoint OR perhaps as the vehicle line up grows a divergent approach occurs where certain segments lean toward tech and urban and the other half/core group stays fundamentally off road/outdoorsy/work horse style vehicles. This then allows an overall company vision to hold but allows for two variations of “go first”, both with the fundamental EV core

 

[Scout948]

Hmm, I might be rare on this one but I do hope it has the option of self driving. After experiencing Blue Cruise in my Mach E for the past 3 years I have been very impressed on how Ford has integrated it into regular driving, which is probably the most important aspect of it as you have to understand when it has autonomous control and when it doesn't along with a good transition period. But when it does, it actually works quite well. Ford also excels at how it makes sure you are paying attention by studying your eyes. I think some car companies use the finger on the steering wheel trick, which we all know can be defeated. Blue Cruise let's me know when it "thinks" I am not paying attention and gives me several visual/audio warnings before it releases the vehicle and yes, even with sunglasses on. Yes it can be a bit picky and conservative in its algorithm (AI judgment), but knowing what the alternative is, that is acceptable. Nope, sleeping while driving is not possible...

I get the hesitation and if you asked me 10 years ago I would have said no as even back then I was against adaptive cruise control. Remember, this is only going to be an option and you can either purchase it without it or you can only use is when you want to so I don't understand why folks would be against having it as a feature (choice is good). Perhaps they will follow that same path of subscription based, which I would also be ok with as long as the price was reasonable. Right now Ford is playing cool and not charging me. I think due to all the controversy.

 

[Scout948]

I agree the OTA for continuing improvements is a great benefit of owning an EV. The challenge that faces SM, to your point is the “tech” demographic that wants all things tech. The concern/hurdle is SM has already stated they want hands on for vehicles. The want touch points and buttons and the want the vehicle to be “handled” rather than simply a commuter. This will be a big challenge for them from the marketing standpoint OR perhaps as the vehicle line up grows a divergent approach occurs where certain segments lean toward tech and urban and the other half/core group stays fundamentally off road/outdoorsy/work horse style vehicles. This then allows an overall company vision to hold but allows for two variations of “go first”, both with the fundamental EV core

I think Scout can build this vehicle with all the cool new tech AND with hard touch points/buttons. Actually, they really need to do this as about all surveys I have seen are against the Tesla approach, at least they are now. And believe me, our daily EV (Mach E) fell into that Tesla design philosophy too and is one of the least favorite things about it. Atleast it has a dash in front of you (unlike Tesla) but it relies to much on that huge center screen. I think most car companies now are designing both large touch screens and hard buttons, which I think is a good idea as long as it is designed appropriately (choice is always good).

 

[Scout_Lookout]

I agree the OTA for continuing improvements is a great benefit of owning an EV. The challenge that faces SM, to your point is the “tech” demographic that wants all things tech. The concern/hurdle is SM has already stated they want hands on for vehicles. The want touch points and buttons and the want the vehicle to be “handled” rather than simply a commuter. This will be a big challenge for them from the marketing standpoint OR perhaps as the vehicle line up grows a divergent approach occurs where certain segments lean toward tech and urban and the other half/core group stays fundamentally off road/outdoorsy/work horse style vehicles. This then allows an overall company vision to hold but allows for two variations of “go first”, both with the fundamental EV core

As usual you hit the nail on the head J. What I will say is I think SM approach so far is spot on. I can remember shopping the Hummer EV before I got the Rivian and one of the things I loved was the multifunction switches below the screen. However, as I've mentioned before what kept from buying the Hummer was the lack of OTA and connectivity. I think SM is definitely going in the right direction, but yeah you took my next thought and that was the inevitable pivot of the next gen will most likely be heavily tech focused. That is unless the new Scouts are so perfectly balanced that they are able to mold the upcoming generation into wanting that exact same thing.

 

[Chavannigans]

I will buy a second Scout if my first gen model got better over time, and more features being added will also help the vehicle retain monetary value over time if I decided to trade it in or sell it later on.

Respectfully, iPhones all end up becoming E-Waste eventually so I dont really like that analogy.

I was hoping the outlook on a Scouts longevity from the brand would be more akin to an heirloom vehicle, like they used to be. And not something faced with obsolescence after a decade.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

We’re letting our Level2 ADAS from Ford expire on our Mustang. It’s been great, but I’m not paying more than $0.00 per month for any subscription services.

The experience from other brands with new models seems to suggest the first year or two will have more features than subsequent years. This seems to be because the manufacturer underestimated the cost to include those features. I don’t know if Scout will learn those lessons and provide a stripped-down base model at a reasonable price or if they’ll also include too many features that they then have to strip out in later model years.