WASHINGTON: It may sound crazy, but Ford has submitted a patent for a system that would allow a car to make life difficult for a driver who fails to keep up loan payments and even drive itself away.
Only an autonomous car could actually get away from its formal owner, but the Blue Oval said the patent is in response to repossession problems in the United States.
Here, cars are regularly taken back from their owners who do not pay off the loans taken out to buy them.
The patent document, previously spotted by US motoring website The Drive, was submitted to the United States Patent Office back in August 2021, but it was formally published on February 23 this year.
Entitled "Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle" it outlines several ways to make life harder for somebody who has missed several car payments.
The system, which could be installed on any future vehicle in the manufacturer's model line-up with a data connection, would be capable of disabling "a functionality of one or more components of the vehicle."
This refers to everything from the engine to the GPS or air conditioning.
For vehicles with autonomous or semi-autonomous driving capability, the system could "move the vehicle from a first spot to a second spot that is more convenient for a tow truck to tow the vehicle."
If the lending institution considers the "financial viability of executing a repossession procedure" to be unjustifiable, the vehicle could drive itself to a compound or even to the scrapyard.
Ford is the first manufacturer to patent such a system, yet filing the document does not necessarily mean the described feature, process, or technology will be introduced to its vehicles.
It appears there would be several warnings from the vehicle before the system starts a formal repossession. If these warnings were ignored, the car could begin to lose functionality ahead of a repo.
The first lost functions would be minor inconveniences like "cruise control, automated window controls, automated seat controls, and some components of the infotainment system (radio, global positioning system (GPS), MP3 player, etc)."
The next level is more serious, and includes the loss of things like "the air conditioning system, a remote key fob, and an automated door lock/unlock system." Likewise, an "incessant and unpleasant sound" may be turned on "every time the owner is present in the vehicle."
If all of that is endured by the car's owner and payment still has not been made, they could get locked out of the car.
The patent application states that "the repossession system computer may disable the door lock mechanism, thereby placing the vehicle in a lockout condition and preventing a person from entering a cabin of the vehicle."
Repossession would still eventually take place and an autonomous or semi-autonomous car might make this process easier for the bank.
The vehicle will use its onboard sensors to detect whether or not it is parked in a garage. If it is not, then the car could, without the owner knowing about it, repossess itself or drive somewhere nearby to avoid a confrontation between the customer and repossessing agent.
