Your Ford may soon be able to repo itself

Ford submitted a patent for technology that would enable Ford vehicles to repossess themselves. You can read the finer details on The Drive. But in layman’s terms, it goes a little something like this. 1) Imagine a world where your Ford could drive itself to a repossession lot. 2) Or more likely, where it could move itself to a nearby easier location for the repo man to grab it… like out of a tight spot or a garage. 3) The patent also talks about the vehicle driving itself straight to the junkyard… which seems like a comical place to insert Ford jokes.

But all joking aside, for all these modern vehicles that are riddled with cameras & sensors & have the capability to receive over-the-air updates… ‘that world’ is already here… minus a few easy tweaks. We’ve reached the tipping point. It’s no longer conspiracy theory ‘warnings’ about how technology could be used against us. It’s here… we’re entering the ‘consequence’ stage. You should let that sink in. Remember the NTSB pushing speed limiters in all new vehicles?

However, your Ford of the near-future will not just repossess itself without notice.

It will give you warnings on the infotainment screen that you have missed a payment. That will be awkwardly embarrassing for any passengers who might be in the car. Then as a next step, your Ford will begin to lock you out of convenience features – like air conditioning, infotainment, power windows, etc. This is all in the patent. They even mention the cabin speakers making an intolerable sound/tone. As a final measure, your Ford will lock you out of your vehicle entirely, before it ultimately uses its self-drive to leave your possession & rendezvous with the repo man.

Ironically – this is exactly the kind of BS tech that’s run the price of new cars UP to record highs. And now when you can’t afford to pay for it… you’ve paid for it to be able to repossess itself. It’s idiotically brilliant.

To be fair though, just because Ford submits a patent…

Does not mean Ford going to actually implement the technology. It could very well be that they are ‘protecting the technology’ from potentially being created & implemented by more predatory 3rd parties. But it’s… suspicious… isn’t it? It doesn’t sit right. And it’s an unsettling glimpse into the automotive future & how these executives are envisioning it.

I think longterm… this is about ‘the batteries’.

Meaning – in an EV future, the motive is to return that Ford battery back into Ford’s hands. Batteries are very expensive & cut-throat… and they are ‘the key component’ of an EV. And I believe that car manufacturers are looking for strategies to get their batteries back, so they can keep control of the minerals inside of them for recycling purposes.

See historically, a car manufacturer like Ford doesn’t care what you do with your car after you buy it. That’s because Ford doesn’t need to get your gas engine back in order to make new engines. But with EVs, it’s different… because that battery contains rare earth minerals. Side note: also historically.. anytime there are ‘rare earth minerals’ involved, there is also tremendous greed & corruption around it. Ok let’s continue. So imagine a world where you turn your EV back in every few years like a phone. Except at that point… the EV is more valuable recycled… than sold to a 2nd or 3rd owner. So what happens to people who can’t afford new cars… or don’t want to get trapped in huge car payments? Ahhh now you’re asking the right questions.

With EVs, it will likely come down to online ordering, in-house financing, & fluffed-up no-committment leases. And if Ford finances & leases (here’s a better word: loans) an EV to a customer & that customer is not paying the monthly note… then Ford needs to get their car back. Just as importantly… they need to get their battery back.

And if you’re saying, “WeLL tHeN dOn’T MiSS a pAyMeNt”… you’re missing the much bigger picture here. And that scares me.