Ford MyKey, It’s Like An Electronic Leash For Teens

Boy, wouldn’t this have pissed me off when I was 16.

It seems that Ford has come up with a fairly clever way to literally dial back the car your kids are driving … assuming it’s a 2010 Focus Coupe or the scads of other Ford vehicles appearing shortly thereafter,

In this case, it’s a deal called MyKey, and essentially it’s a gizmo that lives in the key you give to the kids. Within the key are some smart electronics, and within the ignition of the car, there are more electronics smart enough to say “A-ha! A teenagers key! I will now make it so the car:

limit its top driving speed to 80 miles per hour

cut off the stereo’s volume at just 44% of its max output

set a persistent chime to go off if the seatbelts aren’t being used and also, the stereo also gets muted until everyone buckles up.

HARSH!

There’s more though: A low-fuel warning at 75 miles to empty, the car starts issuing an annoying reminder as the car goes faster than 45 mph, as well as makes it impossible to disable some of the Focus’ usual safety measures like Park Aid and Cross Traffic Alert.

Double HARSH!

Actually, I can see the efficacy of this … when I was a kid, the mere mention or threat of this would have had me up in arms. I would have screamed bloody murder … then I would have blithely headed out for the night with Kenny and Ronnie, and Mike and Fred and Capone and Denny and Karl and Brian and we would have seen who could do the biggest burn outs down at Lower River Road or who could run The Roller Coasters quickest.

Why I’m still alive – hell, why ANY car guy makes it out of his teens kind of amazes me.

Source: Engadget

Filed Under: Ford