Technology is a beautiful thing — until a mammoth car company uses it to turn off your AC and radio in the middle of a Taylor Swift song about an old boyfriend who dissed her because you missed a car payment. It could happen if Ford executives get their way.
Ford Motor Company has filed for a patent on technology that could make your life a living hell if you miss a car payment. This is not a joke; this technology has the ability to turn off your AC, lock you out of your car, or, get this, have your vehicle beep non-stop.
The company says it has no plans of using the technology, but guess what? Many companies say things like that 3-4 years before they actually do use it.
If they did have this at their disposal and chose to use it, they’d be busy. Loan delinquencies have been going up fast lately. A study by Cox Automotive said overly delinquent auto loans had hit their highest level in 17 years.
Here are more details on this patent application. It would allow the company to turn off your cruise control (who uses that anyway?) and keep your windows up or down. Their choice. They could also just shut down key fobs and door locks.
My goodness Ford — could you take control of the car, tie up the car owner, throw them in the trunk, and drive them to their nearest bank too?
This does not seem like something that would build brand loyalty.
Again, Ford execs say they have “no plan to deploy this.” Oh, really? Then why are you trying to patent it?
The Michigan company said in a statement that they file for hundreds of patents yearly, 1,300 in 2022 alone.
“We submit patents on new inventions as a normal course of business, but they aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans.”
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