Ford seeks to patent repo system that could drive your car back to the lender… or the junkyard

Briefly: A not too long ago printed Ford patent utility outlines among the excessive techniques and strategies the automaker may implement when trying to repossess a automobile. The appliance, filed in August 2021 however printed days in the past, notes that automobile homeowners could default on a fee for a wide range of causes and may result in repossession. This course of can typically erupt into confrontation, therefore Ford’s want to supply an answer to deal with the state of affairs.

In brief, Ford describes a multi-step repossession system that might improve in severity if notices to pay are frequently ignored.

The lender, for instance, may begin with disabling second stage optional-use elements just like the air-con system, distant key fobs or the automated door lock / unlock system. Disabling these elements “could trigger an extra stage of discomfort to a driver and occupants of the automobile,” the patent reads.

The system may additional command the radio to play an “incessant and ugly sound” each time you get within the automobile with a continuously various pitch, tone, cadence, beat and quantity. Ought to that also not get the homeowners’ consideration, the automobile may lock the consumer out of the cabin – maybe simply on weekends, permitting use of the automobile throughout weekdays to keep away from “adversely affecting a livelihood of the proprietor of the automobile and hampering the proprietor’s means to make funds towards the automobile.”

Assuming no decision on the fee entrance, the lender could elect to impound the automobile. If the automobile in query has autonomous capabilities, the repossession system can transfer the automobile to a location that’s extra handy for a tow truck to retrieve it. Optionally, the repo system may autonomously drive the automobile on to the repossession company.

In an much more unimaginable state of affairs, the repo system can decide the worth of the automobile to see if it even makes monetary sense for the lender to repossess it. If not, the automobile could also be instructed to drive itself to the junkyard.

The examples introduced right here solely scratch the floor of conditions and options introduced in Ford’s patent. There isn’t any assure that Ford will ever implement any of those strategies in future autos, however we all know they’re at the least mulling choices that almost all of us have by no means even thought of.

What are your ideas on the matter? Would Ford’s patent assist hold repo drivers out of hurt’s means? Are there sufficient fail-safes in place? For instance, what occurs if the AC is disabled on a sizzling summer season day and the motive force has a preexisting well being situation, or there are younger youngsters within the automobile?

Picture credit score: Ford by Jessy Smith, Past Due by Nicola Barts, Tow Truck by Joshuer