Imagine a world where a few missed car payments don’t result in a visit from the repo man. Rather, your car simply drives itself away.
That’s a future that auto manufacturer Ford is apparently looking forward to.
The motor vehicle giant originally submitted a patent application for the idea almost two years ago, in August 2021. But “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle” wasn’t formally published until last month.
The idea is to create a system that gently reminds the vehicle owner that he or she is behind on their payments, at least at first, through little annoyances.
These would include things like playing unpleasant sounds over the audio system and disabling features like cruise control and air conditioning.
If these inconveniences aren’t enough of a push to force a payment, the car could lock its owner out, according to the published paperwork, or only allow usage in certain places and at certain times.
In the event that these nudges remain unsuccessful in getting the owner to pay, the car would drive itself away and wait in a place “convenient for tow truck to tow the vehicle.”
Currently, the patent is pending and up for public review.
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