Ford wants their money, and the company is taking extreme measures to see that they get it by filing a patent for self-repossessing.
The patent will include a feature that could make cars repossess themselves if a driver misses payments in the future.
The application for the patent was submitted to the United States Patent Office in August 2021, The Drive reported. However, it wasn’t formally published until last week.
The patent, which goes by “Systems and Methods to Repossess a Vehicle,” goes into the details on the features that could be put on any future vehicle that Ford makes that comes with a data connection and would be capable of “[disabling] a functionality of one or more components of the vehicle.”It also discusses the different strategies for resolving missed or late payments, such as messages sent to the vehicle’s display screens or the owner’s smartphone.
If payment is still not made, there will be other options taken by the car maker, like disabling certain functions such as the air conditioner or the radio. And if that doesn’t work, the car could start playing audio that’s “incessant and unpleasant” any time the owner is present in the vehicle.
According to the patent application, if the owner still fails to contact the lender, the car may lock the person out. Notably, there would be caveats set in place, like allowing the driver access on weekdays to go to work or within a “geofence” area. Drivers would still be able to access the car during a medical emergency, the application explains.
The last resort would be for the at to drive itself to a tow yard or a tow truck as a form of repossession.
A spokesperson for Ford told the Detroit Free Press that the patent is still pending.
