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Ford Taurus With Adaptive Cruise Control Coming Soon

by Warren Riddle on August 3, 2009 at 05:01 PM

Earlier this year, Ford announced significant tech-related upgrades to its bellwether Taurus, and, according to Wired, models with one significant addition will hit the market this summer. While adaptive cruise control is already available in certain foreign cars, the Taurus will provide a more affordable, and domestically produced, alternative.

The radar-aided cruise control accelerates and decelerates the car according to traffic, and it is also enabled with collision, blind spot, and congestion warnings. To test and modify the technology, Ford has been dispatching crews of road-trippers (racking up over 60,000 test miles), and, according to driver-for-hire Jerry Engelman, the system is nearly perfect. While operating a radar-aided Taurus, Engelman was able to weave in and out of busy interstate traffic without deploying a pedal for over an hour.

Fighting valiantly to stave off bankruptcy (an ordeal that GM and Chrysler couldn't avoid) and give hope to the US automotive industry, Ford also plans to make the technology subsequently available in all of its models. This would significantly help drivers everywhere spend more road time actually being focused on important driving practices, like texting without plowing into another car. [From: Wired]

Tags: adaptive cruise control, AdaptiveCruiseControl, cars, ford, ford taurus, FordTaurus, top

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