Waiting in stop-and-go traffic is frustrating not only because it makes you feel as if you’re getting nowhere very slowly, but because it requires you to do the world’s most boring and tedious dance on the gas and brake pedals with your right foot. The 2017 Ford Fusion has the ability to change that.
The Blue Oval says, “According to the 2015 Urban Mobility Scorecard released by Texas A&M Transportation Institute, America’s drivers spent 6.9 billion hours stuck in traffic in 2014, an average of nearly an hour a week wasted.” Building on its adaptive cruise control technology that keeps a preset speed and distance between its cars and the vehicles in front of them on the highway, Ford has developed a system that makes herk-and-jerk commuting a little less painful. When the 2017 Fusion’s radar and camera hardware detects that traffic has come to a dead stop, the car comes to a halt with minimal driver input. If the Fusion is stopped for more than three seconds, the driver can press the resume button or the gas pedal to get back to the previously set cruise control speed.
Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection is onboard to also bring the Fusion to a full stop automatically if it senses an imminent collision with a vehicle or pedestrian.
Ford’s stop-and-go technology will make its way into three new vehicles from the company within the next three years. In North America, the 2017 Fusion will be the first Blue Oval model on the continent to offer adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go tech as well as Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection. Look for the redesigned and more convenient sedan in dealerships this spring.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
