Fords Smart “Nanny” Key for Young Drivers
Here is a rather nifty idea by Ford, which will be rather unpopular by the teenager crowd, especially those with parents who are interested in purchasing a 2010 Ford Focus.
This new “smart key” might be best used on the Ford Mustang, but they are giving this idea a trial run on the new 2010 Ford Focus. The idea behind this new key, is kind of like the valet switches that limit certain drivers to only certain capabilities and features of the car.
But instead of the parents having to remember to switch the valet button and hope that their son or daughter doesn’t know how to disengage the button (which we all know they would learn how to do eventually), it electronically limits the vehicles features by the key used.
How it Works
We are talking about the capability to limit top speed, volume of the car stereo, and the drivers ability to turn off certain features, such as traction control. Why would they ever want to turn off such a great safety feature as traction control you ask… burning rubber (a.k.a. donuts) is our answer.
Not everything is limited mind you, as some things can be added extra, such as warning chimes for excessive speed, early fuel warning lights (75 miles instead of 50), and extra seat belt warnings that persist until the belt is actually buckled. You can even make it so that the radio will be on mute until the driver buckles up.
The Future of Ford’s Smart Key Program
The Ford Focus is going to be the guinea pig, as if this program turns out to be a success, we can look forward to this being part of several models of Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury. They will probably stick to the more affordable models that parents typically purchase their teenager. Hopefully they won’t forget that teens sometimes borrow their parents vehicles, so it would be nice to have this feature across the gambit eventually.
The Ford Smart key, makes the Focus the bad guy (or gal), enforcing these strict rules and doing it by a combination of both negative and positive reinforcement. It worked for Pavlov and his salivating dogs, so why not… it should work for our salivating teenagers too!
[...] Original post by Auto Trends [...]