Ford’s Active Park Assist Plans to Save Us from Curbs and Body Shops Everywhere

Until now. Ford said this week its working on an upgrade to Active Park Assist that will automatically steer you into that “regular” perpendicular parking space, too. You know, that one at the mall or soccer-field parking lot that’s four feet wider than the vehicle yet about 20 percent of the population can’t be bothered about fitting into. Get people to actually park their car in a single space? Wow, that sure would cut down the almost daily pegging of our parking-lot-rage meter.

Ford, wink-wink, knows horsehead parking is a problem. Said so (subtly) in its press release:

“The idea is not only to make parking as quick as possible, but also to make it as accurate, efficient and undemanding as possible,” said Thomas Lukaszewicz, supervisor, research and advanced Engineering, Ford of Europe. “The system benefits customers and other road users with its speed and accuracy. Straighter, neater parking means more space for all,” he added. Say no more.

We’re for anything that can get these nincompoops in the slot. But it’s gonna take a little extra dose of behavior modification beyond the system’s implication that a lot of drivers are terrible at parking or a lot of drivers are just jerks. That’s because you’re going to have to get accustomed to always backing into a conventional parking space – since it piggybacks on the existing parallel-park system’s hardware and software, that’s how Ford sees the new generation of Active Park Assist getting you in there.

When they can’t pull in forward and get it right, can’t wait to see how people react to reversing into that oh-so-skinny parking space. Even if it’s the electronics that are tackling the challenge.

– Bill Visnic, senior editor, Edmunds.com