Excluding the Mustang Mach-E, Ford had previously only given folks the option to buy the hands-off driving feature ahead of time, with the purchase of a new vehicle.
Moving forward, Ford says it will build the requisite hands-free tech into "500,000 vehicles for the 2024 model year in North America across Ford and Lincoln," including the F-150 Lightning, F-150, Expedition, Lincoln Navigator and Nautilus. Ford first indicated it was headed in this direction back in May.
The upside is that car buyers won't need to decide ahead of time if they want to try out BlueCruise. That could prove especially handy for used-car shoppers, who might want to shell out for features that previous owners weren't interested in. The downside is this particular feature ain't cheap.
If you pay for access upfront with a new vehicle, Ford says it'll charge you "$2,100 for three years at time of order." Otherwise, the company will offer free trials before charging $800 per year or $75 per month.
“BlueCruise is an experience-it-to-believe-it technology, and people are amazed at how BlueCruise can help make driving less stressful and more enjoyable – especially in traffic or on long drives,” said Ashley Lambrix, Head of Commercial Acceleration – Ford Model e. “We believe in this technology and how it can help transform the highway driving experience and want to give more customers the opportunity to try it and provide flexibility for them to activate it when they want to use it.”
Source: Ford