Self-driving cars

Mercedes-Benz will be the first automaker to offer U.S. consumers a conditionally automated driving system on public freeways.

The newest version will debut on 2023 models, but Ford has not yet shared any plans regarding if or when these features might appear on vehicles already sold and on the road.

We tested Ford’s BlueCruise on a 1,100-mile road trip from Chicago to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and back to see how well the technology works.

Beginning Sept. 5, the price of the Full Self-Driving feature will rise to $15,000 from $12,000.

The hands-free Super Cruise feature works only on select, premapped stretches of road and uses a variety of sensors to maintain vehicle speed, lane position and follow distance.

An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study determined that most drivers prefer partial automation that comes with appropriate safeguards, while hands-free systems make many drivers nervous.

Cars with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that automate some tasks — braking, acceleration and steering in some situations — are more common at all price levels for 2022.

As more semi-autonomous driving features are introduced, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is launching a new program to evaluate their safeguards.

Our 2021 F-150 was finally set to receive BlueCruise, Ford’s driver-assist system that couples hands-free lane centering with adaptive cruise control, but we found no evidence it had been installed.

ADAS technology aims to prevent crashes or, in some cases, mitigate the severity of those that cannot be prevented.