The US Patent Office last week published an application for a patent by Ford innocuously titled “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle”, which comes straight out of a dystopian sci-fi movie.
The application entails systems in terms of which vehicles, for all practical purposes, would be able to repossess themselves should their owners renege on payments.
According to the document, vehicles’ built-in data connections could be used to disable “a functionality of one or more components of the vehicle” in case of missed payments. This could take different forms from deactivating features like “cruise control, automated window controls, automated seat controls and some components of the infotainment system (radio Global Positioning System (GPS), MP3 player, etc)” to functions such as “the air-conditioning system, a remote key fob and an automated door lock/unlock system” and other incessant irritating warnings.
The most disconcerting feature of the system though, in the case of self-autonomous vehicles, is that with Ford's system, your car could drive itself away to a different location without even informing you.
It is unclear whether Ford is planning to follow through on the patents since it is currently not actively pursuing self-drive technology.
Other auto manufacturers already feature similar technology in their vehicles.
According to a Reuters report, China's automotive sector faces an unprecedented crisis beneath its outward success. Despite becoming the world's largest car exporter and producing global leaders like BYD and Geely, the industry is trapped in a destructive spiral threatening widespread bankruptcies.
Volkswagen is abandoning its separate electric vehicle naming convention, opting instead to align its battery-electric models with established combustion engine nameplates. The German automaker announced that the strategy shift would begin with the ID Polo, set to debut in 2026.
Europe's automotive industry has issued a unified call for the European Union (EU) to recalibrate its green transition strategy, with leading manufacturers and suppliers expressing growing concerns about the feasibility of current electrification timelines and regulatory frameworks.
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You can't buy happiness but you can buy cars and that's kind of the same thing.
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According to a Reuters report, China's automotive sector faces an unprecedented crisis beneath its outward success. Despite becoming the world's largest car exporter and producing global leaders like BYD and Geely, the industry is trapped in a destructive spiral threatening widespread bankruptcies.
Europe's automotive industry has issued a unified call for the European Union (EU) to recalibrate its green transition strategy, with leading manufacturers and suppliers expressing growing concerns about the feasibility of current electrification timelines and regulatory frameworks.
South African business sentiment deteriorated further in the third quarter of 2025, falling one point to reach 39, well below the long-term benchmark of 42 points, as punitive US tariffs took their toll on exporters, Reuters reported on Wednesday
