Ford taps former Apple exec for hands-free driving project
William GallagherFormer Apple executive Peter Stern
Peter Stern, who previously oversaw Apple TV+ and iCloud, is to be the new president of a Ford division that stops short of being for self-driving cars, but wants to make driving more hands-free automatic.
Stern spent six years at Apple, becoming vice president of Services and reporting to Eddy Cue, who he had reportedly been tipped to replace. He left the company in January 2023, apparently telling colleagues he wanted to spend more time on the East Coast.
Now he's been named the head of the new Ford Integrated Services division, which according to Ford, is concerned with "valuable software-enabled customer experiences," in the Ford Blue, Model e, and Ford Pro ranges.
"I love creating new services businesses and this is the perfect chance to do just that," Stern said in a statement. "The auto industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, from gas engines to electric vehicles and from human to autonomous driving."
"At the same time, the basis for differentiation is shifting from the vehicles alone to the integration of hardware, software and services," he continued. "I'll be in the middle of something truly historic and am particularly fortunate to do that at Ford, which has been democratizing automotive technology for 120 years and counting."
"You couple that with the Ford family's involvement in the business and commitment to doing the right thing in the long term and this is really where I belong," he concluded.
Stern is tasked specifically with building out Ford's BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system and its productivity and safety features. He's also going to "imagine and deliver exciting new high-value services."
Malcolm Owen
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5 Comments
I don’t think completely autonomous driving is possible in the near future without some kind of segregation. On SoCal freeways the innermost lane(s) are reserved for vehicles carrying passengers or toll payers. Some are even separated by flexible poles. These could be re-purposed for autonomous driving only. Much safer for all concerned. In the meantime, they need to mandate that going forward all new cars (autonomous or not) need the ability to be in constant communication with others, not just rely on cameras, radar, or infrared sensors. When that transition is complete autonomous driving will be as safe as it can be on all roads.
BlueCruise from Ford and Super Cruise from GM are already really good at hands-free highway driving. This sounds more like it's primarily about coming up with ideas for things that Ford can charge subscriptions for. GM is already planning to make big bucks from subscriptions that are related to their vehicles.
I challenge his and the industry’s assertion that “services” are their prime distinguishers. Nope. It’s the car. Services aren’t a thought on my mind when looking for a car.